Blithe Spirit
Plot Outline
Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) is a successful writer who has invited the rather eccentric local medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to provide an after dinner séance. He assumes that she's a charlatan and plans to gather material from the evening for his latest book. His second wife, Ruth (Constance Cummings), and their guests are....
Plot Outline
Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) is a successful writer who has invited the rather eccentric local medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to provide an after dinner séance. He assumes that she's a charlatan and plans to gather material from the evening for his latest book. His second wife, Ruth (Constance Cummings), and their guests are 'in' on the secret, but no-one is prepared for the spirit of his flirty and capricious first wife to make an appearance.
Only Charles is able to see and hear Elvira (Kay Hammond), which causes more than a few misunderstandings in conversations with his current wife. At first Ruth believes that it is all a rather cruel joke he is playing but after a few demonstrations of Elvira's presence she is soon a believer. It isn't long before the novelty of the situation wears off, and Madame Arcati is consulted again.
However, will Elvira be that easy to send back, and will she even want to go? She seems to have a few ideas of her own about how life (or death in her case) can be 'happy ever after'.
Review
You might expect a 1945 adaptation of a Noel Coward stage play to be so dated as to be unwatchable now, but there is a quality in the writing that still makes this enjoyable fare today. The comedy is gentle and subtle, and comes as much from the behaviour of the characters as from the written word.
True, few could identify with the lifestyle of the Condomines, with their big house, cook and maid at their beck and call. However, what at first seems an impossibly idyllic picture of upper-middle class society starts to crack at the seams under Noel Cowards acerbic wit. The motives and morals of the main characters soon become apparent under the thin veneer of that which polite society would demand and it is not easy to determine who should have your sympathies in the predicament in which they find themselves.
The film can certainly be enjoyed at many levels. At the most obvious, you can just enjoy watching Charles and Ruth trying to resolve the problem of having an unwanted spirit in the house. Dip deeper into the subtext of What Noel Coward was saying about relationships and the dubious standards of the privileged of English society and there is a more acid edge to the comedy. Of course, you can just sit back and marvel at Rutherford's bravura performance as the totally dotty Madame Arcati.
Rex Harrison glides elegantly through the whole affair with perfect ease, portraying the charming rogue who is not adverse to using people or bending the rules which his social strata would appear to demand. Kay Hammond is suitably petulant, racy and dangerously manipulative as the story demands, and has the meatier part of the two wives. Constance Cummings is by no means eclipsed by Elvira's presence however and scores her fair share of acting honours and catty putdowns.
The real star of the piece of course is Madame Arcati and is the role for which Margaret Rutherford is fondly remembered, second only to her appearance as Agatha Christie's detective Miss Jane Marple in a number of later films. Here she exudes 'English eccentricity' in her staunch belief in the spirit world, the benefits of healthy exercise, direct manner, and her absolute disregard of other people's view of how odd she may appear.
The production takes advantages whenever it can to re-site scenes away from the Condomine's drawing room which was the setting for the original, very successful play. But it is still essentially a very static piece as much still takes place in the Condomine's house. Noel Coward was quite happy to make changes in his adaptation for the screen, and these amendments to what even he considered to be a weak third act do help. However, the film version has a final scene which is completely 'tacked on' to the original story. Although probably done for the sensibilities of movie goers of the day, it now seems all too neat a conclusion.
Video
The print is generally free from damage, which is quite remarkable after nearly sixty years. But as can be seen from the accompanying picture, colours are very washed out and detail all but completely lost to the bleached out backgrounds in some scenes. The ethereal 'spirit green' seems to have been achieved largely by makeup, but enhanced by green gel lighting wherever it could avoid spilling over onto other actors.
This may not have been so obvious when the print was new, but time has not been kind in this respect. Variations in both the spirit and the living are very noticeable as you can see from the various images in this review. For me, although it was still fun to watch it did detract from my enjoyment somewhat.
The film is otherwise well presented in the original 4:3 ratio format of the day, with no visible artifacts as a result of the transfer.
Audio
The temptation to enhance the original mono soundtrack has been resisted, and is generally adequate to carry the dialogue clearly. A little lack of clarity in the top end is detectable, but nothing too disastrous. Thank goodness that actors and actresses of the day were used to enunciating their lines clearly, because I doubt if this would be true today with some of the poor diction that moviegoers are forced to endure.
Extras
The theatrical trailer and ten chapter scene selection points spread over two pages are all you get for your money, but it is a budget title so I don't suppose there's much to grumble about really. No disrespect intended, but unless they are able to contact the spirit world it's not as if they could have easily got a cast, writer and director commentary track together anyway.
The main menu has a few scenes from the film running next to the selections, but even partially obscured by a rather fetching green spirit mist it does give one detail of the plot away, as do the scene selection stills. So if you don't like spoilers then avoid seeing these, although you are OK with the trailer.
Overall
A pleasant reminder of the golden period of British cinema, and well worth seeing for Noel Coward's deliciously subtle wit. A treat for David Lean completists as well, who may be more familiar with his sweeping epics and large cast productions, such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.
Undemanding fare that can still raise a wry smile today, but the picture quality is a let down. If you are a real fan of the period, director or any of the stars, it's a good value purchase. Otherwise I'd suggest you wait for a good cast revival in the theatre. Noel Coward is still popular and it's such a well known piece that it's bound to come round again one day.
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