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| Maid Of Salem - 1937 |
Coming up next we have 1937's "Maid Of Salem", a story about a young woman who is wrongly accused of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials. Her sympathies for those accused and her own origins conspire against her, and only the testimony of a "phantom" can save her.
The film's cast includes Claudette Colbert, Fred MacMurray, Harvey Stephens, Gale Sondergaard, Louise Dresser, Benny Bartlett, Edward Ellis, Beulah Bondi, Bonita Granville, Virginia Weidler, Donald Meek, E.E. Clive, Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Sterling Holloway, Zeffie Tilbury, J. Farrell MacDonald, and Lionel Belmore.
Our story takes place in the quiet, Puritan town of Salem in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
A lovely young woman named Barbara Clarke resides there with her aunt. The two women support themselves by making candles.
On one of her deliveries, Barbara makes the acquaintance of political refugee Roger Coverman of Virginia, who is hiding out with his uncle because of a bounty on his head. Barbara is quite charmed by Roger, and the two of them begin spending time together secretly.
They have to be careful to not be seen. Because of the bounty on Roger's head, it is imperative that he stay in the shadows. The two of them spend as much time as possible together. However, observers see Barbara on occasion speaking in dark corners with a cloaked figure who does not show his face. She is also observed dancing with no one occasionally. Roger eventually has to return to Virginia so that he can clear his name.
Barbara is already a figure well-acquainted with scrutiny. She loves pretty things, and earns the ire of the elders at church when she appears in something other than Puritan garb.
At one Sabbath meeting, the sin of witchcraft is said to be spreading throughout the surrounding countryside. Everyone is advised to be on the lookout and guard themselves against the evil that seems to be encroaching on the surrounding area.
The wife of one of Barbara's oldest friends becomes jealous of her and begins to harbor resentment towards Barbara. This is especially dangerous because the woman is one of a small handful of people who know a secret about her.
Soon, witchcraft seems to reach the town of Salem, with various "outbreaks" being reported. Mass hysteria breaks out and many people (mostly women) are arrested for having brought the community into contact with the dark arts.
Barbara is warned by her aunt and a friend not to speak out in support of any of the accused. Her own mother was burnt as a witch in England when someone who hated her fabricated the information with which she was arrested. Any suspicion cast in her direction would be enough to spell her doom.
However, at a trial Barbara can not sit idly by while her friends are accused and found guilty of witchcraft even though they are completely innocent. Because she speaks up for them, she is arrested.
At her trial, her acquaintance with a cloaked, faceless figure is brought up. Because of his situation, Barbara cannot name him, and by doing so seemingly seals her fate. The information about her mother is also made public by the jealous wife of her friend. Barbara is sentenced to be hanged.
Roger Coverman's appearance at the eleventh hour puts to rest all of the charges against Barbara.
The two fall into each other's arms as the Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony puts an end to the witch trials and orders that the tree on which the accused were hung be destroyed.
Cast rundown:
Claudette Colbert..............................Barbara Clarke
Fred MacMurray.................................Roger Coverman
Harvey Stephens...............................Dr. John Harding
Gale Sondergaard.............................Martha Harding
Louise Dresser..................................Ellen Clarke
Benny Bartlett..................................Timothy Clarke
Edward Ellis.....................................Elder Nathaniel Goode
Beulah Bondi....................................Abigail Goode
Bonita Granville................................Ann Goode
Virginia Weidler................................Nabby Goode
Donald Meek....................................Ezra Cheeves
E.E. Clive.........................................Thomas Bilge
Madame Sul-Te-Wan..........................Tituba
Sterling Holloway..............................Miles Corbin
Zeffie Tilbury....................................Goody Hodgers
J. Farrell MacDonald..........................Captain Edwards
Lionel Belmore.................................Tavern Keeper
And that's it for Maid Of Salem. Taking place between February 1692 and May 1693, the Salem Witch Trials saw the arrest of over 200 people for the crime of witchcraft. Thirty were found guilty, and nineteen of them were executed. It has been established that nearly all of them were innocent and were the victims of the mass hysteria and panic that were the result of pamphlets that cautioned and gave instances of witchcraft in the area.
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