Cinema Wedding Gowns: I Married a Witch (1942)

I Married a Witch (1942) is a delightful film preceding the extremely popular Bewitched television series of the 1960s and early 70s. Starring Veronica Lake and Fredric March, it is about a witch who returns to life in order to fulfill an ancient curse on the descendant of a witch burner. The curse is that all male descendants will marry the wrong girl. Jennifer (Lake) takes on bodily form in order to make Wallace Wooley (March) fall in love with her on the eve of his wedding to Estelle Masterson (Susan Hayward). Hayward wears an exquisite wedding gown in this movie and it is the second gown in this series.

If Estelle doesn't exactly look happy at her wedding, it is because things keep happening to make them start over. First there's a hurricane, caused when Jennifer shows up at the Masterson home. Then Wally hears a gunshot and rushes back upstairs thinking Jennifer has killed herself. Finally Estelle goes upstairs to see what in the world is going and finds Jennifer and Wally kissing, this ending any chance of nuptials that day, and probably the future.

             

The costumes for this film were designed by Edith Head. I could not find any pictures of her original sketches to include. This dress is another vision in lace with a plunging illusion neckline, gathered bust-line, and full hooped skirt with tiers. The veil features large stand-up scallops around the face as well as scallops down the sides and bottom.

         

Here are some screenshots from the movie:

Looking happy for a brief moment

Wondering why the groom is running down the aisle.

The back of the veil.

The skirt in motion.

 

 

Halloween Films

I am one of those people who don't do really scary movies so my Halloween picks consist of comedies and suspense.

Here are my top choices for (not very) creepy movies/ghost movies/romantic-comedies-set-at-Halloween to get you in the spirit of the month.


First up: Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) - when I think of Halloween movies, I think of this one. Cary Grant's over the top performance is perfect.

Next: Cat People (1942) - a cult classic and perfect for an autumn evening, even though it has Christmas in it...

I Married a Witch (1942) - a great Halloween/Romantic Comedy about a 17th century witch returns to ruin the descendent of the Puritan who burned her and her father by making him fall in love with her.

Rebecca (1940) - it's a Hitchcock film, Mrs. Danvers is creepy, and there's a costume ball.

The Ghost Breakers (1940) - Bob Hope. Haunted castle in a swamp. Zombies. For a more lengthy review, check out this post on Classic Film and TV Café.

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) - not scary at all. Rex Harrison plays a sea captain who also happens to be a ghost. And he's in love with a human! Don't miss little Natalie Wood!

Tonight's the Night (1954) -  "The whole village mourns when General O'Leary, owner of a hunting estate in South Ireland, is killed in an accident. His nephew, Jasper O'Leary (Niven), takes over the estate and soon has aroused the displeasure of all, with the exception of Serena McGluskey (De Carlo), as much a schemer as he is a cad. The villagers plot to drive Jasper away using the occasion of "O'Leary Night", when the ghost of the first O'Leary walks the halls, to create general chaos" - imdb. The beginning is kind of slow but the end is hilarious!

 

 

The Time of Their Lives (1946) - Abbott & Costello. It's funny. Trust me. Article on TCM blog