Blithe Spirit (1945)

Blithe Spirit (1945) (Blu-Ray) (*)

$25.99

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Oscar Academy Awards
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
English ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio )
Spanish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Spanish ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio )
Spanish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Spain ( Blu-Ray/Region B )

Running Time:
96 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1945 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
David Lean

Written By:
David Lean
Noel Coward

Actors:
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

Synopsis:

The 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 with Blithe Spirit. Rex Harrison plays a novelist, newly married to straight-laced Constance Cummings. While researching a book on spiritualism, Harrison is teased and tormented by the mischievous ghost of his first wife, Kay Hammond. Believing that Hammond wants to ruin his marriage, Harrison enlists the services of local medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford in her funniest performance). When Arcati fails to exorcise Hammond's spirit, Harrison decides to kill himself so that he can be reunited with her and spare wife number two the aggravation of being haunted. But Harrison's plans go awry: His second wife is killed, and 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.

To get background for a new book, author Charles and his second wife Ruth light-heartedly arrange for local mystic Madame Arcati to give a séance. The unfortunate result is that Charles' first wife Elvira returns from beyond the grave to make his life something of a misery. Ruth too gets increasingly irritated with her supernatural rival, but M.Arcati is at her wit's end as to how to sort things out.

Adapted from a play by Noel Coward, Charles and his second wife Constance, are haunted by the ghost of his first wife, Elvira. Medium Madame Arcati tries to help things out by contacting the ghost.

This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 19 October, 2013.

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