Blithe Spirit (1945)
Director:
David LeanWriters:
David Lean (adapted for the screen by), Ronald Neame (adapted for the screen by)Stars:
Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay HammondThe Noel Coward/David Lean combination which turned out such dramas as Brief Encounter and This Happy Breed sets its sights on the viewer's funny bone withBlithe Spirit. Rex Harrison plays a novelist, newly married to straight-laced Constance Cummings. Via a seance, Harrisonaccidentally summons the spirit of his first wife, Kay Hammond. Believing thatHammond wants to ruin his marriage, Harrison enlists the services of local medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to exorciseHammond's spirit. She fails, and in time, Harrison's second wife is killed; now he has two playful spirits on his hands! Technicolor is used throughout Blithe Spirit, with the ghosts' shimmering paleness providing contrast to the plain, everyday colors of Harrison's conservative country home. Blithe Spirit was later transformed into the Broadway musical {+High Spirits}, with the original script bent out of shape to turn the character of Madame Arcati (played by Beatrice Lillie) into the leading role.
