The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
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Movie Reviews of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Movie Review: THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR
Summary: 5 Stars
my heart just sings whenever i get the chance to watch the "THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR"
a gentle lovely tragic delightfully dark and thoughtful work of art and movie magick*...
the ghost and mrs. muir..1947...london at the turn of century.... ...filmed in a small central california town called carmel by the sea....interestingly enough carmel still retains all of the charm and flavor that we see in our movie setting.
our primary characters are....the angelic faced yet feisty mrs. lucy muir played sweetly yet firmly by a young ms. gene tierney....crusty old sea captain daniel gregg played by crusty elegant abrupt imposing mr. rex harrison and dashing author.... miles fairley played by mr. george sanders (who..incidentally..eventually committed suicide)...a young natalie wood plays the precocious daughter of mrs. muir and lastly...we have lucy's trusted maid/ companion martha who faithfully takes care of lucy and her daughter throughout the many years
after her husband edwin has been dead for a year..lucy decides to confront his mother and sister eva with news that she is leaving and taking her daughter anna to start a new life and live by the sea
i've always loved the dialogue from that scene when lucy says to this disagreeable pair in a calm yet sarcastic tone.."im not leaving him...i'm leaving you" after that most amusing and strangely satisfying encounter..lucy anna and martha depart on the train in great anticipation of a long overdue new beginning in the coastal seaside town of whitecliff by the sea..
things that draw me so to "the ghost" are it's warm endearing quality and tragic story of a true love that can never be realized in life...as i watch i can definitely pick up on the wonderful use of light and bright and dark shadows and then sometimes a curious grainy quality that helps create the feeling of antiquity...our story is full of wonderment for an era of propriety and values long since abandon...there are dark rainy windy ghostly nights at the cottage...there are peaceful evenings of gentle slumber...there are moments of strange occurrences and tender moments of sweet emotion...ever present is the scene setting music by mr. bernard hermann who creates moods of ominous and threatening all the way to sweet serene lighthearted and airy
our trio arrives in this charming seaside village....poor lucy a feminist way before her time must endure the short-sightedness and bravado of the supremacy of men in virtually all her business dealings... she must be gently forceful and insistent in obtaining gull cottage for her own from her realtor who tries to discourage her every witch way
the moment lucy sets eyes on it...she is drawn to it and will settle for nothing less..."a haunted castle" lucy smiles and seems to love the idea... i love that reaction myself
soon after moving into gull cottage...mrs. muir becomes fixated with a portrait of the sea rugged captain daniel gregg that hangs on one wall in her bedroom
curiously enough...i don't seem to find that much appealing about the interior of the captain's cottage...filmed in black and white doesn't do a thing to warm the rather austere environment for that of a lady but seems well suited to a rugged old seamen...i imagine... lots of cool hard angles...an abundance of nautical influences as one can imagine...for instance...an imposing brass telescope stands in front of lovely old french doors.
our crusty old sea captain slowly but surely becomes less bitter about his fate...dying...and after careful study of this interloper in his house he finds himself curiously falling in love with this woman and wanting to reveal himself to her more each day...when he finally does so lucy is not the least bit afraid of him...i believe she always knew he was standing right there beside her anyway
there is a sub-plot here as well... lucy retains the services of a small publishing company in the city to take charge of publishing her short stories...at one of the meetings she is introduced to the dashing and debonair miles farley...the attempted love relationship that ensues between these two is most irritating to me and in my opinion grossly interferes with our love story between daniel and lucy!
