The Ghost and Mrs. Muir


The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is a romantic-fantasy film starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and is based on a 1945 novel written by Josephine Leslie under the pseudonym of R. A. Dick. In 1945, 20th Century Fox bought the film rights to the novel, which had been published only in the United Kingdom at that time. It was shot entirely in California.

Plot

In England in the early 1900s, young widow Lucy Muir moves to the seaside village of Whitecliff despite the disapproval of her mother-in-law Angelica Muir and domineering sister-in-law Eva Muir. She rents a place called Gull Cottage, though it has a reputation as being haunted by the spirit of a seaman who committed suicide there. On the first night after moving in with her young daughter, Anna, and her loyal maid, Martha, Lucy is visited by an apparition of the former owner, a roguish but harmless sea captain named Daniel Gregg. Gregg tells Lucy that his death four years ago was not a suicide but instead the result of accidentally kicking the valve on a gas-fired room heater in his sleep. Gregg explains that he had wanted to turn Gull Cottage into a home for retired seamen and does not appreciate her presence, having personally frightened away previous visitors. He didn't leave a will – including his plans for the house – because he hadn't anticipated dying so soon. However, due to Lucy's headstrong attitude as well as her appreciation of the house, Gregg reluctantly agrees to allow her to live in Gull Cottage and promises to make himself known only to her.
It is not long before Angelica and Eva arrive with the news that Lucy's investment — her only source of income — has dried up, and they insist that Lucy move back to London with them. However, Gregg convinces Lucy to stay, using his ghostly abilities to drive her in-laws from the house. He suggests that Lucy publish a book, a dictation of his memories from his time at sea, for which she will take credit. During the course of writing the book they fall in love. Both realize it is a hopeless situation, and Gregg tells Lucy she should find a living man to marry. In London, Lucy becomes attracted to Miles Fairley, a suave author who writes children's stories under the pen name "Uncle Neddy" and arranges for an interview with his publisher. The Captain's lurid and sensational recollections, entitled Blood and Swash, become a bestseller, providing Lucy with royalties which she uses to buy Gull Cottage. Fairley follows her back to Whitecliff and begins a whirlwind courtship. Captain Gregg, though initially disgusted by their relationship, decides to leave, as he considers himself an obstacle to Lucy's chance at happiness. While Lucy is asleep, Captain Gregg places in her mind the suggestion that she alone wrote the book and that his presence was merely a dream. He then fades away.
Fairley sends a note cancelling a planned visit to Gull Cottage, saying he will be in London for a few days. Later, Lucy visits London to sign a contract, obtaining Fairley's London address from the office clerk and paying a surprise visit. Lucy discovers that Fairley is already married with two children, and his wife tells her that Fairley has romanced other women in the past. Heartbroken, Lucy returns to Whitecliff to spend the rest of her life as a recluse, with Martha looking after her.
Anna, now grown, returns with a Royal Navy lieutenant she plans to marry. In the course of a conversation with her mother, Anna reveals that she too had seen Gregg's ghost, whom she regarded as a childhood friend, and knew about her mother's relationship with "Uncle Neddy". Lucy reveals that fate has not been kind to Fairley; his wife and children have finally left him, and he has become fat, bald, and a heavy drinker.
Many years later, now ailing and under a doctor's care, Lucy complains to Martha that her arm hurts, and rejects the glass of hot milk Martha has brought for her. After Martha leaves the room, Lucy takes a sip, but the glass falls to the floor as she dies. Captain Gregg's ghost reappears and reaches out to Lucy, whose young spirit takes his hands and leaves her aged body. They gaze lovingly at each other before walking arm in arm out of the house, into an ethereal mist.

Cast

Although Joseph Mankiewicz had an excellent reputation as a screenwriter, Philip Dunne says Mankiewicz's only contribution to this script was writing a couple of "excellent lines" for George Sanders' character. Sanders' casting came about when the original actor playing the role, Richard Ney, was fired for being inadequate in the part. The composer of the film's music, Bernard Herrmann, regarded it as his finest score.

Reception

The New York Times reviewer called The Ghost and Mrs. Muir "a pleasurable film, despite its failings," singling out Edna Best for "by far the best performannce '". In the writer's opinion, Harrison "has such an ingratiating personality that this compensates in large measure for the lack of characterization in his role," but Tierney "is a pretty girl, but has no depth of feeling as an actress."
Variety, on the other hand, praised the actors and the film unreservedly:
“'''Gene Tierney gives what undoubtedly is her best performance to date. It’s warmly human... the out-of-this-world romance pulls audience sympathy with an infectious tug that never slackens. In his role as the lusty, seafaring shade, Rex Harrison commands the strongest attention...Philip Dunne’s script lards the R. A. Dick novel with gusty humor and situations that belie the ghostly theme. Dialog makes full use of salty expressions to point up chuckles.”

The film currently holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average critic rating of 8.23/10, and holds a 7.9/10 user rating on IMDb.

Awards and honors

received a 1947 Academy Award nomination for his Black and White Cinematography on the movie.
The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir was adapted as an hour-long radio play on the December 1, 1947 broadcast of Lux Radio Theater with Charles Boyer and Madeleine Carroll, and was also adapted on the August 16, 1951 Screen Director's Playhouse with Boyer and Jane Wyatt. A 90-minute adaptation by Barry Campbell of the actual novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 4 on 21 December 1974 with Bryan Pringle as Captain Gregg, Gemma Jones as Lucy Muir and Philip Bond as Miles.
From 1968 to 1970, a TV series titled The Ghost & Mrs. Muir, starring Hope Lange and Edward Mulhare, aired on NBC and then ABC. It had the same premise and main characters as the book and film, but it was a situation comedy, downplaying the romantic fantasy elements and focusing on broad humor. The time and setting were changed, with the action taking place in a contemporary American coastal town. For the series, Mrs. Muir's first name was changed from Lucy to Carolyn and the children's names were changed from "Cyril" and "Anna" to "Jonathan" and "Candace".
In April 1994, Variety continued its reporting on Sean Connery being slated to play the Captain in a new version of the story for 20th Century Fox. The project was still “in the pipeline” in 1997.
On June 3, 2005, a musical based on the film and the book, written and directed by James J. Mellon, had its world premiere at the NoHo Arts Center in Los Angeles. Variety gave it a mixed review.

DVD and Blu Ray releases

The film was released on Blu-ray in 2013 by 20th Century Fox after being selected in Fox's Voice Your Choice promotion. It was previously released on DVD as part of the 20th Century Fox Studio Classics collection.