Bell, Book and Candle is a 1958 romantic comedy-fantasy film directed by Richard Quine and starring Kim Novak, James Stewart, Jack Lemmon, and Elsa Lanchester. The film is based on the Broadway play of the same name by John Van Druten.
Novak plays Gillian Holroyd, a witch living in Greenwich Village who runs an African art shop with her aunt, Queenie (Lanchester). She becomes infatuated with her neighbor, Shep Henderson (Stewart), a book publisher, but is disappointed to find out he is engaged to an old college acquaintance, Merle Kittridge (Janice Rule).
Frustrated with her unrequited love, Gillian decides to pull out all the stops and casts a love spell on Shep with the help of her warlock brother, Nicky (Lemmon). The spell works, and Shep falls for Gillian. However, Gillian soon realizes that she has fallen in love with Shep for real and begins to feel guilty for manipulating his emotions.
As Shep's wedding to Merle approaches, Gillian must decide whether to break the spell and confess her feelings for Shep, or let him marry Merle and lose him forever. Along the way, she must navigate her relationships with her familiar, a talking cat named Pyewacket, and her arch-nemesis, a wealthy witch named Miss Holroyd (Hermione Gingold).
Bell, Book and Candle is a charming and witty romantic comedy that explores themes of love, desire, and the consequences of using magic to get what you want. It remains a beloved classic of the genre and a testament to the enduring appeal of the supernatural in popular culture.