time passes and lucy and martha both age gracefully while anna reaches adulthood and leaves gull cottage to find a love of her own
in one of the most unforgettable and heart wrenching scenes daniel tells lucy one night as she lie sleeping that she will only remember their love in a dream...he won't destroy her life by staying...he says to her that he is going away and she must make her own life..."whether you meet fair winds or foul...find your own way to harbor in the end"...and then he gently whispers goodbye and barely touches her lips with a sweet kiss goodbye
years pass and lucy grows old and fragile while martha still tends to her every need
one dark night lucy falls asleep in her chair...in her hand she is still holding the glass of warm milk that martha had ordered her to drink earlier...we see the glass leave her hand and fall to the floor...lucy dies in her sleep at long last...the music grows dramatic and poignant as daniel reappears to finally reunite with his love
as lucy awakens to daniel's voice...he reaches down to take her hand in his we see lucy as that young girl again as she appeared when she first met the captain so many years earlier...they walk together hand in hand down the imposing circular staircase and as the front door opens wide...they walk out into the bright heavenly light together hand in hand
Movie Review: One of a Kind, Exquisite and Perfect
Summary: 5 Stars
On any list of the Ten Most Romantic Films Ever Made, "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" will likely always be present. This beautiful 1947 black and white film by Joseph Mankiewiecz, with a gorgeous score by Bernard Herrmann (better known for the foreboding ones he did for Alfred Hitchcock), and marvellous performances by Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison, represents the best of post-War British romanticism. It can only be described as - well, haunting. Once seen, never forgotten, and pull out your handkerchiefs, you will need at least two.
Gene Tierney plays Lucy Muir, an exquisite young widow with a little girl who moves to the seashore to get away from her late husband's domineering sister and mother. Lucy's financial resources are limited, but she happens onto a house overlooking the sea that is surprisingly affordable - it appears the house has had trouble remaining occupied, due to "disturbances". Lucy and her daughter fall in love with the house and move in, accompanied by Martha, their housekeeper. Shortly afterward, Lucy is confronted by the source of the house's disturbances: its former owner, one Captain Gregg, a seaman who died in the house, and still considers it his. He has chased out all subsequent owners and intends to do the same with Lucy, but she stands up to him defiantly, and lets him know that she will NOT be leaving and he can do as likes. He admires her spirit, and, having glimpsed her beauty (Ms. Tierney was surely at her most radiant in this film), he softens and agrees to share the house with her and her little family, although she asks him to refrain from contact with her little girl. Captain Gregg is played by Rex Harrison at his most attractive, giving the role an irrisistible blend of charm, irony, and crustiness.
A bantering but affectionate friendship develops between Lucy and Captain Gregg's ghost. The Captain has clearly fallen for the new owner of the house, so much so that when Lucy's slender funds begin to run low and she confronts the possibility of losing the house she has come to love as much as he, Gregg dictates his very salty memoirs to her - they are published and become a best seller, ensuring Lucy's future.
However, Captain Gregg eventually realizes that his presence in Lucy's life is preventing her from going out and meeting living men. Reluctantly, he decides to withdraw, and does so in a way that leaves Lucy no memory of Gregg's "reality", but rather a memory of an imaginary character that she dreamed and who then inspired the book. After Gregg disappears, Lucy begins to go out into society, and almost immediately meets George Sanders - an experienced cad with whom she falls in love, only to find that he is married with several children. The heartbroken Lucy retreats into solitude and decides that the only companionship she needs is her growing daughter, the loyal Martha, and the beloved house by the sea.
Years pass, and Lucy's daughter grows up and becomes engaged to (naturally) a naval officer - when her daughter brings her fiance home, Lucy finds out that the little girl knew all about Captain Gregg and had frequent contact with him - something they both hid from Lucy. More years pass, and now it is Lucy's granddaughter who is engaged to (naturally) a naval officer. Lucy and Martha have grown old together in the house, and, on a windswept night, the white-haired, tired Lucy passes quietly away in the great armchair in the Captain's old room - he suddenly appears before her and holds out his hands, and she springs up, young and beautiful again, and the two pass silently out into the briny night, finally able to live out the love they could not share while one of them still walked among the living.
It sounds terribly soppy, but the script is of such high quality, the performances so note-perfect, the production so atmospheric, that the film never wanders into over-sentimentalization or saccharinity. Its gentle romanticism recalls a lost era (alas, even Britain no longer makes films like this!) and, once seen, leaves an indelible memory.
A five-star classic, and a must-have for fans of post-War British filmmaking of this genre.
