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Bell, Book and Candle
(Back Cover)
"Raves" for The Fireside Theater
"Raves" for The Fireside Theater
168 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1951
9 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
John van Druten
68 books14 followersJohn William Van Druten was an English playwright and theatre director. He began his career in London, and later moved to America, becoming a U.S. citizen. He was known for his plays of witty and urbane observations of contemporary life and society.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
March 6, 2017
An oldie but goodie. Being produced soon at County Players!
October 21, 2019
Totally amazing to read the play on which one of my favorite movies is based!
October 2, 2021
If one read the play with the voices of the stars who originally performed the play and are well-versed with their brilliance in sophisticated comedy, one can see why audiences enjoyed it at the time. How can I not find funny, when I hear an italicized word in the text in Roz Russell's or Rex Harrison's iconic inflections?
It was a hit on Broadway in 1950 for Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer, and also saw great success with the touring company, led by Rosalind Russell (a prelude to a massive Broadway revival for the star in the 1950s) and Dennis Price in 1951-1952. I read the play in an issue of Theatre Arts from 1952, which included photos of the performers in the scenes which probably heightened the enjoyment.
A light comedy, originally written as a serious play...so perhaps the comedy came off more in the way the performers played it in theatre than it would from the written words. Additionally, it's a very openly sexually liberated play—something which would have been obliterated in the celluloid version due to censors. I really enjoyed reading the innuendos and suggestiveness intact.
It was a hit on Broadway in 1950 for Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer, and also saw great success with the touring company, led by Rosalind Russell (a prelude to a massive Broadway revival for the star in the 1950s) and Dennis Price in 1951-1952. I read the play in an issue of Theatre Arts from 1952, which included photos of the performers in the scenes which probably heightened the enjoyment.
A light comedy, originally written as a serious play...so perhaps the comedy came off more in the way the performers played it in theatre than it would from the written words. Additionally, it's a very openly sexually liberated play—something which would have been obliterated in the celluloid version due to censors. I really enjoyed reading the innuendos and suggestiveness intact.
November 13, 2017
Interesting the changes from this stage play to the film with Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart. Also, cool to know Irene Mayer Selznick had a creative triumph of her own besides being the daughter and wife of some famous guys.
July 5, 2021
Don't know if I have counted a play before in my reads, but this one I picked up in a little free library. Fun & Silly, an enchanted romance. Perhaps the old TV series "Bewitched" was inspired by these shenanigans.
February 22, 2022
Fun to re-read every year!
June 3, 2022
A fun, witchy, comedic play. It’s short, so there’s not a lot of depth, but I enjoyed the characters and found it humorous.
December 1, 2022
Who is to say what magic is?
Bell Book and Candle by Van Druten. 1951 Random House.
This is a Christmas love story with a tad of magic.
“Bell Book and Candle” was first presented by Irene Mayer Selznick at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, on November 14, 1950, with the following cast:
Gillian Holroyd Lillie Palmer
Shepherd Henderson Rex Harrison
Miss Holroyd Jean Adair
Nicky Holroyd Scott McRae
Sidney Redlitch Larry Gates.
There are three photos by John Seymour from the play.
The play is about a witch wondering what it would be like to be human; she may find out in the process of capturing a man by magic.
The movie version of this play:
This is a Christmas story that may have a more Halloween feel. Shep Henderson takes a new apartment. Little does he know that the other residents are witches. Gil Holroyd Kim Novak sort of likes Shep and wonders if she can get his affection without witchery. She also finds that Shep’s girlfriend (Janice Rule) is an old adversary. Now the fun begins.
Bell Book and Candle by Van Druten. 1951 Random House.
This is a Christmas love story with a tad of magic.
“Bell Book and Candle” was first presented by Irene Mayer Selznick at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, on November 14, 1950, with the following cast:
Gillian Holroyd Lillie Palmer
Shepherd Henderson Rex Harrison
Miss Holroyd Jean Adair
Nicky Holroyd Scott McRae
Sidney Redlitch Larry Gates.
There are three photos by John Seymour from the play.
The play is about a witch wondering what it would be like to be human; she may find out in the process of capturing a man by magic.
