Sunday Viewing: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

No—not the brightly-colored TV show with Charles Nelson Riley. No.


I’m talking about the classic 1947 film starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. Set in England in the early 1900’s, Lucy Muir (Tierney) has just lost her husband and is living with his family in London. Eager to escape her overbearing in-laws, the independent young window takes her daughter (a young Natalie Wood) to a seaside home, Gull Cottage, which had belonged to a Captain Gregg (Harrison) who was rumored to have killed himself. Falling instantly in-love with Gull Cottage, Lucy is undaunted by the rumors that the house is haunted. One night, Lucy realizes that she is not alone in the dark kitchen. Indeed, Captain Gregg’s ghost is haunting the house. Still, the headstrong Lucy refuses to leave he beloved home. So, she and the Captain work out a living (or un-living) arrangement.

The two strike up an unusual friendship. When Lucy’s finances fail her, Captain Gregg narrates a book Blood and Swash for Lucy to write. The novel is a success and Lucy and Captain Gregg grow closer. However, Lucy’s head is turned by a dashing author, Miles Fairley (played with typical smarminess by the unctuous George Sanders). Torn between her love for a dead man and what she hopes could be a solid future with Miles, Lucy must decide what’s best for her family. With excellent performances from the stunning Gene Tierney and the very-English Rex Harrison, beautiful turn-of-the-century sets and costumes and a haunting score by Bernard Herrmann, this picture is one of the finest directed by the irascible Joseph Mankiewicz. Grab a box of tissues and let yourself be swept up by The Ghost and Mrs. Muir.