Blithe Spirit

The author Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) throws a dinner party and invites the self-proclaimed medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford).  He wants to observe a séance as research for a new book.  However, he gets more than he bargained for when the experiment conjures up the ghost of his deceased wife Elvira (Kay Hammond).  No one else can see or hear Elvira, but that doesn’t stop her from severely getting on the nerves of the current Mrs. Condomine, Ruth (Constance Cummings).  With Elvira throwing barbs at him and Ruth getting increasingly impatient with her husband’s behavior, what is Charles to do?

This is the least of the Lean/Coward collaborations, and I don’t say that merely because it’s a comedy.  The film just doesn’t have much to say beyond its farcical cynicism about marriage.  I wouldn’t go so far as to call it one-note, but there isn’t much substance to it.  Also, some of the gags are really run into the ground.  How long can Ruth go on thinking an annoyed comment directed at Elvira is meant for her?  Longer than it’s funny.

But it is by no means a failure.  There’s a lot of terrific gags, courtesy of the witty dialogue and some ribald innuendo.  The story takes an unexpected but delightful (in a macabre way) turn for the third act.  Rex Harrison annoys me more often than not, but here I didn’t mind him so much.  I won’t say I liked him, but I didn’t mind him.  Cummings and Hammond fare better as his foils, but it’s Rutherford who truly steals the show with her absurd psychic antics and enthusiasm.  The photography (in color, to highlight Hammond’s ghostly greenish hue) is not flashy, but any showiness would probably just step on the jokes.  Some of the special effects are a bit dated. 

I don’t think comedy is Lean’s strongest suit, but Coward’s clever lines make this a worthwhile watch.  Rating: Good (73)

IMDb