Blithe Spirit (1945)
Blithe Spirit Photos
Movie Info
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Cast
as Charles Condomine
as Madame Arcati
as Elvira Condomine
as Ruth Condomine
as Dr. Bradman
as Mrs. Bradman
as Edith
Critic Reviews for Blithe Spirit
All Critics (22) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (17) | Rotten (5) | DVD (1)
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.
Nifty special effects for the time, and plenty of Coward's inimitable wit and repartee.
Worth it just for Margaret Rutherford as a sort of girls' school gamesmistres-style psychic!
Passably good, but it should have been better, what with Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, and Margaret Rutherford reading the Noel Coward lines.
Funny with unique visual effects
May be a trifle, but it's a glorious trifle, and features one of the great comedic roles in English theatre - the medium Madame Arcati, here memorably embodied by a deliciously batty Margaret Rutherford.
Audience Reviews for Blithe Spirit
Considering the strength of the source material, its surprising the film feels so stale. The cast is alright, but one gets the sense that Lean wasn't that invested in directing this movie.
Super Reviewer
My final David Lean, Noel Coward adaption I viewed was Blithe Spirit. I fell in love with this movie. There's no paranormal movie quiet like this. It's elegant in humor and moves quickly. There are no scares, it's more in depth on the idea of the other world, and a humorous view of how life is after you die. David Lean morphed the dead with the living, when an estranged wife comes to "visit" her husband and his second wife. She terrorizes the family through this, and a quote brought up early in this movie really summarizes it well. " It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit". Not only is it a great line but it is perfect in the film. Harrison, Cummings, and Hamond have great on screen chemistry, making this an amazing feel good comedy.
Super Reviewer
Fun filled and witty this is well acted by all and breezily directed but the whole thing is stolen by the wonderfully dotty Margaret Rutherford.
Super Reviewer
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