Film Forum

U.S., 1942
Directed by René Clair
Based on The Passionate Witch by Thorne Smith, Norman H. Matson
With Fredric March, Veronica Lake, Robert Benchley
Approx. 77 min. 35mm. 

Veronica Lake stars as a naughty 17th century sorceress who’s burned at the stake, but comes back as a '40s-style blonde fatale to exact revenge on politico Fredric March, descendant of her Puritan tormentors. Preston Sturges acted as supervising producer — Paramount’s condition for letting Clair direct.

Restored by the Library of Congress and The Film Foundation. Funding provided by the Lucas/Hobson Family Foundation.

Presented with support from the Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film

Reviews

“A high bounce above the usual run of cinematic whimsies.”
– Bosley Crowther, The New York Times

“Fans of Veronica Lake won’t be disappointed; the special effects are nicely done too.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum, The Chicago Reader

“Unpretentious, pacy and genuinely witty… I MARRIED A WITCH sees Clair at his peak, with an ambitious, puritanical politician (March) being plagued by the mischievous Lake, a witch reincarnated and bent on revenge after being burned at the stake by his ancestors. Lake is delightfully effective as the malicious woman, whose ideas of punishment are often beautifully absurd, and March provides an excellent foil.”
– Gilbert Adair, Time Out