The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)

Strong and Moving!

Load of rubbish!!

Fantastic!

It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

This movie is entertaining. Its well-paced and well done. I wouldn't really recommend it unless you really like romances, but its worth watching. Some bits are boring but the overall story is very effective and well executed. Not fantastic, but not terrible.

Recently widowed Gene Tierney moves to the seaside with young daughter Natalie Wood to start a new life and escape her obnoxious in laws. The house she picks is haunted by it's former owner, sea captain Rex Harrison. Harrison wants her out, but is not afraid of him and refuses to leave. They agree to share the house, and form a pretty strong relationship until they come into conflict over her relationship with slimy George Sanders. It's striking how much better this film is to just about any similar film made today. It's a beautifully romantic and magical film with a perfect cast ... it would be played for broad, dumb humour today.

A masterpiece? No kidding. This is such an unusual and beautiful film. Gene Tierney plays an early 20th century widow who is unknowingly more liberated than any woman of the 21st century. The film is stunning to look at. It is amazing to think that it was made in California, it looks as English as any English movie, so much so that one wonders why so many Hollywood movies set in England look so phony. What a screenplay. It is as if we are reading a book and every dissolve means a new chapter. Tierney was not a great actress but that face is fascinating and the role sits more comfortably with her than any of her others. Harrison is one of the sexiest creatures ever seen in a movie; their scenes together truly do smolder. I dare anyone not to cry during the last three minutes. It is so rewarding to see a Hollywood movie, with a great supporting cast that is all unrecognizable except for Natalie Wood. This is simply one of the very best and it will never date since it is a period piece. That score has to be among the greatest and most effective.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed this classic romantic ghost story that stars Gene Tierney as Lucy Muir, a recently widowed woman who moves in(along with her daughter, played by Natalie Wood) with her in-laws, but feels oppressed living under the same roof, so buys a seaside cottage overlooking the English coast that turns out to be haunted by the ghost of Captain Gregg(played by Rex Harrison) the original owner, who is quite disagreeable, yet he and Lucy come to an understanding, and he even agrees to let her "ghost write" his autobiography, which turns out to be a success. Lucy and the Captain then form a long and lasting love that lasts until she is quite old... Wonderful film, much like "The Uninvited" in how it creates a distinct atmosphere that takes you to another time and place. Superbly acted, directed, and written, with a moving ending that may have later inspired "Somewhere In Time" & "Titanic"! Not to be missed.