Bedknobs and Broomsticks

1971

1h 57m

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

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96 Images

Adventure

Fantasy

Comedy

Family

Music

Animation

Three children evacuated from London during World War II are forced to stay with an eccentric spinster. The children's initial fears disappear when they find out she is in fact a trainee witch.

Directors

Robert Stevenson

Writers

Don DaGradi(screenplay by)

Mary Norton(novel by)

Bill Walsh(screenplay by)

Stars

Angela Lansbury

David Tomlinson

Roddy McDowall

See production, box office & company info

Top cast

Miss Price

Emelius

Mr. Jelk

Bookman

Col. Heller

Swinburne

Carrie

Paul

Charlie

Mrs. Hobday

Capt. Greer

Portobello Rd. Workman

Gen. Teagler

Elderly Farmer

German Sergeant

German Sergeant

Plaster Vendor

Codfish (voice)

Directors

Robert Stevenson

Writers

Don DaGradi(screenplay by)

Mary Norton(novel by)

Bill Walsh(screenplay by)

All cast & crew

Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

It's very much in the vein of "Mary Poppins" (1964) this, with a very similar style of live-action and animated sequences used to tell a slightly more menacing story. When three siblings arrive in a rural English village, evacuated from London during the Blitz of WWII, they are placed with the rather eccentric and definitely unwilling "Miss Price" (Angela Lansbury). Things start to look up for all concerned though when the kids discover that she is a trainee witch, and when they meet "Emelius" (David Tomlinson) they embark on some adventures using their magical bed as their vehicle in the search for the missing part of a substitutiary locomotion spell that might just thwart the Nazis. As with "Poppins", the music and lyrics come from the Sherman twins and "Beautiful Briny" and "Portobello Road" are probably the two best from their not so catchy soundtrack this time. Lansbury and Tomlinson work well together with the former on good form as the ostensibly prim and proper, but actually quite feisty and mischievous would-be witch. The three youngsters also perform well, especially the youngest "Paul" (Roy Snart) who just won't let anyone else near the knob that controls the bed! A smattering of familiar faces help to keep the story bobbing along nicely and the animations, tough not so frequent as I would have liked, blend in well with some fun action scenes - especially at the end - and make for an enjoyable, feel-good, family movie.

Geronimo196726 Nov, 2022