Inasmuch as this is largely a photographed copy of the stage play [by Noel Coward], the camerawork is outstandingly good and helps to put across the credibility of the ghost story more effectively than the flesh and blood performance does.
Blithe Spirit
Elvira is the kind of gal who can turn an evening into a night you'll never forget!
1945 · 1h 36m · Approved
Comedy, Fantasy
Directed by
David Lean
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Blithe Spirit
Overview
While holding a séance for skeptical novelist Charles Condomine, self-proclaimed 'spiritualist medium' Madame Arcati inadvertently summons the spirit of his deceased first wife Elvira, leading to an increasingly complex love triangle with Ruth, his current wife of five years.
Director and cast
- David Lean Director
- Rex Harrison as Charles Condomine
- Constance Cummings as Ruth Condomine
- Kay Hammond as Elvira Condomine
- Margaret Rutherford as Madame Arcati
- Hugh Wakefield as Dr. George Bradman
- Joyce Carey as Violet Bradman
- Jacqueline Clarke as Edith
- Marie Ault as Cook (uncredited)
- Johnnie Schofield as R.A.C. Man Directing Traffic (uncredited)
- Noël Coward as Narrator (uncredited)
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Passably good, but it should have been better, what with Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, and Margaret Rutherford reading the Noel Coward lines.
Nifty special effects for the time, and plenty of Coward's inimitable wit and repartee.
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