Trivia / The Witches (1966)

• Awesome, Dear Boy: Joan Fontaine was a co-producer and lobbied to play the role of Gwen Mayfield because she was a huge fan of the book the film was based on.
• Creator Backlash: Screenwriter Nigel Kneale expressed dissatisfaction with the finished film, due to the Genre Shift his script suffered.
• Dawson Casting: Ingrid Boulting was nineteen when she played the fourteen-year-old Linda Rigg. Likewise Martin Stephens was seventeen playing a boy at least two years younger. This is especially noticeable whenever they're in class; they look significantly older than their classmates.
• Executive Meddling: The original script poked fun at the idea of a coven of witches in rural England. The production team wanted the film to be completely serious, and removed most of the dark satire.
• Fake Brit:
  • Mrs Dowsett is played by Irish actress Carmel McSharry.
  • Linda Rigg likewise is played by South African model/actress Ingrid Boulting.
• Follow the Leader:
  • British films based around black magic started popping up right after this one - notably The Devil Rides Out, Eye of the Devil and of course The Wicker Man (1973). Rosemary's Baby came out in America just one year later too.
  • The film itself was also following the trend in the 60s of Hollywood's middle-aged leading ladies headlining horror films and thrillers - What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, Strait Jacket, Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte, Lady In A Cage.
• Hey, It's That Place!: Heddaby also appears in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
• Market-Based Title: It was released as The Devil's Own in the US, which was the title of the book it was adapted from.
• Playing Against Type: Martin Stephens in the 50s and 60s had made a name playing various Creepy Children. Here he's one of the few non-creepy people in Heddaby.
• Ripped from the Headlines: The book was first written after a real life murder of an old man in a rural community - supposedly so his blood would enrich the soil. The same case inspired Eye of the Devil and The Wicker Man (1973).
• Similarly Named Works: No relation to Roald Dahl's novel The Witches.
• Star-Derailing Role:
  • Joan Fontaine's career had diminished in the 60s - getting typecast as socialites - and her previous role before this had been a supporting one in Tender is the Night. This film was not a Box Office success and after a couple of TV appearances, Joan retired from acting.
  • It also marked the final performance of Martin Stephens, and he retired from films not long after.
• Uncredited Role: Rudolph Walker as Mark.

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