David Lean Directs Noël Coward Packaging
April 02, 2012
Film Info
- United Kingdom
- 1945
- 96 minutes
- Color
- 1.37:1
- English
- Spine #606
Blithe Spirit, David Lean’s delightful film version of Noël Coward’s theater sensation (onstage, it broke London box-office records before hitting Broadway), stars Rex Harrison as a novelist who cheekily invites a medium (Margaret Rutherford) to his house to conduct a séance, hoping the experience will inspire a book he’s working on. Things go decidedly not as planned when she summons the spirit of his dead first wife (Kay Hammond), a severe inconvenience for his current one (Constance Cummings). Employing Oscar-winning special effects to spruce up Coward’s theatrical farce, Blithe Spirit is a sprightly supernatural comedy with winning performances.
Cast
| Charles Condomine | Rex Harrison |
| Ruth | Constance Cummings |
| Elvira | Kay Hammond |
| Madame Arcati | Margaret Rutherford |
| Dr. Bradman | Hugh Wakefield |
| Mrs. Bradman | Joyce Carey |
| Edith | Jacqueline Clarke |
Credits
| Director | David Lean |
| Producer | Noël Coward |
| From the play by | Noël Coward |
| Adapted by | David Lean, Ronald Neame and Anthony Havelock-Allan |
| Photographed by | Ronald Neame |
| In charge of production | Anthony Havelock-Allan |
| Musical score composed by | Richard Addinsell |
| Played by | The London Symphony Orchestra |
| Conducted by | Muir Matheson |
| Film editor | Jack Harris |
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In which an already iconic playwright comes to appreciate cinema and a soon-to-be legendary . . . Read more »
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By March 27, 2012
In David Lean’s hands, Noël Coward’s hit lark becomes deadpan human comedy. Read more »
Film Essays
When Noël Met David . . .
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In which an already iconic playwright comes to appreciate cinema and a soon-to-be legendary . . . Read more »
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My Criterion
“Four excellent films in one brilliant package. The only downside is the lack of Kindergarten Cop.”
