Blithe Spirit (1945)

Charles (Sir Rex Harrison) and his second wife, Ruth (Constance Cummings), are haunted by the spirit of his first wife, Elvira (Kay Hammond). Medium Madame Arcati (Dame Margaret Rutherford) tries to help things out by contacting the ghost.

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

David Lean (adapted for the screen by), Ronald Neame (adapted for the screen by)

Stars:

Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond

Won 1 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 (as Jaqueline Clarke)

Storyline

To get background for a new book, author Charles Condomine (Sir Rex Harrison) and his second wife Ruth (Constance Cummings) light-heartedly arrange for local mystic Madame Arcati (Dame Margaret Rutherford) to give a séance. The unfortunate result is that Charles' first wife Elvira (Kay Hammond) returns from beyond the grave to make his life something of a misery. Ruth too gets increasingly irritated with her supernatural rival, but Madame Arcati is at her wit's end as to how to sort things out.

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Plot Keywords:

screwball comedy | ghost | author | medium | love triangle | 

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Taglines:

Noel Coward's Super-Naturally Spicy Screen Entertainment

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 May 1945 (UK)

Also Known As:

Uma Mulher do Outro Mundo

Filming Locations:

Denham Mount, Blacksmith's Lane, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Two Cities Films, Noel Coward-Cineguild

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Following the success of the play in London and on Broadway, every studio in Hollywood wanted to adapt "Blithe Spirit". Noël Coward took the project to his friend Sir 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 final movie. He later asked Lean, "How the hell did you fuck up the best thing I ever did?"

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Goofs

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

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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!

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Crazy Credits

The voice at the end of the credits page that utters, "We are quite, quite WRONG!" is Noël Coward's

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Connections

Version of Geisterkomödie - Eine unwahrscheinliche Komödie (1965)

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Soundtracks

Always
(uncredited)
Written by Irving Berlin
Sung by Jacqueline Clarke

User Reviews

Another Lean classic

Has David Lean made a bad film? Not to my knowledge, no! This one is quite fun, I revisited the picture recently and even though I don't like it as much as the masterpiece Oliver Twist, Blithe Spirit is excellent fun for the whole family.

The acting is tremendous, it's mindblowing. Although the dialogue is rather upper class, I quite enjoy it. Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati is the star of the film, perfect, perfect and perfect.

The direction is sublime as usual by Lean.

There's plenty to enjoy here, a nice film for everyone.