Staff Recommendations: April 2022

The ghost and Mrs. Muir is a 1947 production, based on a novel by R.A. Dick, starring Gene Tierney as Mrs. Muir and Rex Harrison as Capt. Daniel Gregg. It’s directed by the talented Joe Mankiewicz, who skillfully crafts a tale of romance which transcends both time and physical reality. As a young widow, Lucy Muir wants to raise her daughter Anna (Natalie Wood) without the interference of her in-laws. She decides to rent a seaside house called Gull Cottage which she finds charming from the get-go. However, it seems Gull Cottage cannot keep tenants for very long for some reason. When she moves in she finds out why; she shares the cottage with the ghost of one of its former residents, Capt. Gregg. The two are a little wary of each other, but as time passes they form a friendship in which Lucy softens Capt. Gregg and he helps her retain her independence by helping her write a swashbuckler’s novel.

Eventually, they fall in love, but obvious complications arise involving their earthbound vs. spirit dynamic.

The film is lovely, with a wonderful score by Bernard Herrman and great cinematography by Charles Lang. The beautiful Tierney was sometimes underrated as an actress and she shines here as Lucy Muir. She is humorous, vulnerable, and resilient with a touch of sweet wistfulness as she navigates her feelings for the gruff, isolated Capt. Gregg. (In fact, there is a ribbon of sweet wistfulness that runs throughout the film.) And Rex Harrison excels as the sardonic, masculine, salty Captain who, even as a spirit, cannot help but fall for Tierney. Interestingly, perhaps this movie resonates today not only because it is a fine example of storytelling, but also because it possibly mirrors more modern challenges. Just as Lucy and Daniel navigate their boundaried co-existence, present day couples sometimes navigate becoming closer through the means of modern technology although they are not physically in the same day-to-day realm.