Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

I saw this movie on a B&W TV in the early 1960s and was delighted to see it again as an adult. While my childhood impressions of this romantic tale remain intact, I am now mostly impressed by the context of this movie soon after a long and difficult war. It is a warm and touching story of love transcending death. Surely a relevant notion for the time. I am not suggesting any of this was intentional. Art following events and emotions of the time? I wonder.Rex Harrison reprising much of his character from "Night Train to Munich", the self superior and cynical lover, casting his grand personality over the ever pure Gene Tierney.In a way an early and oddly Feminist tale. Here is an independent woman of strength and determination making her way in the world of publishing. Betrayed by the falseness of a suitor, she remains true to herself and her small family including Martha.Seeing this movie 40 some years later it remains as true and good as ever.

I watched this one twice and had a lot of different thoughts/ideas about it. First, since it's a movie about a female writer (who is ghost-written by, well, a ghost)-- I was curious about the author of the original novel and who that might be. The credits at the beginning of the film just say R.A. Dick, which seemed suspiciously like a woman trying to be ambiguous. And sure enough, it's a pseudonym for an Irish woman named Josephine Leslie. So is Gene Tierney playing a woman based on Miss Leslie? I suppose we may never know, and it's only partially relevant to a discussion of the film and how things work on screen.But I do want to say a key component of the story and its effectiveness in cinematic terms is the characterization Tierney give us. Is she a woman with a masculine streak in her, represented by the ghost? Maybe she's a woman possessed by a man, which has been known to happen. The main theme is the creative process and it's told in the form of a supernatural romance drama which is most intriguing.Helping the story along is Rex Harrison's dynamic portrayal of the old sea captain. He has some of the best lines of dialogue I've heard lately. It's obvious the actor is having a ball and it's difficult to imagine anyone else playing it so well. Meanwhile, we have George Sanders in a subplot involving a man the widowed Mrs. Muir meets at a publisher's office one day. He outwardly pursues her, which causes the ghost to become jealous (which is a funny thing when you consider it), and in a way this takes us deeper into the collective psyche of both lead characters. I won't spoil how the relationship with Sanders' character ends for those who have not seen it yet, but it does give Tierney some great stuff to play. She does very well with it.There are other people who enliven the production. Natalie Wood is wonderful as Tierney's young daughter (why aren't child actresses this good now?)...and Anna Lee who appears in only one scene makes a lasting impression. I also liked the comic relief with the women from Mrs. Muir's family who try to convince her to leave the seaside village and move back home with them. Of course, their plans to control the situation don't stand a ghost of a chance.

Gene Tierney is a most beautiful, talented and unpretentious actress and she is absolutely stunning in this production. I just cringe at the thought of someone like that relegating most of her life alone with a kind housekeeper and the sea. Really??? If you have recently lost a most loved mate or companion and are traumatized by the tragedy and think you will never experience joy in your life, just watch this promising flick! I know this is a likely outcome for many an elderly widow and the cads out there trying to take advantage of them are ubiquitous.Well, enough for fair warnings against high winds. I enjoyed the paranormal aspect and found the treatment even handed and natural, surprisingly. The ending was unexpected and I imagined her being bored with him after 100 years or so and moving on to Herman Melville perhaps.Very romantic for a phantom relationship and wondered why she chose to remain single for all those years when she clearly admitted how lonely she felt during her imaginary friend's absence, scratching head on this one still....

An independent minded widow with a young daughter decides to free herself from her late husband's overbearing sister and fawning mother. Harboring a desire to live by the sea, the widow, Mrs. Muir, overrules the objections of a local real estate broker and rents the charming Gull Cottage in Whitecliff-by-the-Sea. Mrs. Muir, played by the incredibly beautiful Gene Tierney, soon discovers the root of the brokers objections: the cottage is haunted by its former owner, a wily sea captain, Daniel Gregg. Undaunted, Mrs. Muir adapts to the situation, and, when she runs low on funds, the ghostly captain dictates his memoirs to her, which she then attempts to publish. Needless to say, the widow and the lusty spirit have a mutual attraction to each other; opposites do attract.Ably directed by the formidable Joseph L. Mankiewicz, "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" overcomes the implausibility of its premise to enchant viewers willing to indulge in a sentimental, but engaging love story. Tierney's acting talents never matched her ethereal beauty, and she often seems too cool and icy to convince as the love interest of an earthy man who has seen the world and sampled all its pleasures. However, she is adequate in the part, although Rex Harrison as Captain Gregg steals every scene he plays with her. Harrison appears to relish the juicy part and playfully toys with Tierney and other non-spirits, especially during an amusing scene with Mrs. Muir's visiting in-laws. George Sanders is on hand as a caddish artist, who unwittingly becomes the third member of a romantic triangle that includes a spectral rival. Nine-year-old Natalie Wood has a small part as the young daughter, Anna Muir, and Edna Best, Robert Coote, and Anna Lee also have small, but well played roles.Mankiewicz utilizes footage of waves pounding on the shore and a deteriorating post with young Anna's name carved upon it to show the passage of time. However, the film actually feels short; the later years pass too quickly to fully appreciate Mrs. Muir's aging and loneliness. However, Charles Lang's Oscar nominated black-and-white cinematography captures the cozy feel of Gull Cottage, full of shadows, nautical paraphernalia, and a hauntingly bold portrait of the deceased captain. Equally fine are Bernard Herrmann's score and Philip Dunne's screenplay, adapted from a novel by E. A. Dick. Rare is the film that a viewer wishes would last longer, but "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" is among them. More playful scenes of Rex Harrison harassing the living, more depth to the relationship between Mrs. Muir and Gregg, and a better sense of the long passage of time following the early eventful years would be welcome. However, the quibbles are minor, the film is a treasure, and viewers will likely want to revisit Gull Cottage regularly over the years.