Trailer
Plot summary
Two witches in Salem, Jennifer and her father Daniel, are put to death after Jonathan Wooley denounces them, and their ashes are buried under a tree that holds their spirits. Jennifer's curse dooms the Wooley men to marry the wrong woman. Lightning splits that tree in 1942 and frees both witches. Nearby, Wallace Wooley, a descendant, is campaigning for governor and is engaged to Estelle Masterson, whose father is his chief political backer. Jennifer wants to make him wretched, so Daniel conjures a human body for her; the spell needs fire, so he burns down the Pilgrim Hotel, and the blaze also gives Jennifer a way to make Wallace come to her rescue. She then tries to attract him without magic, and when he keeps to his engagement she mixes a love potion.
Cast
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Did you know?!Facts and trivia about I Married a Witch (1942)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Fredric March called his co-star Veronica Lake "a brainless little blonde sexpot, void of any acting ability", and she called him a "pompous poseur". On set Lake hid a 40-pound weight under her dress for a scene in which March had to carry her, and pushed her foot into his groin during a shot.
- Joel McCrea was announced for the male lead in December 1941 but withdrew by February 1942, later saying he did not want to work with Veronica Lake again after not getting along with her on Sullivan's Travels. The postponement let Lake make The Glass Key.
- Dalton Trumbo left the script after clashing with Preston Sturges, who then left the film before it was completed over artistic differences with director René Clair and did not want a screen credit.
- The novel behind the film, The Passionate Witch, was left three-quarters complete when Thorne Smith died in 1934; his friend Norman Matson wrote the ending, and it was published in July 1941 and became a best seller.
- Patricia Morison was considered for the role of Estelle and Walter Abel for Dudley, while Margaret Hayes was also considered for the film and was screen-tested.
