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 | Author | Supernatural | Doctor

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 nomination

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:

David Lean and cinematographer Ronald Neame decided not to use double exposure to create Elvira's ghostly appearances. Instead, Lean created an enormous set that allowed Kay Hammond to move freely in each shot. Hammond wore fluorescent green clothes, makeup, and a wig, with bright red lipstick and fingernail polish. Each time she moved, a special light would be directed on her, allowing her figure to glow even in dimly-lit scenes, and giving her an otherworldly appearance.

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 (1946) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Always

Ectoplasmic!

I taped this from UK Channel 4 on 20th Dec '90 - it has a better soundtrack than the admittedly budget DVD from Carlton. The Technicolor is still sumptuous, clever and thought-provoking however and overall it doesn't need remastering - just turn the volume up! Noel Coward's witty play transferred to the ghastly green screen perfectly, in 1945 it was as wildly old-fashioned as "Brief Encounter" was in 1936 on stage as "Still Life". But same as that film and almost everything Coward did from the '20's to the '40's, it remains eminently watchable and a riveting experience.

Basically Rex Harrison's dead 1st wife is summoned back in a séance to the "real world" much to his and his 2nd wife's consternation. A marvellous cast mainly depicting erudite and splendidly eccentric English so-called "middle-class" - because they had to work for a living hence they were all highly paid working class - an amusing concept Coward would have violently and amusingly disagreed with. Margaret Rutherford takes the prize for the most eccentric performance as ever flailing never failing Madame Arcati the lively spiritualist. The dialogue is urbane, brisk and witty throughout, so a thorough knowledge of English language and English customs up to 1945 is essential to getting the most from this.

That can also mean that although it helps you don't have to be English and live in England to enjoy it. A previous non-blithe commenter with apparently no sense of humour from the UK displayed a complete non-understanding, non-interest and non-acceptance of anything British and must desire complete separation from anything to do with Britain - probably apart from the passport. What would the ghosts of 1945 say if they could come back today and realise that a classic such as this can be dismissed so negatively?