The movie version of this play:
This is a Christmas story that may have a more Halloween feel. Shep Henderson takes a new apartment. Little does he know that the other residents are witches. Gil Holroyd Kim Novak sort of likes Shep and wonders if she can get his affection without witchery. She also finds that Shep’s girlfriend (Janice Rule) is an old adversary. Now the fun begins.
October 2, 2007
One of my favorite stories of all time. I wanted to turn it into a musical but Disney beat me to it. It opens in 2008, an animated film starring the music and voice of Alicia Keys. Rebecca, if you have not seen this film with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novac, get it. Great film.
April 24, 2009
Loved the movie that starred Kim Novak which most of you won't remember since it's quite old. The book was also good. I DID read this a long time ago to be honest but have seen the movie more than once.
May 18, 2009
Loved the book AND the movie...an oldie but goodie.
June 3, 2011
great fun and sexy too
January 6, 2022
Worth a read if you like retro stories from the 50s & witchy protagonists
Single witch Gillian Holroyd, an educated and urbane lady, longs for a more normal life despite her rather bohemian tendencies and special attributes. The play includes 3 men, 2 women and one set. Gillian is from a family of witches, with brother Nicholas and aunt Queenie. Gillian has attracted the attention of her upstairs tenant, bachelor Shepherd Henderson. This takes 3 acts to figure out because magic is in on Ed and complications abound. It’s a charming, fun 3 acts, revealing on-target displays of the strengths and weaknesses of both to-the-witchcraft born and regular humans. I’ve seen the play performed, read it and watch the movie every year. While I prefer the film to the play, I always have mixed feelings at the end of both.
Single witch Gillian Holroyd, an educated and urbane lady, longs for a more normal life despite her rather bohemian tendencies and special attributes. The play includes 3 men, 2 women and one set. Gillian is from a family of witches, with brother Nicholas and aunt Queenie. Gillian has attracted the attention of her upstairs tenant, bachelor Shepherd Henderson. This takes 3 acts to figure out because magic is in on Ed and complications abound. It’s a charming, fun 3 acts, revealing on-target displays of the strengths and weaknesses of both to-the-witchcraft born and regular humans. I’ve seen the play performed, read it and watch the movie every year. While I prefer the film to the play, I always have mixed feelings at the end of both.
October 10, 2020
3M, 2F, one set.
A potboiler comedy from 1952 in which a genteel, Knightsbridge-dwelling eligible spinster witch, Gillian Holroyd, from a family of witches that includes her brother, Nicholas, and her aunt, who is has had to work quite hard at developing her own limited powers, manages to ensnare the attentions of her equally eligible upstairs tenant, Anthony Henderson. Her doing so has consequences, the working out of which constitutes the plot of this three-acter.
Charming, escapist stuff with a few bits of cheap stage ‘magic’ thrown in. Assuming an audience was happy to buy into it all – and it could probably stand a 2020 setting to help it on its way – it would make for a very decently pleasant, untesting evening.
A potboiler comedy from 1952 in which a genteel, Knightsbridge-dwelling eligible spinster witch, Gillian Holroyd, from a family of witches that includes her brother, Nicholas, and her aunt, who is has had to work quite hard at developing her own limited powers, manages to ensnare the attentions of her equally eligible upstairs tenant, Anthony Henderson. Her doing so has consequences, the working out of which constitutes the plot of this three-acter.
Charming, escapist stuff with a few bits of cheap stage ‘magic’ thrown in. Assuming an audience was happy to buy into it all – and it could probably stand a 2020 setting to help it on its way – it would make for a very decently pleasant, untesting evening.
October 7, 2024
Although it's not the screenplay to one of my favorite movies, the original broadway play still contains enough charm to be worth a read. I did keep hearing and seeing Jimmy Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemon, Ernie Kovaks, and Hermione Gingold regardless of what was on the printed page. (and would you believe Rex Harrison originated the male lead?)
January 7, 2025
SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP THIS PLAY WAS SOOOOO CUTE!!! i literally am such a huge fan of this you guys have no idea🤭🤭🤭🤭 this play was such a lovely read and i am happy that i was able to enjoy it without actually seeing it live! very good, 10/10, i am kicking my feet and giggling hehehehe 5/5⭐️
January 17, 2023
Where is my 2.5 star rating? Pleasant; mostly. Unnecessary; entirely. Not as good as the movie; obviously. Will I read more like it; unfortunately.
