With Halloween 2017 a week away as I write this, I have to tell you about a unique family experience shared last night at the St. James Episcopal Church Community Room in the town of Goshen, New York. The Friends of the Goshen Public Library sponsored a screening of "Winter of the Witch" attended by about forty or so guests. What's memorable about the event was that at the conclusion of the short film, the entire audience ventured outside for a leisurely two block walk to the actual house that was used for making this production in 1969! As a bonus, a woman dressed in a witch's outfit waved to the group from a third story window, the only sign of life in the entire mansion-like setting. It was just a wonderful experience!
Now as for the picture itself, I think a lot of other reviewers go on to relate how the film captured their whimsy when seen so many years ago in the Seventies at church groups and elementary schools. Oddly, since I grew up in another small village only four miles from Goshen, I had never seen or even heard of it until catching a small blurb in a local newspaper about the screening of the film. As most others relate, the picture is not much more than a fluff piece about a witch who creates 'happy pancakes' for a young boy after he and his Mom come into possession of a home in which the witch still resides (which the witch?, sorry it just came out that way).
What caused a lot of merriment for the audience were a handful of scenes in which people who sampled the pancakes were suddenly caught up in a vision of brightly colored balloons signifying their turn into 'happy people'. Being this was 1969, I had to wonder why the film makers didn't take advantage of the era's technology that was used for popular bands of the era like Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly when they appeared on TV programs like "The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour" or even the "Ed Sullivan Show". You know, like those lava lamp effects with their swirling, liquid-like colors with a psychedelic aspect to them. It probably had to do with budgetary restrictions, but that would have been the ticket.
Nevertheless, the live setting surrounding my viewing of the picture with the attendant bonus features made for a worthwhile evening of fun. I have to wonder if the Goshen folks might make this an annual event, I wouldn't mind doing it all over again. Oh yeah, cider, apples, and donuts as another added bonus - who can beat that!
Now as for the picture itself, I think a lot of other reviewers go on to relate how the film captured their whimsy when seen so many years ago in the Seventies at church groups and elementary schools. Oddly, since I grew up in another small village only four miles from Goshen, I had never seen or even heard of it until catching a small blurb in a local newspaper about the screening of the film. As most others relate, the picture is not much more than a fluff piece about a witch who creates 'happy pancakes' for a young boy after he and his Mom come into possession of a home in which the witch still resides (which the witch?, sorry it just came out that way).
What caused a lot of merriment for the audience were a handful of scenes in which people who sampled the pancakes were suddenly caught up in a vision of brightly colored balloons signifying their turn into 'happy people'. Being this was 1969, I had to wonder why the film makers didn't take advantage of the era's technology that was used for popular bands of the era like Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly when they appeared on TV programs like "The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour" or even the "Ed Sullivan Show". You know, like those lava lamp effects with their swirling, liquid-like colors with a psychedelic aspect to them. It probably had to do with budgetary restrictions, but that would have been the ticket.
Nevertheless, the live setting surrounding my viewing of the picture with the attendant bonus features made for a worthwhile evening of fun. I have to wonder if the Goshen folks might make this an annual event, I wouldn't mind doing it all over again. Oh yeah, cider, apples, and donuts as another added bonus - who can beat that!