It is that spooky time of year so for Feature Film Friday I wanted to write about an amateur witch who flew onto screen in 1971: Miss Eglantine Price! Bedknobs and Broomsticks premiered in England on October 7, 1971 with the U.S. premiere in New York City at the Radio City Hall on November 11, 1971. Bedknobs and Broomsticks set out to be the next huge success (à la Mary Poppins) but did not quite live up to those standards; however it does remain a Disney classic to this day. Let’s look into the plotline, production, and some trivia about this film.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks begins with opening credits over an animated tapestry and we find out that the story is set in England in August of 1940. Three siblings by the names of Charlie, Carrie, and Paul Rawlins have been evacuated from London to the seaside town of Pepperidge Eye. They are taken in by Miss Eglantine Price, who turns out to be an amateur witch and has been learning from the Correspondence College of Witchcraft. Professor Emelius Browne sends her spells, black cats, and flying brooms in the mail.
However, due to World War II, Prof. Browne must shut down the college and Miss Price can never learn the final spell. She is quite upset since she had wanted that spell to help England win the war. She makes plans to travel to London to convince the professor to teach her the spell. Miss Price activates the “Famous Travelling Spell” with a bedknob from the children’s room which will only work for Paul. All Paul needs to do is tell the bed where he wants to go, tap the enchanted bedknob three times, and turn it a quarter turn to the left, and off the go to London. Once in London, the children find Prof. Browne but it turns out he is actually a street performing magician and had made a big hoax out of the Correspondence College of Witchcraft. He only sold Miss Price random words he found in an old book as spells, not expecting them to actually work. Since those spells do work for Miss Price she demands to see that old book. The book is torn so the gang goes to Portobello Road in hopes of finding the second half. There they are approached by a petty criminal named Swinburne who takes him to the Bookman who has the second half of the book. They learn that the spell is written on a medallion called the Star of Astaroth and is on the Lost Isle of Naboombu.
Paul knows all about the Island from a children’s book he found and tells the travelling bed to take them there. The Isle of Naboombu is an animated island that is run by animals. They notice that King Leonidas has the Star of Astaroth around his neck so Mr. Browne volunteers to referee a soccer match in hopes of getting close enough to the medallion to steal it. He succeeds and they travel back to Miss Price’s home, only to discover that the medallion cannot travel between the animated world and their world. Luckily, Paul knows that the spell is actually written in his children’s book as well. So Miss Price tries out the “Substitutiary Locomotion” spell (with song and flair because it is the 20th century after all) which gives inanimate objects life. The spell uses the five words “Treguna Mekoides Trecorum Satis Dee” and all of the clothes, shoes, and hats in Miss Price’s home come to life with no control over them on her part. She feels like she has failed the spell and Mr. Browne leaves for London because he feels like there is nothing more he can do.
However, the Germans attack Pepperidge Eye and Miss Price uses the spell again on the suits of armor from the local museum. The armor fights back and saves the town. In the end, Mr. Browne decides to join the army to live an honourable life with the promise that when he returns he, Miss Price, and the children will all be a family together.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks was based on the books The Magic Bedknob and Bonfires and Broomsticks, both written by Mary Norton. The film was directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by Bill Walsh. Miss Eglantine Prices was played by Angela Lansbury, known for Mrs. Potts in Beauty and the Beast (1992) and Mr. Emelius Browne was played by David Tomlinson, who also played Mr. Banks in Mary Poppins (1964). The musical score was written by Irwin Kostal and the songs were written by the Richard and Robert Sherman. This was the last Disney movie to feature original songs by the Sherman Brothers until The Tigger Movie in 2000. The movie was filmed entirely at the Disney Studios in Burbank, including the made-up town of Pepperidge Eye.
Some Fun Facts:
- Miss Price’s black cat is named Cosmic Creepers
- The Sherman Brothers wrote a comedic song called “Solid Citizen” for Angela Lansbury to sing to King Leonidas in an attempt to steal the medallion. The soccer game was created instead, much to Richard and Robert’s disappointment
- Many of the animated special effects were made using the Sodium Vapour Process
- The sign Mr. Browne walks under onto the soccer field reads “Royal Entrance: Kings or Better”
- There were over 200 actors in the Portobello Road scene
- Miss Price’s motorcycle runs on sulphur
- “The Beautiful Briny” song was originally written for Mary Poppins for a cut scene where Mary and the children travel with a magic compass
- There is a hidden Mickey on a bear’s shirt in the audience during the animated soccer game
- The two first-aid vultures on the sidelines at the soccer game look exactly like Nutsy and Trigger from Robin Hood which was released two years later
- Some of the lyrics in “Substitutiary Locomotion” are the made up words said backwards. The Sherman Brothers had used this same style in “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious“
- Many cast and crew had connections to World War II, including:
- David Tomlinson was a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force
- Robert Sherman served in the U.S. army and was awarded a Purple Heart
- Both Angela Lansbury and Robert Stevenson left the U.K. for the U.S. because of the war
- Though the “Age of Not Believing” was 11 going on 12 in the film, the song had a deeper meaning for the Sherman Brothers as it was a way for them to move on without Walt. It was time for them to start believing in themselves again without Walt’s guidance
- The film was nominated for five Academy Awards and won Best Special Visual Effects
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