I had the privilege of hearing Ms.Blair extol this film in person at the Vagabond in LA in the early '80's.
What a lady-what a film !
Amazingly this flic still retains its punch and verve after 47 years...
it is literate;it is spell-binding;and it is old-fashioned fun in every sense.
Compact,ambient and needs to be praised as a "hidden gem"
-mby
Lucky you. Agreed! Just watched it last night on YouTube. Most excellent.
shareBlair was excellent - an oft-overlooked performance in an oft-overlooked film.
"In my case, self-absorption is completely justified."
...yes,agreed on Janet Blair !
So much of the picture actually rests on HER
Funny how different perceptions can be. I thought that while everything else was fine, and Wyngarde and Johnston were particularly good, Janet Blair's acting was the weak spot, stagey and unconvincing.
"I beseech ye in the bowels of Christ, think that ye may be mistaken."
Oh, wow. I thought the film excellently acted all-around, including Blair -- altho I did think Wyngarde was definitely the best performer.
Matthew
Though I believe Wyngarde is more than adequate,Ms.Johnston really does steal the film.
Her face reveals so much especially when it contorts in the nuances of evil.
She is at once cunning,plotting,evasive,arrogant and jus'plain bewitching in the blackest sense !
Just to pick up on the Janet. Blair subject - this is secondary (or not, considering the actor playing the husband is 12 years younger than she), but I've read things about this film that seem to stress how Janet Blair was "older" in this film, and far removed from her ingenue days. That may be true, but she is absolutely beautiful in the movie. Anyway, she's only 42 for crying out loud! Bill Hader made the same point about her age in his intro on TCM last night....and what a performance!
"I wrote a poem on a dog biscuit;
And your dog refused to look at it..."
Janet irrespective of "those years"in this case doesn't matter a whit !
Why? Because she is a dynamo:riveting in any\every sense of the word ! She carries the picture although the other witch is potent and not to be short shrifted.
Janet is simply amazing in her role and "runs with IT "