Turner Classic Movies tip for Jan. 21, 2009: Bell Book and Candle

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“Bell Book and Candle,” TCM, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009, 10 p.m. (EST)

Kim Novak was never sexier than she was playing modern-day witch Gillian Holroyd in the charming 1958 film version of John Van Druten’s hit Broadway comedy/fantasy “Bell Book and Candle.” And Manhattan at Christmastime never looked more gorgeous than it did in this movie thanks to James Wong Howe’s stunning Technicolor cinematography.

The plot gets underway when Gillian sets her sights on Shepherd Henderson (James Stewart), the bachelor publisher who just moved into her apartment building. When she learns that he is engaged to socialite Merle Kittridge (Janice Rule at her most neurotic), a bitchy nemesis from her college days, Gillian decides that she would be doing Shep a favor by snagging him for herself via a love spell.

Directed by the underrated Richard Quine, “Bell Book and Candle” features a superlative supporting cast that includes Else Lanchester as Gillian’s eccentric Aunt Queenie, Jack Lemmon as Gillian’s mischievous warlock brother Nicky and Ernie Kovaks as alcoholic best-selling writer Sidney Redlitch. (Before Lemmon met Walter Matthau, he and Kovaks were a frequent screen team.)

Despite the crushingly pro-conformity ending (Shep can't accept Gillian’s love until she becomes a “normal” woman), “Bell Book and Candle” still remains one of the best Hollywood romantic comedies of the 1950s.