Blithe Spirit (1945)

71% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(1,376 ratings)

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. Via a seance, Harrison accidentally summons… More 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. Via a seance, Harrison accidentally summons the spirit 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) to exorcise Hammond'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. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 36 min.
Directed By: David Lean
Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1945 Wide
On DVD: Dec 9, 1998

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
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.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
Passably good, but it should have been better, what with Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, and Margaret Rutherford reading the Noel Coward lines.
Sean Axmaker, Turner Classic Movies Online
... a lightweight comedy built on witty remarks and upper-class smugness (which Rex Harrison so perfectly embodies), but comedy is not Lean's strong suit.
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing
Blithe Spirit is beloved by so many people that I feel like a curmudgeon handing it a mixed review. But when it comes to supernatural comedies starring Rex Harrison, I much prefer Joseph L. Mankiewicz's 1947 The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
While Coward's witty dialogue and pungent take on the mores of the British upper crust can't help but elicit some smiles, as a whole Blithe Spirit feels like a film that is just going through the motions.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
As the medium Madame Arcatti, Margareth Rutherford stole every scene in David Lean's screen adaptation of Nowel Coward's witty play.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
A quicksilver cocktail.
, Time Out
Nifty special effects for the time, and plenty of Coward's inimitable wit and repartee.
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher
[A] deliciously cheeky Noel Coward concoction...
, Film4
It remains somewhat theatrical.
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
Worth it just for Margaret Rutherford as a sort of girls' school gamesmistres-style psychic!
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
The last word in witty repartee of the most civilized kind - the sort of thing Noel Coward was known for, and nobody did better.

Read all 12 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

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.
Luke B

A comedic triumph for Lean. Once again he and Coward make a terrific pair. Cowards words sparkle on screen whilst Lean gives a wonderful visual appreciation, including some excellent (for the time) special effects. The film looks at death, mortality and romance in an incredibly… More
A comedic triumph for Lean. Once again he and Coward make a terrific pair. Cowards words sparkle on screen whilst Lean gives a wonderful visual appreciation, including some excellent (for the time) special effects. The film looks at death, mortality and romance in an incredibly unsentimental way. Always comedic and sometimes harsh and blunt in its delivery. The comedy is also very dark at times but is handled in an rather cheery manner. Like a British stiff upper lip version of Ghost or Death Becomes Her. All the characters have unlikable traits but they soon become endearing and we accept the characters for them. A pleasantly easy watch.
Constanza B

Considerable charm and notable performances, quick, light, and more than a little acid, the Noel Coward script, which zips along with cool one liners, is wonderfully well played by the terrific cast.
hawk l

Light, clever comedy. Rex Harrison solid as the haunted man and Margaret Rutherford hilarious as the medium that he hires to get rid of his first wife's ghost.
Emily B

Margaret Rutherford steals the show! And I just love the ghostly make-up <a href="http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q156/bozley04/?action=view&current=blithe.jpg" target="_blank"><img… More
Margaret Rutherford steals the show! And I just love the ghostly make-up <a href="http://s135.photobucket.com/albums/q156/bozley04/?action=view&current=blithe.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q156/bozley04/blithe.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>