THE RELUCTANT WITCH (Part 5 of 7), a feature film adapted from the novella by James E. Gunn. (2017).
3A feature film by MUNROW'S RETRO.
This is Phase 2 of a film project using the original unused footage, found footage, parts from a film originally televised in 1972 (previously public domain, that status may have changed since re-release on DVD), clips from the television series Smallville and Charmed, old film footage from the early 1960's and 1930's now in the public domain, snippets from some video games, snippets from video shorts, clips from videotaped stage plays, and other sources. Actor dialogue is accomplished by use of captions. Soundtrack music is provided by copyrighted music in Parts 1 and 6 only, and free music and music licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (with link back) in the other parts. Phase 3 may be anywhere from a year to four years away, and necessary changes including changes to plot points may be necessary, but enjoy the story in its current form as it unfolds which pretty much follows Mr. Gunn's novella.
"The Reluctant Witch" by James E. Gunn was originally entitled "Happy Is The Bride" but was ultimately published in Galaxy Magazine in May 1953 under the title "Wherever You May Be." Gunn never liked the Galaxy title and when the story was published as the first of a trilogy of tales in a short-story collection entitled The Witching Hour in 1970, he re-titled it "The Reluctant Witch." I quote him here from his introduction: "I never liked 'Wherever You May Be' ... and changed it, in this collection, to "The Reluctant Witch." Thus, "the Reluctant Witch" (as it was labeled on Herk Harvey's film can) could not have been a working title Herk Harvey would have used until at least the summer of 1970 if not later. To me, based on my memory of the times, the footage looks as though it was either shot then or, much more likely, around the summer of 1971.
Most of this section uses replacement footage from other sources to dramatize the storyline in the novella by James E. Gunn. A sad and disappointed Abbie, still in love with Matt, has accepted the "truth" that he is engaged to be married, and dully complies to be the perfect little lab rat in his experiments to utilize the full potential of her psychic capabilities. Matt's gamble has worked: a chronic state of unhappiness has unleashed Abbie's power of telekinesis, a power Matt helps her to control. However, neither Matt nor Abbie are aware that she is slowly developing other powers: including the powers of telepathy and teleportation. One day Abigail reads Matt's unguarded mind and realizes his admission to having a fiancée was a deliberate lie, a scheme calculated to make her miserable. From this point on the film moves into the kind of nightmare realm I believe both Herk Harvey and James E. Gunn had intended to bring to the completed movie. Also, in the last segment of this part, we return to the raw footage that was shot by Harvey in 1971. The unused raw footage is located at the Internet Archives and is marked "Usage Public Domain Mark 1.0." Portions will appear again in later updates.
The lead role of Matthew Wright, played by Leonard Schneider in Part 1, in this reconstruction, mostly shifts between two different actors: Tom Welling (Smallville) and Brian Krause (Charmed). However, near the end, Schneider once again appears in the lead character of Matthew Wright. The role of Abigail Jenkins, in this part, is almost entirely played by actress Holly Marie Combs (Charmed).
Dance of Deception by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100271
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Spooky Ride by Twin Musicom is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Source: http://www.twinmusicom.org/song/250/spooky-ride
Artist: http://www.twinmusicom.org