Blithe Spirit

DVD, 96 minutes, JANUS FILMS

Noel Coward once called "Blithe Spirit," "the best thing I ever wrote." It was certainly his most unexpected hit, a comedy about death and sex, in that order, that ran for years right in the middle of a world war in which thousands were dying every week. On stage in London it ran for years and made a star of Cecil Parker ("The Lady Vanishes"), and it spent almost two years on Broadway as well. Every studio in Hollywood wanted it and was willing to pay a fortune for it, but Coward took Blithe Spirit to David Lean, who had previously brought his "This Happy Breed" to the screen and co-directed the Oscar "In Which We Serve with Coward". "Blithe Spirit" was David Lean's only comedy, an ectoplasmic romp about Charles Condomine (Rex Harrison), a middle-aged author suddenly confronted by the ghost of his firs wife, Elvira (Kay Hammond ). Elvira still craves the sexual adventures that she enjoyed with Charles in his younger days, but he's more comfortable (or is he?) with his more sedate and mature second wife, Ruth (Constance Cummings). Elvira, who glows bright green and can walk through walls (and can only be seen by Charles), does her best to seduce Charles and win him back, complicating life (and death) for everyone around her. David Lean shot "Blithe Spirit" in Technicolor, but decided with cinematographer Ronald Neame not to use double - exposure to create Elivra's manifestations. Instead, he ordered an enormous set that allowed Kay Hammond's ghost to move freely in each shot, specially lit so that her green make-up and grotesque wig were aglow, along with her red lips and fingernails. The result was a visually startling comedy of sexual manners from beyond-the-grave, sort of Topper with a libido, that won an Oscar in 1946 for its special effects and praise from critics all over the world. Blithe Spirit's popularity extended across a generation - four decades later, neo-psychedelic rocker Robyn Hitchcock paid tribute to it in a song. "My Wife And My Dead Wife.".