May 15, 2023
May 2023
Movie
Play
Movie
Play
November 29, 2023
A fun play.
July 5, 2024
How annoying that the Goodreads blurb is a complete spoiler. I'm glad I read the play before I looked at Goodreads.
April 24, 2025
This was cute.
April 15, 2014
Kind of cute and kind of funny but mostly unremarkable, I think. I saw some sources that said that this was one of the inspirations for Bewitched, which I can readily believe. I read this because I thought the idea of the witches sounded fun, and it was, though I had little understanding of how the magic functioned; it came up surprisingly little. I hate that, even at the end, Shep is still under her literal spell. Would he still love her if he weren't? It seems to me maybe not. I also am sad that she lost her powers! That's no fun!
The characters were find but not great. You know what Shep reminds me of? A dog. He's always acting like one. And his name doesn't help. I didn't particularly like Gillian either. She's pretty manipulative, and she never really repents for the bad things she does.
Practical stuff:
-2 women, 3 men (Gillian, Shep, Miss Holroyd, Nicky, Sidney Redlitch)
-2-person scenes: (Most scenes are too short/have too many people)
-Women's monologues: None
The characters were find but not great. You know what Shep reminds me of? A dog. He's always acting like one. And his name doesn't help. I didn't particularly like Gillian either. She's pretty manipulative, and she never really repents for the bad things she does.
Practical stuff:
-2 women, 3 men (Gillian, Shep, Miss Holroyd, Nicky, Sidney Redlitch)
-2-person scenes: (Most scenes are too short/have too many people)
-Women's monologues: None
August 16, 2012
Bell, Book & Candle is a period piece, circa 1950. A young woman, and witch, thwarts a college rival’s engagement by bewitching the fiancé, the man who lives on the floor above. The young woman is actually interested in the man, which of course, complicates matters when he learns of the rival, without believing in the magic.
The dialogue is written well, having a solid continuity. Billed as a three act comedy the humor is there with the young witch’s eccentric aunt and older brother who are also practitioners of magic. Serious moments in the script can be played to great effort, lifting the play up beyond being a silly comedy about magic. But it’s the play’s concept of witches and witchcraft, which hasn’t travelled well. Most readers should be able to forgive this point and still enjoy the read.
The dialogue is written well, having a solid continuity. Billed as a three act comedy the humor is there with the young witch’s eccentric aunt and older brother who are also practitioners of magic. Serious moments in the script can be played to great effort, lifting the play up beyond being a silly comedy about magic. But it’s the play’s concept of witches and witchcraft, which hasn’t travelled well. Most readers should be able to forgive this point and still enjoy the read.
August 11, 2017
John van Druten is a largely forgotten playwright, but he shouldn't be. He writes women better than some playwrights working today. Bell, Book and Candle is a fun little romp with two lovely, complicated characters at its centre. It manages to be romantic, but not overly sentimental and it has such a lovely variety of nuances that would be wonderful to explore on stage.
December 2, 2015
This light spoof of a play about a New York witch is a bit dated with its mid-twentieth century setting. Gillian Holroyd casts a love spell on her attractive neighbor but when he finds out he is furious. She loses her man (and her powers) but, of course love wins out in the end. The background Christmas setting may have made this story interesting to theatergoers but added nothing to the plot.
August 30, 2013
I like the characters and basic premise, but the script doesn't have much meat to it. I'm sure it would be much more dynamic on stage. Having the cat be so integral was an odd choice. There's no good way to have a cat in a play. Still I'd like to give this a shot sometime.
January 4, 2013
This is a comedy?! It just felt insulting - to women, and the idea of love, and the characters were BEYOND peper thin. Blech. I feel like I need to wash my brain out with some good reading. Hopefully whatever I pick up next makes up for this.
February 9, 2009
loved this movie. hate reading plays.
March 22, 2012
What an adorable little play! It just made me like the movie even more, but it stands by itself. It would be awesome to see it performed.
May 13, 2013
Cute story; kind of dated. Seems like it might have inspired the TV show Bewitched.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews