Bell, Book and Candle is a 1958 American supernatural romantic comedy film directed by Richard Quine from a screenplay by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1950 Broadway play of the same title by John Van Druten and starring James Stewart, Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon and Ernie Kovacs.

Gillian Holroyd is the owner of a rare ethnological art store in Greenwich Village, New York City, and secretly a witch.

He visits Gillian to use her phone, and they discuss the best-selling book Magic in Mexico and his desire to meet the author, Sidney Redlitch.

Redlitch arrives at Shep's office, having been magically compelled to meet him, and explains that he is researching witches in New York City for his next book.

The oblivious Shep introduces him to the Holroyds, and Nicky later reveals his powers to Redlitch, offering him access to the witch community in exchange for half the book's profits.

Revelling in her romance with Shep, Gillian is torn when he proposes to her; although witches lose their magic if they fall in love, she agrees to marry him.

Using her powers to make Shep lose all interest in publishing Nicky and Redlitch's book, Gillian confesses that she is a witch and their relationship is the result of her spell.

He goes to Nicky, who brings him to Bianca De Pass, a very powerful witch, who brews a potion for him to drink, breaking Gillian's spell over him.

David O. Selznick purchased the rights to Van Druten's play in 1953,[a] planning to cast his wife, Jennifer Jones, in the part of Gil.

[5] Taradash, who had adapted From Here to Eternity (1953) for Columbia with great success, augmented the story slightly by incorporating characters who are only names in the play (notably Mrs. De Pass, and Shep's fiancée Merle) and expanding the action to locations beyond Gil's apartment.

[3] Since the arrangement with Paramount for Novak's appearance in Vertigo included reciprocity, Cohn advanced James Stewart for the role of Shep.

The main theme melds bongos and violins, evoking elements of the plot;[12] heard during the opening credits, a few bars of "Jingle Bells" are incorporated to set the Christmas tone of the initial action.

Duning used creative means such as recording sounds and replaying them at high speed to achieve an eerie background effect for the score.

The segments featuring the Brothers Candoli, who appear in the film playing at the Zodiac Club, were recorded in Hollywood at Columbia; on these tracks, John Williams can be heard on piano.

It also includes audio and subtitle tracks for English and Spanish, bonus trailers, the open matte full-frame and anamorphic widescreen (102 min.)

[23] Bosley Crowther of The New York Times found the premise "silly and banal" and the screenplay lacking in "any consistent witchery or bounce," but he praised the movie's camera work, set design, and use of color as "sleek and pictorially entrancing.

Robinson had chosen Keys for the remake after watching the original film; she agreed to the project to avoid "from falling into predictable roles".