Evening star., 1942-11-20

Director Clair then patted these
congenial ingredients into the shape
of i Married a Witch" now show
ing at the Capitol. His touch is
deft. and the manner in which he
keeps the engagingly wild tale mov-
ing is unstrained, which cannot be
said OF most stage and screen fan
tastes having reared their silly heads
since Here Comes Mr.. Jordan"
Not that Mr.. Clair's sideshow in
magic Is another Jordan" For one
thing. Il Married an Angel" has to
rely on that old devil, camera trick.
cry, formula which Jordan" SO
wondrously stunned. Mr.. Clair is
careful to subordinate photo stunt
ing to the flow of his story; all the
same, the spectacle of a taxicab
soaring above city and of witches
brooms tapping plaintively on doors
is enough to cause at least the be-
ginnings OF shudder.
Some Of the effects, on the other
hand, are downright clever in their
conception and handling. The puffs
OF smoke for example. There are
two of them, both constituting the
earthly form of the witch Jennifer
Veronica Lake, and her father
Daniel Cecil Kellaway). Freed by
4 lightning bolt from under the big
oak to which their ashes were con-
signed centuries before, Jennifer
and Daniel float to the veranda of
the nearby Wooley mansion to look
the situation over. Being of straight
Puritan stock themselves, the sor-
cerers marvel through the windows
at the strange people within. Some
one comes out. The puffs dive into
separate bottles of spirits, to con-
tinue their discussion and Daniel to
get . bit drunk on the contents of
his hiding place.
AS the story goes, these particu-
lar sorcerers have a score to settle
with the Wooley clan, progenitor of
which had them burned at the stake
for witchcraft in merry old New
England. From the imprisonment
Of the sturdy oak. Jennifer and DAN
lei delighted in wrecking the mar
riages of succeeding generations of
Wooleys. But once Jennifer sets eyes
on the latest edition OF the family,
she gets most unwitch-like hank
ering to fall in love with her
hauntee.
That this becomes highly awk-
ward for Wally Wooley tFredric
March) needn't be added. His pow-
ers as mortal stand small chance
against the magic of Jennifer and
the allure OF Miss Lake. He is
bounded at his projected wedding
to an alien woman, as the sorcerers
conjure a hurricane, depart and re-
enter their earthly forms to the
distraction Of Wooley and friend
(Robert Benchlcy) and eventual
cancellation of the function. Be-
cause of her love for this mortal,
Jennifer ruins his chances for po-
lltlcal election; but discovering her
wrong, summons magic to reinstate
his reputation. Election results:
Wooley, 2.000. 900; opponent, 0.
Daniel, however, disapproves of
his daughters behavior, which ill
becomes . witch, once again con-
verts her into a ball of smoke to
retire to home under the oak. Then
an axiom Is proven: Love is strong
er than witchcraft. Jennifer re-
turns to Wooley. corks her smoky
parent In another whisky bottle
out Of harms way and with the
fadeout may be seen staring in
alarm at her young daughter gal
loping about the house on a broom
stick.
Cross and Dunn have returned to
the Capitol stage with their shrill
harmony and corny lyrics, and so
has Sybn Bowan with some clever
impersonations and some in oues-
tionable taste. Columbus and Car
roll cut a few nifty ballroom capers
and the Rockets do two routine rou-
tines. Sam Jack Kaufman's over
ture on tunes by the late great
George NJ. Cohan is rousingly well
done.
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