Bedknobs and Broomsticks 1979

I was eight when Bedknobs and Broomsticks was re-released in 1979. We had never seen the film but we’d heard a lot about it as there was quite a build-up to the release. We rarely went to the cinema then as it was so expensive, having to travel into town first and the tickets were expensive and we hassled our parents for sweets and drinks which were astronomically expensive compared to having a drink at home. I remember going to see Snow White when I was about four or five, and Star Wars at about six and that’s about it. Most of the films we saw were the ones on the TV.

We did ask if we could go to Bedknobs and Broomsticks but without much hope. Then one evening I sensed that we were going to be going out (it’s funny how kids know that without being told isn’t it?). Dad said that we were going to be watching an orchestra. We all groaned but there was something about the way Dad said it that made me think he was playing a trick, because he sometimes did this. So I asked what was the name of the orchestra, and he said it was called Bedpans and Brush-handles. “Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Bedknobs and Broomsticks!!” we yelled, leaping around in the living room (but being careful not to get too excited in case we got slapped).

I don’t remember anything about watching the film, but I know it quite well as I’ve seen it plenty of times as an adult. I liked the undercurrent of the witches getting together to defeat Hitler, and have learned as an adult that this did actually happen although not in the Disneyfied manner that the film portrays. I hadn’t realised until I came to write this post that the film was based on a book, and that the initial release in 1970 was much longer. Must find that book now.

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Josie Henley-Einion, author, blogger, Legend in my own Living Room