WINTER OF THE WITCH [1969]

THE GREATEST FILM EVER MADE! 

At least, for October.  Here we have one of those films that school children apparently saw in school when teachers drug out that old clattery projector.  Sadly, I never saw this until THIS YEAR!!!  Where has it been all my life?!?!?! This short film from 1969 is based on the classic children's book OLD BLACK WITCH by Wende & Harry Devlin.  This book ALSO eluded me all my life until now; despite the fact that the authors wrote & illustrated one of my favourite books from when I was a child:  CRANBERRY THANKSGIVING.  I know . . . . I don't believe how lame I am, either!  

WINTER OF THE WITCH begins with a single mother and her son moving out of their (what looks like) apartment and trying to find a new home.  I kinda connected with this scene right from the start as I was raised by a single mother until she remarried when I was 11 or 12.  The pair are searching for a new place to live when a realtor presents them with a wonderful old house for a bargain basement price.  We horror fans immediately smell a haunting but the mother buys the house and the two move in. 

The house is quite dilapidated inside and while looking around, they here an ominous thumping sound.  This turns out to be the sound of a witch clomping down the stairs with her broomstick in hand demanding that the two leave her house immediately!  Mom refuses and suggests the old witch live in the attic until some satisfactory arrangement can be made.  The witch seems a little glum and lonely up in the attic with nothing to do but listen to her gramophone records until the boy suggests she help out with his Mom's plan to open a pancake parlour in the house.  The witch tells the boy that she has a special magic recipe for blueberry pancakes that will have a wonderful effect on people. Everyone who eats the bewitching pancakes immediately gets happy; this effect is accomplished with a wacky polka dot animation superimposed over the screen.  What happens next is for you to go and watch on youtubers.

Anna Strasberg plays Mother and Roger Morgan plays her son Nicky; both of them are quite endearing and you're rooting for them from the start.  Burgess Meredith is the narrator and he also is wonderful.  But the laurels must go to Hermione Gingold as the Old Witch; she is frankly one of the greatest screen witches there has ever been!!!  She beautifully portrays everything from real menace to heart-breaking sympathy to funny comedy; all while looking sooooooo good as the the perfect embodiment of a Halloween witch. I just love this short film so much and did so immediately on first watch.  I really can't praise this film highly enough!

Plus, for an added bonus, I have placed below the actual recipe for the Old Black Witch's bewitching blueberry pancakes directly from the book by Wende & Harry Devlin!  Enjoy!