Bedknobs and Broomsticks
Published April 6, 2023
Film info
- Title Bedknobs and Broomsticks
- Director Robert Stevenson
- Year 1971
- Run time 1hr 57m
- Genres Music, Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure, Family
- Tagline Be swept into a world of enchantment beyond anything before!
Bedknobs and Broomsticks is the enchanting story of an amateur witch who, along with three precocious orphans, flies into one fantastic adventure after another aboard a bewitched bed. The legendary Angela Lansbury is charming as the witch, and the inimitable David Tomlinson delights as the amusing professor whose help Lansbury and the children enlist in order to find an ancient incarnation thay will save the country from hostile invaders!
Live blog
| Time | Comment |
|---|---|
| 1:10 | Bruce Forsyth is in this??? |
| 2:50 | Does this tapestry show everything that’s going to happen in the film? I don’t really remember it well enough. |
| 8:25 | “Children and I don’t get on.” |
| 16:41 | “Because she’s a witch. That’s the sort of things witches do.” “Oh.” SO not bothered! |
| 23:04 | Love this boy’s pockets, they’re like Mary Poppins’ bag. |
| 25:46 | I definitely did not previously get the context of the war with this film, even though it’s baked right in. |
| 31:47 | Carrie is so wise. |
| 39:59 | They really useless with the ‘don’t touch anything’ rule. |
| 47:16 | That IS Bruce Forsyth. WTF. |
| 51:20 | What an incredible montage of different styles of dances. Strictly’s got nothing on this. |
| 1:06:36 | “No Peopling Allowed.” |
| 1:15:29 | Whilst I appreciate the different animal characteristics working in this, it’s just a cartoon plonked in the middle of a film. |
| 1:20:21 | “I’ll keep it. Women always lose things.” Dude. |
| 1:25:27 | How are they doing this shoes business then? |
| 1:37:34 | Nazis invading, who knew? |
| 1:47:17 | And this bit is really just a LOT of marching. |
Thoughts
This is a charming enough movie but it’s just so in the shadow of Mary Poppins, it was intended as a replacement for if that fell through and it feels like an understudy from start to finish. That said, I do remember some of the songs quite fondly and my word, Angela Lansbury carries the whole thing off in style, so I don’t dislike it. I can’t quite believe how little recollection I had with regards to it being about the war… that’s the driving point of the whole plot!
Rating: 2 / 5