The Good Witch is a 2008 American television film that aired on the Hallmark Channel on January 19, 2008. This film has spawned six sequels and a television series.
Synopsis[]
Cassandra "Cassie" Nightingale is a raven-haired enchantress with a hint of magic who moves into the town of Middleton's haunted Grey House. As if that weren't unusual enough, she also opens "Bell, Book & Candle," a wondrous shop full of unique items. For some, including the captivated Police Chief Jake Russell, Cassie is a breath of fresh air and a love potion that spreads throughout the town. But before she can truly become part of Middleton, she will need to win over some of the more skeptical neighbors who don't approve of her unique ways.
Cast[]
- Catherine Bell as Cassandra Nightingale
- Chris Potter as Chief of Police Jake Russell
- Catherine Disher as Martha Tinsdale
- Peter MacNeill as George O'Hanrahan
- Allan Royal as Walter Cobb
- Matthew Knight as Brandon Russell
- Paula Boudreau as Nancy Perkins
- Hannah Endicott-Douglas as Lori Russell
- Paul Miller as Mayor Tom Tinsdale
- Noah Cappe as Deputy Derek Sanders
- Jesse Bostick as Kyle
- Nathan McLeod as Michael Tinsdale
- Aaron Berg as Rusty
Plot[]
Not much ever seems to happen in the quaint, quiet community of Middleton – until the late October day when Police Chief Jake Russell, a widowed father of two, is called on to investigate activity at the famous Grey House. The Grey House is a long-abandoned structure believed by many in town to be haunted. When Jake arrives to check things out, the mystery is immediately solved: Someone has moved in. But this new resident, Cassandra Nightingale, is herself a woman of mystery, a woman who will soon shake things up in this town.
Cassie is an enchanting beauty with a gentle spirit, an outrageous sense of fashion and a “wicked” sense of humor. She also seems to be something of an enchantress. She has a magic touch with men (although Jake is slow to respond, as he hasn’t quite gotten over his wife’s death several years ago); she has a magic touch with children (Jake’s kids, Brandon and Lori, are drawn to her, maybe because she smells “like gingerbread”); she even has a magic touch with savage beasts (Cassie rescues the children from an attacking dog, then “tames” it with a few choice words). It seems that Cassie has the ability to charm everyone she meets, with the exception of Martha Tinsdale the mayor’s busybody wife who also is the tsk-tsking head of the local Citizen’s League. In fact, when Cassie opens a shop called Bell, Book and Candle –- a “new-age” shop that carries Celtic, metaphysical and Wiccan items – Mrs. Tinsdale immediately launches a protest.
Jake’s kids, naturally, get the idea that Cassie is a witch, albeit a good one. Young Lori, tormented by dreams of monsters, turns to Cassie for help; Cassie “prescribes” a dreamcatcher and then advises the girl to keep chanting, “I will not dream of bunnies.” Sure enough, the next morning, Lori reports that she dreamed of bunnies instead of monsters. Cassie’s approach may be a bit unconventional, but it worked! Similarly, Brandon consults Cassie with a problem he’s having with a bully. Cassie gives him an enchanted crystal, but again there are additional steps: Brandon must spend some time with Derek, the bully, and he must introduce Derek to Brandon’s police chief father. In the process of befriending the bully, Brandon discovers that Derek is the son of an abusive father. Later, when Brandon introduces the boy to Jake, it sets into motion events that will result in Derek’s being removed from the danger at home. Cassie’s diagnosis, although offbeat, was another bull’s-eye.
But Cassie’s influence extends beyond the Russell family. There’s Nancy Perkins, a Citizen’s League member whose marriage lacks romance. When Nancy visits the Bell, Book and Candle, Cassie suggests an aphrodisiac that she herself conjured up. Again, the results are immediate and life-altering: Nancy and her husband find a romantic spark that never existed -– and ultimately she winds up pregnant, something they’d never been able to make happen.
Cassie even tries a little of her magic on herself: She starts chanting, “I will not dream of Jake Russell, I will not dream of Jake Russell!” And not surprisingly, Jake gradually arrives at the realization that he has feelings for Cassie, especially after an unplanned dinner date at Grey House. Jake is too pragmatic to believe any of this “witch” nonsense, but he can’t deny that there’s something enigmatic about her.
On Halloween, Cassie hosts a party at Grey House. The few Middleton residents whom Cassie has helped and befriended attend, while a handful of trick-or-treaters come and go. Meanspirited Mrs. Tinsdale wouldn’t be caught dead there, of course. In fact, she’s the driving force behind an upcoming city council meeting in which Cassie’s future in Middleton will be debated. It’s such a heated issue, in fact, that Cassie is thinking of leaving town (instead of fighting to stay where she’s unwanted). Meanwhile, Mrs. Tinsdale’s two sons are up to Halloween mischief. But Jake’s deputy, Joe, catches the boys red-handed while they’re vandalizing the Bell, Book and Candle shop.
At the police station, Mrs. Tinsdale tries to get her husband, the mayor, to force Jake to release the boys without pressing charges. But Jake refuses to yield to political pressure – and while standing up to the woman, he finally professes his love for Cassie. In that moment, Cassie knows she has found a home in Middleton, a home with Jake Russell and his family. Cassie declines to press charges against the boys and, refreshingly, Mayor Tinsdale finally tells his shrewish wife to quit with her bullying behavior. And as everyone pitches in to help Cassie repair the damage to her shop, it’s clear that Cassie and Jake are going to experience “happily ever after,” whether she’s a witch or not.
