Maid Of Salem (1937)

Salem, Massachusetts in 1692! Hysteria takes over the town when a young girl (Bonita Granville) accuses several of the townspeople of witchcraft and it rapidly spreads as accusations are thrown out and innocent people hanged. Directed by Frank Lloyd (MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY), this is a precursor to Arthur Miller's 1953 play THE CRUCIBLE. I'm not sure how interested the film is in exploring the horrors of the 17th century Salem witch trials or is the film merely using it as a backdrop to the Claudette Colbert and Fred MacMurray romance. Of course, the Salem trials were a horrendous miscarriage of justice that just about any film on the topic is bound to hold one's interest. Colbert and especially MacMurray seem out of place. The first portion of the film when they meet "cute" could well be straight out of a romantic comedy. But the horror of the senseless accusations and deaths easily takes over the romance portion of the movie and it remains a compelling watch. The supporting cast includes Gale Sondergaard, the marvelous Madame Sul-Te-Wan, Beulah Bondi, Louise Dresser and Donald Meek. Granville's witchcraft accusing brat that starts the whole thing is too close for comfort to her similar role in THESE THREE.