MovieChat Forums > Bell Book and Candle (1958) Discussion > I cry at the end -- honestly (it's so be...

I cry at the end -- honestly (it's so beautiful)

posted 16 years ago by LiberaMe
8 replies | jump to latest

I don't know why, but this film gets me right to the heart. Of course the fact that Kim Novak looks so incredibly beautiful in it is part of the magic, but it's such a lovely story too.

The only flaw is the unfunny subplot with Jack Lemmon. Every scene between Kim Novak and James Stewart is magical.

I also honestly believe that it's one of Kim Novak's greatest performances. She's so utterly convincing in the role. When she resolves to marry him, I get a lump in my throat. When she cries for the first time, it's an "Oh my God" moment. And then the ultimate--when she breaks down in the flower shop while speaking to James Stewart, so vulnerable, so helpless...I can't watch it without tearing up myself. It's such a tender, beautiful scene.

The brilliance of it is that Kim's character has been so aloof for much of the film. Then to see her become so vulnerable--it has a powerful impact. And yet it's a completely convincing change, a real evolution of the character.

Bravo to the wardrobe dept. too, which so skillfully dressed her in blacks and reds throughout the film, and then had her in cream-white and yellow at the end (one of the loveliest dresses I've ever seen), to mirror her own transformation. The change of the curio shop into a flower shop also echoes Kim's blossoming. It reminds me of the scene at the end of Beauty and the Beast, where the Beast's castle transforms from gargoyles into angels, to parallel his own redemption.

No one has ever brought vulnerability to the sceen as convincingly as Kim Novak, and never better than here.

- - - -

Oh, and here's something extra. I think that anyone who watches Vertigo for the first time, and has their heart ripped out by the ending, should watch this movie a day or two afterwards, as balm for the soul. Because they are the same actors, one almost thinks of them as coming together in this film, as if Scotty and Madeleine were being reunited in another life.

[–] freshspoo 16 years ago

Pull yourself together, dear.

[–] sdblosom 16 years ago

I totally agree, Lussurioso! Lovely film &^_^&

[–] eye3 16 years ago

I hated that "June Cleaver" dress at the end; with the "Black Magic Woman" wardrobe she absolutely hotter ("ab-hot"?). But such was Hayes-Code Hollywood.

[–] trendelle 16 years ago

No, I completely disagree. That dress at the end was breathtakingly beautiful. She looked like an angel in it, yet it was also quietly seductive and sheer enough to suggest her figure. Gorgeous.

[–] lolarites 16 years ago

Is The Middle of the Night, a Chayefsky play made into a feature with Fredric March. Her thirst for love and security was very touching. She does very well with older actors while never appearing cheap or like a bimbo. I wish it was available on DVD, but it's not.

[–] AliciaHuberman59 15 years ago

Yes, she is also very good with March for the reasons you state. I love that final scene and cry too. As I'm writing this I can hear the theme music in my head!

[–] MissSugarKane 15 years ago

It sure is a wonderful little movie and Kim Novak was fabulous -- but Jack Lemmon is the scene stealer for me. For what little part he had that movie, he certainly made the most of it and I always look forward to his parts.

Marilyn Monroe: I don't want to be rich. I just want to be wonderful.

[–] blackbinder 11 years ago

Oh, and here's something extra. I think that anyone who watches Vertigo for the first time, and has their heart ripped out by the ending, should watch this movie a day or two afterwards, as balm for the soul. Because they are the same actors, one almost thinks of them as coming together in this film, as if Scotty and Madeleine were being reunited in another life.

I agree. The two films together make a perfect back-to-back double feature, especially if someone isn't keen on leaving a film with their heart torn out, as Vertigo (masterpiece that it is) certainly does.

Bell, Book, and Candle eases the pain of Vertigo. The two films benefit each other emotionally.