Notes and Trivia[]
- This is the first of seven films and a backstory to the Good Witch television series.
- The movie occurs in 2008.
- Catherine Bell's first word of dialogue as Cassandra Nightingale is "Welcome."
- Cassie is in "a mutual admiration society" with a cat named Isis. (The cat appears in The Good Witch's Garden, but never again after the second film.)
- One of Cassie's witchy powers appears to be the ability to communicate with animals as she prevents Attila (Rusty's dog) from attacking Lori and Brandon by whispering to Attila "that it was very bad manners to eat children." Rusty later complains to Jake that his dog "won't bark, he won't growl no more. He just sits there with his nose under his paws."
- Jake's wife, Jenny, died three years before the events depicted in this movie.
- According to Nancy, Middleton has been struggling ever since the plant closed and Martha has a vision to boost business.
- Cassie is very much into aromatherapy.
- According to Mayor Tom Tinsdale, Cassie arrives in Middleton with a deed to Grey House just when developers are interested in the property.
- Cassie's been experiencing new places since she ran way from a foster home. When Cassie found out she had property in Middleton, she took it as a sign to settle down.
- Grey House is so named because it's original owner Elizabeth Merriwick was fond of wearing Grey.
- Jake is Cassie’s first customer at her new shop, The Bell, Book & Candle, located on the corner of 3rd and Main.
- Cassie reveals her birth name is Sue Ellen Brock during her first date with Jake.
- Midnight is Cassie’s favorite time of day.
- Cassie dressed up as the Grey Lady for Halloween, and she's "come to haunt the party."
Quotes[]
A text copy of the film's Closed Captions is available.[1]
Jake: I'm Chief Russell, with the Middleton Police Department. This is, um...
Martha: Mrs. Martha Tinsdale.
Cassie: Nice to meet you.
Jake: So you'll be living here by yourself.
Cassie: Oh, no, no, I have Isis.
Martha: Isis? Isis is your cat?
Cassie: Not exactly, it's more of a mutual admiration society.
Cassie: I've always had a way with the fur people.
Martha: As the new owner, what are your plans for the property?
Cassie: Oh, I'm not a planner Mrs. Tinsdale.
Martha: Well, I assume demolition and then new construction.
Cassie: Well, I think it has character.
Martha: Character?
Cassie: I see the beauty beneath the surface.
Martha: Apparently, [the Grey Lady] married some sailor who hoisted anchor then left her to languish and perish nearly a century ago. It's a depressing story.
Cassie: His name was Captain Charles Hamlin, splendid in his naval uniform. It was love at first sight. They spend two passionate months together till he was called to duty, never to return. But every night for 28 years Elizabeth [Merriwick] kept a light burning in the window until one night the light went out and Elizabeth was found dead of a broken heart.
Nancy: What do you sell?
Cassie: Infinite possibilities.
Martha: We hold tight to our traditions here in Middleton.
Cassie: Sometimes if you hold on too tight to what you have, you end up choking it.
Jake: You are very trusting.
Cassie: I'll take that as a compliment.
Cassie: My parents were performers, travelled all over Europe. It was a magical time. They died in a car crash outside Zurich and I was sent to a foster family back in the US.
Cassie: Well, I was hoping you might stop by.
Jake: How could you know?
Cassie: Sometimes you just have to believe and take a chance. You ready to take a chance Jake?
Jake: I think I already have.
Cassie: Sue Ellen Brock.
Jake: What?
Cassie: You wanted to know my name, the one my parent's gave me.
Jake: Oh, so do you want me to call you Sue?
Cassie: No.
Jake: Good. You seem more like a Cassandra to me. Definitely a Nightingale.
Cassie: Jake, I'm the great, great granddaughter and sole surviving heir of Elizabeth Merriwick, the Grey Lady. What's left of her family has finally come home... When I found out I had property here in Middleton, I took it as a sign to come here and settle down.
Jake: You always seem to give people exactly what they need. What do you need?
Cassie: What do I need? A home.
Jake: You have one.
Cassie: A home is more than a house Jake. I want a place where people will accept me as I am. You'd be surprised how hard that's been for me to find.
Jake: Miss Nightingale didn't do anything wrong. Your boys did, because someone put in their heads that everyone in this town needs to act the same and look the same. But Cassie is different and we're all the better for it.
Cassie: I just want...[Jake interrupts Cassie]
Jake: a real home, with people who love you for who you are, like me.
Jake: Sure looks like a witch's broom.
Cassie: What are you implying?
Jake: You're not a witch are you?
Cassie: Silly.
Cassie-isms[]
See the beauty beneath the surface.
If you make up your mind you want something, all the obstacles seem to vanish.
Life's a journey, not a destination.
Sometimes if you hold on too tight to what you have, you end up choking it.
The right people always show up when you need them most.
Everybody can do magic.
It's going to take some courage.
Never do the sensible thing.
Reconsider your impossible dream.
Sometimes you just have to believe and take a chance.
A little mystery keeps things interesting.
Gallery[]
Posters[]
Movie Stills[]
Videos[]
References[]
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| v - e Franchise
| |
|---|---|
| Movies | The Good Witch • The Good Witch's Garden • The Good Witch's Gift • The Good Witch's Family • The Good Witch's Charm • The Good Witch's Destiny • The Good Witch's Wonder |
| Seasons | Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5 • Season 6 • Season 7 |
| Specials | Good Witch Halloween • Secrets of Grey House • Spellbound • Tale of Two Hearts • Curse From a Rose |