Blithe Spirit (1945)
Overview
An English mystery novelist invites a medium to his home, so she may conduct a séance for a small gathering. The writer hopes to gather enough material for the book he's working on, as well as to expose the medium as a charlatan. However, proceedings take an unexpected turn, resulting in a chain of supernatural events being set into motion that wreak havoc on the man's present marriage.
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
Marie Ault
Cook (uncredited)
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CinemaSerf
You can't really go wrong with David Lean adapting Noël Coward in a film about poor old Rex Harrison ("Charles") and three on-form women: two of whom he married - Constance Cummings ("Ruth)" and Kay Hammond ("Elvira") and the other is the source of most of his woes - spiritual medium Margaret Rutherford ("Madama Arcati"). Right from the start, the pace of the dialogue is witty and engaging. Harrison - who can be terribly wooden on occasion, is well up for this spiritual lark as a seance at his home - under the supervision of the dotty Rutherford - releases his former wife "Elvira" back into his life where only he can see her; and she decides to cause the maximum amount of mayhem for her former husband and his new wife "Ruth". The nature of the story keeps the cast small, and the action is end-to-end with plenty to make you smile as well to appreciate the dynamics of wedded "bliss". It's a dream - though more of a nightmare for Rex!
