Blithe Spirit

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Blithe Spirit

1945

1h 36m

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

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21 Reviews

76%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Skeptical novelist Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) invites self-proclaimed medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to his home for a séance, hoping to gather material for a new book. When the hapless psychic accidentally summons the spirit of Condomine's late wife, Elvira (Kay Hammond), his home and life are quickly turned into a shambles as his wife's ghost torments both himself and his new bride, Ruth (Constance Cummings). David Lean directed this adaptation of Noel Coward's hit play.

Variety Staff

Variety

Nov 6, 2007

Inasmuch as this is largely a photographed copy of the stage play [by Noel Coward], the camerawork is outstandingly good and helps to put across the credibility of the ghost story more effectively than the flesh and blood performance does.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Feb 23, 2003

4/5

Worth it just for Margaret Rutherford as a sort of girls' school gamesmistres-style psychic!

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Jan 1, 2000

Passably good, but it should have been better, what with Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, and Margaret Rutherford reading the Noel Coward lines.

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Sarah Boslaugh

TheArtsStl

Jun 28, 2025

7/10

From her first appearance, Rutherford injects a sense of anarchy into the staid drawing-room world of the Condomines like a grey-haired girl scout full of enthusiasms and up for just about anything.

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Rachel Wagner

Rachel's Reviews (YouTube)

Oct 24, 2019

Funny with unique visual effects

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Ellie Lucas

From the Front Row

Aug 6, 2019

3/4

May be a trifle, but it's a glorious trifle, and features one of the great comedic roles in English theatre - the medium Madame Arcati, here memorably embodied by a deliciously batty Margaret Rutherford.

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Horror fan 4

@Horrorfan4life 6 days ago

What a great movie and Rex Harrison was very good. The performances of Constance Cummings and Kay Hammond were really good. The special effects were so damn good. The oscar win for that was well deserved. Charles has writers block and decides to host aseance with a medium. This is to help him with research for his new book but instead they bring back someone from Charles past. A great story with a not so happy ending but a funny one. Timothy Treakle

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Robert P

@Superbad Sep 24, 2026

Blithe Spirit Equals a *4* star Movie!

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Ollie W

@RT90619198 Aug 17, 2026

It’s not consistently hilarious, but it’s a charming, classy and unique film.

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Henry D

@Henry_Domke Jun 9, 2026

Totally fun and light, with especially fine makeup and costumes for the ghosts. The print was excellent, and the dialogue was perfectly clever throughout. It’s further proof that David Lean is one of our favorite directors, even when he’s working in a lighter, more theatrical mode. Margaret Rutherford is a hoot, and I only wish there were more movies with her.

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Andrea H.

@AndieJ Feb 15, 2026

Quick and clever. One of my go-to watches when I need to quiet the brain.

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Alain E

@AlainE Oct 11, 2025

Despite the excellent ratings, I found it impossible to tolerate after the first five minutes. Rapid delivery of dialogue is completely unrealistic.

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David Lean

Director

Rex Harrison

Charles Condomine

Constance Cummings

Ruth Condomine

Kay Hammond

Elvira Condomine

Margaret Rutherford

Madame Arcati

Hugh Wakefield

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Synopsis

Skeptical novelist Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison) invites self-proclaimed medium Madame Arcati (Margaret Rutherford) to his home for a séance, hoping to gather material for a new book. When the hapless psychic accidentally summons the spirit of Condomine's late wife, Elvira (Kay Hammond), his home and life are quickly turned into a shambles as his wife's ghost torments both himself and his new bride, Ruth (Constance Cummings). David Lean directed this adaptation of Noel Coward's hit play.

Director: David Lean
Producer: Noël Coward
Screenwriter: Noël Coward, Anthony Havelock-Allan, David Lean, Ronald Neame
Distributor: United Artists, Cinema Classics, Classic Pictures Inc.
Production Co: Cineguild, Two Cities Films Ltd.
Genre: Fantasy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 14, 1945, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 24, 2017
Runtime: 1h 36m
Sound Mix: Mono

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