L'esprit s'amuse

Original title: Blithe Spirit

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

8.6K

YOUR RATING

Play trailer2:28

1 Video

84 Photos

Dark Comedy Screwball Comedy Comedy Fantasy

A man and his second wife are haunted by the ghost of his first wife.A man and his second wife are haunted by the ghost of his first wife.A man and his second wife are haunted by the ghost of his first wife.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

8.6K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 1 nomination total

Videos1

Trailer 2:28

Blithe Spirit

Photos84

+ 78

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Writer and director Sir David Lean and cinematographer Ronald Neame decided not to use double exposure to create Elvira's ghostly appearances. Instead, Lean created an enormous set that allowed Kay Hammond to move freely in each shot. Hammond wore fluorescent green clothes, make-up, and a wig, with bright red lipstick and fingernail polish. Each time she moved, a special light would be directed on her, allowing her figure to glow even in dimly-lit scenes and giving her an otherworldly appearance.

Goofs
After the séance, when Elvira first appears, she flops onto the settee by the fire. As her dress billows, it can be seen that the green ghostly makeup ends half-way up her leg, showing normal skin above the makeup line.

Quotes
Charles Condomine: It's discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.

Crazy credits
The voice at the end of the credits page that utters, "We are quite, quite WRONG!" is Noël Coward's.

Connections
Featured in La vraie Miss Marple - L'etrange cas de Margaret Rutherford (2012)

Soundtracks
Always
(uncredited)
Written by Irving Berlin
Sung by Jacqueline Clarke

User reviews94

Featured review

7/10

Spirited Comedy

A couple is haunted by the spirit of the man's deceased first wife. Coward adapted his own play for the screen with the help of Lean and Neame. This was Neame's last credit as cinematographer before becoming a director. This was the third of Lean's first four films as director where he worked with Coward. It is an enjoyable farce with witty dialog, but never quite rises above the silliness of the subject matter (ghosts). Harrison and Cummings are fine as the couple, with him becoming bemused and her becoming exasperated after the appearance of the ghost of his first wife, a green-faced Hammond. Rutherford seems to be having the most fun as an incompetent medium.