Blithe Spirit

David Lean, the director, adapted Noel Coward's comedy into a delicious film. The movie stars Rex Harrison as Charles Condomine, a celebrated novelist who is haunted by his long-dead first wife. When a medium and Charles' new wife try to send her back, they don't realize she has devised a scheme to keep Charles with her forever.

This play was a favorite for Noel Coward and a departure for David Lean, best known for adapting Dickens in the '40s. It's the director's only comedy, and the result is a delightful gem. Rex Harrison plays an acerbic author haunted by the ghost of his first wife, Elvira, who tries to seduce him all over again. This distresses his second wife, throwing her into a panic and causing her to second-guess her lack of passion. It's a celestial sex romp that hasn't lost its bite. Margaret Rutherford, as always, steals the show as the sardonic medium. --Bill Desowitz

The DVD edition was mastered from a mediocre film element, so we were deprived of the original Technicolor hues. This is a shame, as the film won an Oscar in 1946 for its dazzling special effects (Elvira glows in green!). --Bill Desowitz

product information: