This has to be one of the best classic romantic films of all time. Few classic films with a period setting have as much ambiance as THE GHOST AND MRS MUIR, which is remarkable given that it was very much a studio product with with very little location shooting. Instead, Gothic interiors are lovingly created, Hermann provides one of his most beautiful and haunting film scores, Lang's black-and-white cinematography shimmers, the script is both salty and tender, and, best of all, Tierney and Harrison play off each other marvelously. There is very little to fault in this superb picture.
Mankiewicz effortlessly makes us believe in this fantastical notion- that a widowed woman could fall in love with a ghost- and audiences have been swept away since it's initial release by the sheer wistful longing of it all. Who hasn't, after watching this film, fantasized about living out this plot? The film is remarkable in that it makes us believe entirely in it's characters and it's setting.
As I said earlier, the film has so much atmosphere that we really do believe that the stunning Gene Tierney and the gruff yet very sexy Rex Harrison (in probably his best screen performance, I always thought he was much better here than in MY FAIR LADY)are having this wonderful deep relationship (close, but never consummated for obvious reasons) by the English sea. And it's an intelligent love story too- not once do we have the resilient, beautiful, independent yet sadly alone Tierney faint in a swoon over her dilemma (loving a man that to others doesn't exist) or cry out "Oh, darling I love you!". The script is so strong in every nuance and small detail.
I also enjoyed the supporting performances of a large cast, namely George Sanders doing his usual caddish bit (yet could anyone do silky Enflish cad better than Sanders?), a very young Natalie Wood as Tierney's daughter, Edna Best as the housekeeper Martha, Robert Coote as Mr Coombe, a very lovely Anna Lee who shares such a poignant late scene with Tierney and the gorgeous Vanessa Brown as the daughter when she grows up.
Anyone who can sit through this film without a shed of tear or feeling a rush of emotion as Harrison farewells a sleeping Tierney ("What we've missed Lucia....what we've both missed") must truly be a cynic. And that's a real shame, because you are missing out on a wonderful film experience. However, I am a romantic and the sight of Tierney, painfully alone, walking along the shores (with Hermann's lyrical score dragging us further and further into the mood of the film) with no earthly or unearthly companion always sends me into romantic delight.
Mankiewicz effortlessly makes us believe in this fantastical notion- that a widowed woman could fall in love with a ghost- and audiences have been swept away since it's initial release by the sheer wistful longing of it all. Who hasn't, after watching this film, fantasized about living out this plot? The film is remarkable in that it makes us believe entirely in it's characters and it's setting.
As I said earlier, the film has so much atmosphere that we really do believe that the stunning Gene Tierney and the gruff yet very sexy Rex Harrison (in probably his best screen performance, I always thought he was much better here than in MY FAIR LADY)are having this wonderful deep relationship (close, but never consummated for obvious reasons) by the English sea. And it's an intelligent love story too- not once do we have the resilient, beautiful, independent yet sadly alone Tierney faint in a swoon over her dilemma (loving a man that to others doesn't exist) or cry out "Oh, darling I love you!". The script is so strong in every nuance and small detail.
I also enjoyed the supporting performances of a large cast, namely George Sanders doing his usual caddish bit (yet could anyone do silky Enflish cad better than Sanders?), a very young Natalie Wood as Tierney's daughter, Edna Best as the housekeeper Martha, Robert Coote as Mr Coombe, a very lovely Anna Lee who shares such a poignant late scene with Tierney and the gorgeous Vanessa Brown as the daughter when she grows up.
Anyone who can sit through this film without a shed of tear or feeling a rush of emotion as Harrison farewells a sleeping Tierney ("What we've missed Lucia....what we've both missed") must truly be a cynic. And that's a real shame, because you are missing out on a wonderful film experience. However, I am a romantic and the sight of Tierney, painfully alone, walking along the shores (with Hermann's lyrical score dragging us further and further into the mood of the film) with no earthly or unearthly companion always sends me into romantic delight.