High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Bell, Book and Candle (1958) is a romantic comedy directed by Richard Quine based on the hit Broadway play by John Van Druten. It starred James Stewart and Kim Novak in their second on-screen pairing (after the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo, released earlier the same year). The film, adapted by Daniel Taradash, was Stewart`s last film as a romantic lead. Columbia Pictures head Harry Cohn allowed Novak to appear in Vertigo (as a last-minute replacement for pregnant Vera Miles) in exchange for Stewart appearing in this film with Novak.