Undoubtedly Dame Margaret Rutherford's greatest Movie - looking surprisingly young, slim and energetic, and with a waistline of someone half her age! Here she plays the somewhat 'cranky' and eccentric Madame Arcati in Noel Coward's hilarious comedy.
Also stars a plummy-voiced Kay Hammond whose voice can get a little irritating after awhile. The marvellous Joyce Carey who was blessed with perennial youth plays the hapless Mrs. Bradman, who is always putting her foot in it! Constance Cummings and Rex Harrison play the unfortunate married couple who are haunted by the ghost of a previous dead spouse. Harrison playing very much himself here, and with an uncannily resemblance to the character 'Higgins' that he was to play some twenty years later in My Fair Lady; conceited and nauseatingly arrogant...
One of the best scenes in this classic that stands out far from the rest with some great dialogue, is when Mrs. Condomine pays a visit to Madame Arcati, demanding she be rid of her husband's previous wife's ghost. This turns into a fiery exchange of some great home truths for both characters! An interesting point is the drama of this, craftily slipped in the middle of an otherwise complete 'comic' Movie - very cleverly done! This Film has some marvellous Special Effects for its day, in particular, Rutherford's extremely long finger, and the clever shot of Constance Cummings running upstairs, and seemingly passing straight through Kay Hammond's ghostly apparition! All done in glorious Technicolor! A Gem not to be missed!
Also stars a plummy-voiced Kay Hammond whose voice can get a little irritating after awhile. The marvellous Joyce Carey who was blessed with perennial youth plays the hapless Mrs. Bradman, who is always putting her foot in it! Constance Cummings and Rex Harrison play the unfortunate married couple who are haunted by the ghost of a previous dead spouse. Harrison playing very much himself here, and with an uncannily resemblance to the character 'Higgins' that he was to play some twenty years later in My Fair Lady; conceited and nauseatingly arrogant...
One of the best scenes in this classic that stands out far from the rest with some great dialogue, is when Mrs. Condomine pays a visit to Madame Arcati, demanding she be rid of her husband's previous wife's ghost. This turns into a fiery exchange of some great home truths for both characters! An interesting point is the drama of this, craftily slipped in the middle of an otherwise complete 'comic' Movie - very cleverly done! This Film has some marvellous Special Effects for its day, in particular, Rutherford's extremely long finger, and the clever shot of Constance Cummings running upstairs, and seemingly passing straight through Kay Hammond's ghostly apparition! All done in glorious Technicolor! A Gem not to be missed!