The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

In 1900, a young widow finds her seaside cottage is haunted and forms a unique relationship with the ghost.

Director:

Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writers:

Philip Dunne (screen play), R.A. Dick (from the novel by) (as R. A. Dick)

Stars:

Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Gene Tierney	...	Lucy Muir
Rex Harrison	...	Capt. Daniel Gregg
George Sanders	...	Miles Fairley
Edna Best	...	Martha Huggins
Vanessa Brown	...	Anna Muir as an Adult
Anna Lee	...	Mrs. Miles Fairley
Robert Coote	...	Mr. Coombe
Natalie Wood	...	Anna Muir as a Child
Isobel Elsom	...	Angelica Muir
Victoria Horne	...	Eva Muir

Storyline

In 1900, Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney), widowed for one year, decides to move out of her controlling in-law's house in London to the English seaside with her adolescent daughter Anna (Natalie Wood) and their long devoted maid Martha (Edna Best). Despite the rental agent trying to dissuade her, Lucy decides to rent Gull Cottage at Whitecliff-by-the-Sea. She learns firsthand before she makes the decision the rental agent's hesitance is because the cottage is haunted, supposedly by its now deceased former owner, seaman Captain Daniel Gregg (Sir Rex Harrison). After she moves in, she does meet the spirit of Captain Gregg face-to-face. Because she refuses to be scared away by his presence, the two come to an understanding, including that he will not make his presence known to Anna. As time progresses, the two develop a friendship and a bond. Despite his statements to her that she needs to live her life including finding another husband, Daniel seems not to approve of any of the men that enter ...

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Plot Keywords:

ghost | based on novel | character name in title | dropping a glass | milk | 

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Taglines:

THE SPIRIT... so willing! THE FLESH... so weak! THE ROMANCE... so wonderful!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1947 (Brazil)

Also Known As:

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Filming Locations:

Abalone Cove Shoreline Park, Rancho Palos Verdes, Palos Verdes, California, USA

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$29,545

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of a several movies produced by Twentieth Century Fox which doesn't use the fanfare of trumpets with the opening logo. (All About Eve (1950), The Song of Bernadette (1943), Twelve O'Clock High (1949), The Robe (1953), Patton (1970), Sounder (1972), and The Sound of Music (1965) are others.) The moody and lovely opening music is by Composer Bernard Herrmann.

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Goofs

Although Capt. Gregg states early in the movie that he is a spirit and has no physical body, he does a very good job of casting shadows on walls, doors, etc.

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Quotes

Lucy Muir: I don't know anything about the sea, except that it is romantic.
Captain Gregg: Hmm. That's what all landsmen think. Seamen know better.
Lucy Muir: Then why do they go to sea?
Captain Gregg: Because they haven't the sense to stay ashore.

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits prologue: LONDON at the turn of the century.

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Connections

Referenced in The Empty Screen or the Metaphysics of Movies (2017)

User Reviews

Great performances in an excellent fantasy film

The Ghost and Mrs Muir reunited the Dragonwyck lead actress Gene Tierney, and its director Joseph L. Mankiewicz for an even better film. The Ghost and Mrs Muir, while a little pretentious at times, stands out as one of the finest romance films of Hollywood's golden period, and an interesting and entertaining fantasy film to boot. Over four decades before Demi Moore fell in love with a ghost in the sentimental, sappy trash flick 'Ghost'; Gene Tierney was doing it in far better style with this film. As you might expect from a film that features a woman falling in love with a spirit; there's more than a few plot holes on display. However, the film has this great ability to make the audience believe in it - and that is mostly down to the fabulous performances from all concerned. The plot follows a widow who moves into a house by the sea in order to escape her meddling in-laws. She knows that the house is haunted before she moves in, but the idea of living in a haunted house fascinates her; and she's fascinated further when she finds herself falling in love with the ghost of the previous owner.

It has to be said that, with the characters, what you see is pretty much what you get. Gene Tierney, whom I'm becoming a bigger fan of every time I see one of her movies, is the headstrong widow - while Rex Harrison is the cantankerous seaman. The characters mostly bathe in their own traits, but this helps the film immensely as it means that it's their relationship that always takes centre stage, and that is the biggest draw of the film. The film is very romantic, but it never gets dull or sappy. The ending brilliantly shows the film in its best light, as it's as heart-warming and tragic as the film deserves. Aside from romance, there's a strong comedy element in the film - and the best is often made of that, most notably in the hilarious sequence that sees the in-laws visit our heroine's new house. One thing I love about old films is the way that they show how different things are nowadays - this is best shown here by the fact that, in one scene, Rex Harrison is told off for swearing; after saying 'blast'. Overall, this is an excellent and criminally under seen movie that comes with high recommendations!