Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Just so...so bad

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

SPOILERS *** This one won the Oscar for best special effects.. the seance scenes, and Charles' ex-wife, as a ghost. This was one of David Lean's earlier directing gigs. He would go on to win TWO Oscars much later... River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia. I had never seen this 1945 version of Blithe Spirit. Usually, movie channels or Turner shows one of the more recent ones... it MUST be a good story; they remade it so many times in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s. The 1945 version has a YOUNG Rex Harrison (Charles), Constance Cummings (Ruth), and of course, Margaret Rutherford (was Jane Marple, for MANY years.) She will also get an Oscar for "VIPs". In the story, we meet the medium, Madame Arcati, at dinner, and she's already an odd character. At a seance, Elvira, the ex-wife, talks to Charles, but he's the only one who can hear her. and now that she has been summoned, she won't go away. and the current wife doesn't like it. she FINALLY admits that the first wife has actually come back. It's all pretty good. A hilarious scene where Ruth pulls the door-ringer right out of the wall, and barely even noticing, Madame Arcati takes it from her and puts it right back. Stuff happens, and the two wives antagonize each other. Another thing -- Hammond, the first wife, has a strange way of pronouncing the letter "S", so that's a little distracting. It's noel coward, so of course, the story itself is great. Apparently, Coward did not appreciate Lean's ending, so it does end quite differently than the play. Entertaining stuff. Several versions are available on DVD.

"Comedy" about novelist Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) and his second wife Ruth (Constance Cummings) inviting spiritualist Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford)to their house. It seems he's writing a book dealing with the supernatural and wanted to see firsthand what happens at a seance. They have one and think nothing happens. However Charles starts seeing the ghost of his first wife Elvira (Kay Hammond). However no one else can see or hear her. Her wants her to go...but how? I saw a restored print with a crystal clear picture, great sound and strong color...but I hated it. It's supposed to be funny but I didn't laugh let alone smile once. I heard the jokes but they just weren't funny. It was more whimsical than funny and I hate whimsical films. It was reasonably well-acted and directed and had great set design but I was bored. I actually dozed off towards the end! The only saving grace was Rutherford. She was GREAT in her role and tears into it with gusto...but she wasn't funny either. Good-looking but unfunny. Also this won an Oscar for Special Effects which are very dated in this day and age.

A couple is haunted by the spirit of the man's deceased first wife. Coward adapted his own play for the screen with the help of Lean and Neame. This was Neame's last credit as cinematographer before becoming a director. This was the third of Lean's first four films as director where he worked with Coward. It is an enjoyable farce with witty dialog, but never quite rises above the silliness of the subject matter (ghosts). Harrison and Cummings are fine as the couple, with him becoming bemused and her becoming exasperated after the appearance of the ghost of his first wife, a green-faced Hammond. Rutherford seems to be having the most fun as an incompetent medium.

I thoroughly enjoyed this adaptation of Noel Coward's play. For one thing, it is sumptuously filmed with fine cinematography and lavish costumes and sets. The direction from David Lean is also first rate, as is the upper class and sophisticated screenplay.Though I must say the performances also deserve mention. Rex Harrison gives one of his best comic performances bringing a sense of sardonic wit and charm to the role of the man haunted by his first wife. Constance Cummings is very appealing as Ruth, and acquitting herself even better is the glamorous Kay Hammond as Elvira who looks quite like Gertrude Lawrence. But it is Margaret Rutherford who gives a criminally overlooked and divinely eccentric performance as Madame Arcati who steals the show.And I must mention the music, it is brilliant. The Irving Berlin song Always has quickly become a favourite of mine. The story is quite an original concept. If there were any problems with the movie there are one or two things like Madame Arcati realising the true identity of the person who was summoning the spirits that could've done with more explanation, and the ending does suffer from some tampering from the ending in the play and felt rather abrupt. Overall though, I do recommend Blithe Spirit. 8/10 Bethany Cox