The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

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Here I go writing about one of my favorite classic movies. I watched it again recently. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir stars Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. The setting is 1900 in England. Lucy Muir is a young widow with a little daughter. She has been living with her in-laws for a year since her husband died. She makes the decision to set out on her own. She has a small income from her husband’s estate.

This was very daring for a woman in 1900 to want to live on her own. That’s what I really like about this character. She has a lot of spunk. She wants to live by the sea and finds a little cottage that has a very low rent.

The only problem with the cottage is that it is haunted by a sea-captain, Daniel Gregg, played by Rex Harrison. He is in the habit of scaring all prospective tenants in order to get them to leave him in peace.

The story is about the relationship that develops between The Ghost and Lucy. They can’t have a physical relationship but they do end up caring about each other. I don’t want to give the whole story away. I hate that when I read a review and it tells me the whole story before I see the film. I like to be surprised.

There is a commentary on the DVD that discusses more nuances of the film. It is in black and white. The cinematography, by Charles Lang, was nominated for an Oscar. There are special effects done with light that help set the tone and add to the mood. The musical score is by Bernard Herrmann. His music is very evocative of the ocean in its various moods. The view of the ocean waves hitting the shore are used during the film to suggest the emotional tone and the passage of time.

Bernard Herrmann was an American composer who worked on many films. He did scores for several Alfred Hitchcock films. His music is a great example of how the music is almost like another character in the film.

You may have guessed I like films about strong women. I like mystery and romance. This film has all three.

 

|Nano Poblano| among other things.

14 thoughts on “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”

  1. Kelly Grace

    Hi there! I was just skimming the Reader and saw the title of one of my favorite old, old, old movies. I call them ‘Sick Day’ movies because that’s when I like to curl up o the squishy sofa and watch something I can fall asleep to and know I’m not really missing anything. I have the lines memorized. One of my favorites from TG&MM is when Lucy tells the Captain that his aunt must have missed him terribly when she looked at her clean floors. You’re right that his movie has the Big 3—strong female, mystery, & romance. I watch it with Rebecca and Suspicion. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_(1940_film)
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspicion_(1941_film)
    Is NaBloPoMo for poetry bloggers?
    Cheers!

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    1. Deborah Drucker Post author

      Hi, Kelly. Thanks for popping in. I know what you mean. All great films. Rebecca drove me nuts though with that horrible housekeeper. Joan Fontaine was so pretty. I haven’t seen Suspicion in so long, very good film. I think there are ocean scenes in that one too. Don’t they almost drive off a cliff at one point. Or am I mixing it up with another film. Yes you can be a poetry blogger. There are many on WordPress.

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  2. Sandi

    I haven’t seen “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir” in years (and that’s one that I don’t own on DVD, Deborah 🙂 ). I hadn’t realized that Bernard Herrmann composed the score. I once went to a concert where some of his music from Hitchcock films was played.

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    1. Deborah Drucker Post author

      Well this a case where I am glad I have a copy of the film because I like to watch it over again. Yes Bernard Herrmann did do the score and I love the score. Probably because it is so moody and romantic with the scenes of the ocean. I love the scores he did for Hitchcock as well.

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    1. Deborah Drucker Post author

      At first I was going to say what do you mean the last century? Then I thought about it and said oh yeah that is possible. But it sounds like so long ago. I think it holds up. Especially if you are kind of sentimental like me. But it is well made. Try to get a copy with the commentary on it because it does make it interesting. You could watch it once without the commentary then watch it with the commentary where they explain all the cool film techniques with lighting and music and why the lighting was done a certain way and how it was done.

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