Blithe Spirit (1945)

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

David Lean (adaptation) and
Ronald Neame (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

14 May 1945 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

One Wife Too Many

Plot:

Adapted from a play by Noel Coward, Charles and his second wife Ruth, are haunted by the ghost of his first wife, Elvira. Medium Madame Arcati tries to help things out by contacting the ghost.

Plot Keywords:

Ghost | Medium | Supernatural | Author | Parrot

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Rex Harrison	...	Charles Condomine
Constance Cummings	...	Ruth Condomine
Kay Hammond	...	Elvira Condomine
Margaret Rutherford	...	Madame Arcati
Hugh Wakefield	...	Dr. George Bradman
Joyce Carey	...	Violet Bradman
Jacqueline Clarke	...	Edith

Also Known As:

Noel Coward's 'Blithe Spirit' (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

D and P Studios, Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Noel Coward-Cineguild

Trivia:

Following the success of the play in London and on Broadway, every studio in Hollywood wanted to make the movie of Blithe Spirit (1945). However, Noel Coward took the project to his friend David Lean, with whom he had co-directed the Oscar-winning In Which We Serve (1942). However, Coward was not at all happy with Lean's film of Blithe Spirit (1945). He later asked Lean, "How the hell did you fuck up the best thing I ever did?"

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: After the séance when Elvira first appears, she flops onto the settee by the fire. As her dress billows you can see wear the green ghostly make up ends half way up her leg, showing normal skin above the make up line.

Quotes:

[first lines]
words on a Victorian sampler: "When we are young / We read and believe / The most fantastic things. / When we are older / We learn with regret / That these things cannot be"
Narrator: We are quite, quite wrong!

Movie Connections:

Version of Blithe Spirit (1948) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Always

"Being John Malkovich", eat your heart out!

I saw this movie after I read a recommendation in the TV guide and had never heard of it, but when I heard it was directed by David Lean, I was there. Wasn't I pleasantly surprised at what I saw! A genuine work of imagination; charming, witty, and slyly dark in tone(although it was filmed in technicolour). I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am comparing it to the recent "Being John Malkovich" because the way both films are employed is in a similar way. I wouldn't dream of revealing plot details here, but if you've seen "Malkovich" and liked it, I recommend this one.

It is interesting that David Lean (the "master of the epic") made a film like this in his prime. It just goes to show that his films aren't long, boring melodramas. They can be imaginative, funny and entertaining. I enjoyed "Lawrence of Arabia", but "Blithe Spirit" really surprised me!

10/10(!)