Movie Review: Gene Tierney's Crowning Achievement
Summary: 5 Stars
Exquisite. That one adjective describes both this film, and its leading lady. Although she is best remembered as the title character in the classic 1944 mystery, "Laura", and received greater acclaim for her Oscar-nominated performance in the highest-grossing 20th Century-Fox film of the 1940's, "Leave Her to Heaven", "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" nonetheless remains Gene Tierney's most successful film performance. As Lucy Muir, a spirited British widow at the turn of the 20th century who falls in love with the ghost of a sea captain, Miss Tierney is on screen in every scene of the film, and dazzles throughout with her ethereal beauty and her thespic versatility. Afforded the rare opportunity to play moments of high comedy, quiet drama, and romantic yearning all in one film, Miss Tierney never once strikes a false note. She is particularly touching in the sequence during which the middle-aged Mrs. Muir reflects on the past with her grown daughter; in the hands of a lesser actress, this scene could easily have become maudlin and overly sentimental, but Tierney plays it with a quiet dignity and sweet resolve that distills the essence of her graceful and independent character.
Yet, while "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" is arguably Tierney's best film, its success is not due to her efforts alone. Rex Harrison, in his second American film, also triumphs as the salty sea captain whose gruff veneer is slowly peeled away by the determined widow sharing his home. The scene in which he bids her a tender farewell is brilliantly played. George Sanders excels in his role as a romantic cad; the vocal sneer he practically patented on film suits his part here perfectly. And the entire production is aided tremendously by Bernard Herrmann's lush and majestic score, as well as Charles Lang's Oscar-nominated cinematography (that nomination was for the 1947 awards, by the the way, not the 1942 ceremonies as incorrectly noted on the front of the DVD box).
Speaking of the DVD, the transfer is - in the 20th Century-Fox Home Video tradition - disappointing. While the source print is much better that the one used for the VHS and laserdisc releases, and is infinitely superior to the scratchy, poorly-spliced copy that is often screened on pay-TV stations like AMC, the film has not been digitally restored. There are still significant flutters (especially noticeable during the opening credits), scratches, and jumps in both the picture and the soundtrack. The DVD does include the rarely-seen Original Theatrical Trailer; a stills gallery that emphasizes set design photographs but does include some interesting on-the-set photos of Gene Tierney in her wheelchair (she broke her foot during production and continued filming against her doctor's advice); Theatrical Trailers for the five previously-released Fox Studio Classics DVDs; an A&E "Biography" segment on Rex Harrison; and audio commentaries including remarks by film historian Jeanine Basinger who supervised the cataloging of the Tierney archives in Connecticut ... and whose name is misspelled on the DVD package. (Way to go, Fox! You REALLY need to hire a film historian to proof-read your DVD packages. They're uniformly inaccurate, filled with both typos and misinformation.) Despite its flaws, this DVD edition is still the best available print of this classic, greatly-beloved film and is therefore cheerfully recommended.
Trivia note: Not surprisingly, after Tierney died in 1991 at the age of 70 (not 71 as noted in the DVD's liner notes), "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" was the film chosen to represent the actress' career during the two-day auction of many of her personal effects at the Hart Galleries in Houston, Texas. The screening was a most fitting tribute to both a marvelous actress and a lovely human being.
Movie Review: A film and novel better than Twilight!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am writing this review to remind people there are better works of supernatural romance out there than Twilight. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is one such example. The novel was written in 1945 and then adapted into a film with George Sanders and later a TV series.
The ghost and Mrs. Muir tells the story of a young widow, Lucy Muir who has decided she wants to break away from the control of her over-bearing and dominating in-laws. Already by this point the feminism and strength of the protagonist of the 1945 novel exceeds that of the more modern supernatural romance Twilight. When Lucy Muir finds a house to her liking she discovers very quickly that it is haunted by a very vocal spectre of an old sea captain by the name of Captain Daniel Gregg.
The ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg is one of my three favourite fiction ghosts. The list consists of Captain Daniel Gregg of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, Sir Simon de Canterville from The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde and Hrothbert of Bainbridge AKA Bob from the short lived television series adaptation of The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (Hrothbert of Bainbridge doesn't exist in the actual Dresden Files novels).
