Bell Book and Candle

Synopsis: Gillian Holroyd is just your average, modern-day, witch, living in a New York apartment with her Siamese familiar, Pyewacket. But one day a handsome publisher, Shep Henderson walks into her building and Gillian decides she wants him--especially as it turns out he's marrying Merle Kittridge, an old poison penpal from Gillian's college days. So, Gillian casts a spell over Shep. But her powers are in danger of being exorcised by something stronger than the bell-book-and-candle routine: Love.
Director(s): Richard Quine
Production: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.9
Rotten Tomatoes:
75%
APPROVED
Year:
1958
106 min
1,647 Views


1

[No Audible Dialogue]

[Purring] [Bell Jingles]

Oh, Pye, Pye, Pyewacket.

What's the matter with me?

Why do I feel this way?

It's such a rut.

The same old thing day after day.

The same old people.

Oh, I know I'm feeling sorry

for myself, but it's true.

Why don't you give me something

for Christmas, Pye? [Meows]

Hmm, what would I like?

[Meows] I'd like to do

something different.

I'd like to meet

someone different.

[Meows]

Look, there's that man upstairs.

[Purring]

[Purring Continues]

He's different.

Why don't I ever know

people like that? Hmm?

Why don't you give me him

for Christmas, Pye? [Meows]

Why don't you give me him?

[ Whistling Deck the Halls]

[Continues]

[Woman] Oh, dear!

[Drawer Closes]

You startled me.

Well, we're even.

Who are you?

You do have a nice place here.

Thank you. Would you mind if I ask

what you're doing in it?

Certainly not.

I was going downstairs, and

your door happened to be open.

And I saw your window open too.

And the snow was coming through,

and I thought

you'd like me to close it.

So I did.

Uh-huh.

Uh, it's odd I had

to unlock the door to get in.

Yes, isn't it?

After all, you are fairly new

in the building.

I was only being neighbourly.

Mm-hmm.

Oh, are you the one

that lives above me?

Ah. Well, tell me something,

would you?

Are you studying dramatics,

by any chance? Dramatics?

Well, at night, I hear you through

the ceiling as I'm trying to sleep.

It sounds as though you're

reciting or something.

- Can you understand what I say?

- No.

I'll try not to do it so loudly.

You read, don't you?

And you have such a correspondence.

I straightened your desk up a bit.

I'm afraid you're very sloppy.

Well, if you don't mind terribly,

I have some telephoning to do

some personal telephoning.

Before you moved in,

a theosophist lived here,

and he was very pleasant.

Very pleasant.

Wow.

[ Garbled Voice On Phone, Singing]

[Dials Operator] Hello?

[Distorted Voice Speaking

Foreign Language] Operator?

[Knocking]

[Knocking Continues]

I'm sorry to bother you.

I'm Shepherd Henderson. I live just above.

I know.

I'm Gillian Holroyd.

How do you do?

My phone seems to be out of order.

I wonder if I might use yours.

I'm late for an appointment.

Certainly. Come in.

Thank you.

It's in the back.

Thank you.

You reading this?

Oh, Magic in Mexico. Yes.

Are you interested

in that sort of thing?

Well, not personally, but,

professionally, I'm a publisher.

Hello, operator?

I'd like to report a phone out of order.

All right.

Did you publish that?

No, but I wish I had.

Sold like the Kinsey Report.

Well, I can't think why.

It's completely phony.

- Oh, it is?

- I spent a year in Mexico.

I'm sure they fed him a lot of fake

tourist stuff, and he swallowed it whole.

Maybe they did that

to Kinsey too.

I certainly wish

I'd put this one out though.

As a matter of fact, I understand Redlitch

is about ready to change publishers.

And, uh-Uh, yes.

Well, I'll wait.

Would you like to meet him?

- You know him?

- No, but I might know someone who does.

Well, I understand he's a drunk and a nut, but

there's always a big market for the supernatural.

Yes, I'd like very much to meet him.

- Then I'll see if I can arrange it sometime.

- Thank you.

Uh, uh- Supervisor?

My number is Chickering 4-5099,

and it's out of order.

Well, I don't know

what's wrong with it.

If you want my opinion I

think it's sick. [Laughs]

Well, no matter what I dial, I get

nothing but these idiotic sounds. I...

How's that? No, that's just it.

They're not mechanical.

They're more human.

Or inhuman.

Well, maybe it is goblins.

I know it sounds strange,

but I want it fixed, huh?

Merry Christmas to you too.

[Handset Settles In Cradle]

Perhaps you need a drink.

Well, I'm in an awful hurry.

Maybe I can have a rain check.

Certainly.

Thank you.

There we are.

This is a fascinating shop.

What's this? That's a Bayaka

mask from the Belgian Congo.

Looks a little like a German governess

I used to have.

How did you ever

get interested in all this?

I majored in anthropology at college.

Gillian, you've got to change

your mind and come along.

I didn't know you had company.

This is Shepherd Henderson, Queenie.

This is my aunt, Miss Holroyd.

Your aunt?

Mr. Henderson and I

saw each other a little earlier.

I'm afraid he thinks I've been naughty.

Oh, no. No, not exactly.

Oh, good.

Gillian, you can't stay in tonight.

All our friends will be at the Zodiac.

Mr. Henderson, persuade her for me.

The Zodiac? I don't think I know it.

I don't imagine you would.

It's kind of a dive.

But it's fun.

[Laughs]

Coax her for me.

Uh-huh.

Well, is it fun?

It certainly can be.

Well, then you oughtn't

stay home Christmas Eve.

Yeah. Well, now, thanks again

for the phone.

And merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

Good night.

Merry Christmas.

I think you like him.

Yes, I do.

Very much.

Did you bring him here?

No. No, he came to use the phone.

[Laughs]

You broke into his apartment,

didn't you?

I didn't break in, dear.

And you fixed his phone.

I'm angry with you, Queenie.

Really angry. You promised.

I promised to be careful.

Besides, it serves him right.

He wasn't nice to me at all.

And what harm did I do? I didn't take anything.

All right, I read his letters.

Now really, Queenie.

But it's not as if I were going

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes

Daniel Taradash

Daniel Taradash was born on January 29, 1913 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA as Daniel Irwin Taradash. He was a writer, known for From Here to Eternity (1953), Picnic (1955) and Bell Book and Candle (1958). He was married to Madeleine Forbes. He died on February 22, 2003 in Los Angeles, California, USA. more…

All Daniel Taradash scripts | Daniel Taradash Scripts

0 fans

Submitted on August 05, 2018

Discuss this script with the community:

0 Comments

    Translation

    Translate and read this script in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this screenplay to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Bell Book and Candle" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/bell_book_and_candle_3863>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest writers community and scripts collection on the web!

    Watch the movie trailer

    Bell Book and Candle

    Browse Scripts.com

    The Studio:

    ScreenWriting Tool

    Write your screenplay and focus on the story with many helpful features.