Bewitched

Bewitched is a 1945 American film noir directed and written by Arch Oboler. The drama features Phyllis Thaxter and Edmund Gwenn. Plot The story is told as a flashback: It is late at night, and Dr. Bergson (Edmund Gwenn) is dictating case notes to his secretary. He suggests pausing but she is so intrigued by the case that she asks him to continue. On the night of a lovely party celebrating her engagement to Bob Arnold (Harry H. Daniels Jr.), a demure young woman named Joan Ellis (Phyllis Thaxter) at last succumbs to the voice in her head (voiced by Audrey Totter, unbilled) and flees her Midwestern home to New York City, leaving behind a loving family and circle of friends who are shocked, bewildered and frightened for her. She leaves a note asking her parents (Addison Richards, Kathleen Lockhart) not to search for her. Going by the name Joan Smith, she builds a new life in the city and falls in love with Eric Russell (Horace McNally), an attorney. The voice, which calls itself Karen, approves of this mature man, and when Karen emerges, briefly, while they are on a river cruise, she kisses him with a fiercely devouring, possessive passion that is unnerving. When Joan regains control, she asks “What did I do?” and bursts into tears. Eric is very worried, but she won't talk to him about it. (Joan's inability to tell anyone about what she is experiencing adds greatly to the tension and suspense in the film. Repeatedly, the story reaches a point where she might be expected to confide in someone, but the moments always pass.)