Despite the ghost's seeming misogyny Lucy and the captain develop a quirky and strangely affectionate relationship. For all of his roughness and snark the captain is actually a gentleman inside. The character portrayals are realistic and very human unlike the protagonists of Twilight in which the characters are two dimensional archetypes to appeal to a shallow demographic.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir isn't just a sweet romance. It also has a running wit and humour completely lacking in most modern romances. It seems today all attempts at humour in romance become self-parodies. There's more to the story than just fluff. It's about taking control of your own life, standing up for yourself, independence, love and moving on, the power of love and friendship, and the value of love, life and family (no matter how unusual the definition might be) all told with excellent wit and humour.
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is highly underrated. It deserves more attention. It is a brilliant story far ahead of it's time. I actually wish there would be a new film adaptation of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, not because I think there is anything wrong with the first film adaptation, but because I think a new generation should be introduced to good supernatural romantic fiction and opposed to what is currently trendy and sadly many of the current generation won't watch a black and white film or read a novel more than twenty years old because they make negative assumptions about the content such as assuming it would be out dated, stuffy, cheesy or hard to follow. The ghost and Mrs. Muir is none of these things. It's a head of the curb and I certainly would rather re-read The ghost and Mrs. Muir than Twilight. Thanks to Terrence Mann's portrayal of Hrothbert of Bainbridge in the short lived Dresden Files TV series I can completely see him as Captain Daniel Gregg if there was a new film version to be made.
I strongly recommend The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (film or book) to anyone interested in supernatural romance, ghost stories, dry wit, or just good literature in general. This semi-obscure gem needs more attention and I truly feel it is of a higher quality in writing than what is currently fashionable in supernatural literature and fantasy.
Movie Review: A haunting tale of love and the sea
Summary: 5 Stars
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, based on the novel by Josephine Leslie (as R.A. Dick) and screenplay by Philip Dunne, is the English Victorian tale of widowed Lucy Muir (Gene Tierney) and her young daughter Anna (Natalie Wood). Wood turns in a spirited performance as young Anna, although she is not given a great deal of screen time. Edna Best makes a charming companion for the isolated Lucy as her outspoken maid Martha. Lucy's meddling in-laws want to force Lucy and Anna to move to London, but Lucy is offended by their view that she is helpless and incapable of supporting herself and her daughter on her writing. Tierney brings a gravity to her role befitting the Victorian era, but tempers it with a playful, witty streak. Harrison is effective as the gruff sea captain with a heart of gold. The two strike up an amazing amount of chemistry despite the physical distance between the actors; instead, emotion is conveyed through glances and words.
The two move to a cottage by the sea that's curiously affordable considering the great view, but Lucy soon finds out why. It's haunted by the ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg (Rex Harrison), a cantankerous old salt who's overly fond of swearing and frightening off prospective buyers. Lucy, however, is very forward and independent for her era and refuses to be forced out of her new home in Gull Cottage, so the two reach a kind of truce.
Lucy and Daniel soon strike up a deep friendship bordering on romance, and Lucy, a writer, agrees to ghost write Capt Gregg's autobiography. During her meetings with the publisher, she is charmed by Miles Fairley (George Sanders), a famous children's author, and Daniel reluctantly lets Lucy pursue a flesh-and-blood suitor. The ending (much-copied) may be one of the most romantic on film, and clearly inspired later time-travel romance Somewhere in Time (Collector's Edition).
The film is marked by beautiful cinematography, particularly of the sea (filmed at Carmel-by-the-Sea, Monterey, and various other California coastal locations), and a lush, haunting score by Bernard Herrmann (The Ghost And Mrs. Muir: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) that may be one of the most poetic film scores ever along with John Barry's Somewhere In Time (1998 Re-recording).
The DVD thankfully features many fine extras, such as commentaries by film historian Gregg Kimble and Bernard Herrmann expert Christopher Husted, commentary by chairman of film studies at Wesleyan University Jeanine Bassinger and Kenneth Geist (biographer of Joseph L. Mackiewicz), A&E Biography:"Rex Harrison: The Man Who Would Be King," the original theatrical trailer, and a still gallery. This is a fitting tribute to one of the most timeless screen romances, and fans of Somewhere in Time (Collector's Edition) will feel right at home.