The Ghost And Mrs. Muir (1947)

 

The Ghost And Mrs. Muir - 1947

Coming up next we have 1947's "The Ghost And Mrs. Muir", the story of a young widow who moves into a seaside house, only to find it haunted by its former occupant.

The film's cast includes Gene Tierney, Rex Harrison, George Sanders, Edna Best,  Natalie Wood, Isobel Elsom, and Victoria Horne.

Mrs. Lucy Muir is a widow with a young daughter.  She's just decided to leave the home of her domineering in-laws.  She finds a property she's interested in, "Gull Cottage".  A real estate agent nearly refuses to take her to it, but she is insistent.

Once at Gull Cottage, Lucy takes an instant liking to it.  The seaside setting is just what she feels she needs.  However, the real estate agent is reluctant to let her sign a lease.

Apparently, the house is haunted by the ghost of a sea captain, who committed suicide in the house.  This doesn't deter Lucy one bit.  She still wants the place.

As they finish up their tour of the house, Lucy and the real estate agent hear maniacal laughter coming from somewhere, proving the place really is haunted.  Lucy doesn't care.  She obtains Gull Cottage for herself, her daughter, and her maid/friend Martha.

While napping on her first day at the cottage, Lucy is visited by the ghost of the sea captain, who watches her.  Lucy's dog can feel his presence.

And on the first night, the sea captain appears to Lucy after she demands he do so following some disturbances he was making.  "You'll forgive me if I take a minute to get accustomed to you," says Lucy as she searches for a chair to sit on.

After resisting all of Captain Daniel Gregg's insistencies to leave, Lucy tells him she is staying.  Daniel is impressed that she is so strong-willed.  Lucy says that he must not appear to her daughter.  Daniel just laughs and says, "No woman has ever been the worse for knowing me."

As time passes, they form a close friendship.  She calls him Daniel, and he calls her Lucia.  They both grow comfortable with their relationship.

When financial hardship befalls Lucy, Daniel decides to come to her rescue.  He dictates his memoirs to her, entitled "Blood And Swash".  He wants her to use the proceeds from the book for her expenses.

Lucy takes the book to a publisher.  He reluctantly begins to read it and is pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoys it.  He enthusiastically agrees to publish the book.

After her triumph at the publisher, Lucy meets and hits it off with fellow author Miles Fairley.  He's charming and debonair, and he thoroughly sweeps Lucy off her feet.

Daniel, however, has been watching unseen, and he intensely dislikes Miles.  Lucy smiles when she realizes Daniel is a bit jealous.

Miles comes to visit Lucy at Gull Cottage, and the two become even closer.

Daniel comes to the painful realization that he must let Lucy go so that she is free to be with the living.  "You must make your own life amongst the living and, whether you meet fair winds or foul, find your own way to harbor in the end," he says.

While she is napping, Daniel comes to her and puts the thought in her mind that he has just been a dream, that it was her idea for the book.

Before he takes his final leave of Lucy, Daniel muses over what could have been.  "How you'd have loved the North Cape and the fjords and the midnight sun...to sail across the reef at Barbados, where the blue water turns to green...to the Falklands where a southerly gale rips the whole sea white!  What we've missed, Lucia.  What we've both missed."

Sadly, Lucy journeys to London to visit Miles.  There, she finds that he is married.  She leaves and closes that chapter of her life behind her.

She returns to Gull Cottage, where she gazes at places that Daniel used to be.  She doesn't understand that he was real.  She still thinks it was a dream.

The years roll by.  Lucy's daughter, Anna, comes to visit with news that she is to be engaged.  Lucy discovers that Anna came to know Daniel when she was a little girl.  Anna makes Lucy remember how she felt about Daniel and that he was once a real part of their lives.

The years continue ever onward.  Lucy, now an old woman, is sick and under the care of a doctor.  After telling her maid/friend Martha that she is tired, she sits down and dies.

Daniel appears and says, "And now, you'll never be tired again".  With his arms outstretched he says, "Come, Lucia.  Come, m'dear."

Lucy arises as the young woman that Daniel knew all those years ago, when she first moved to Gull Cottage.

Arm in arm, they stroll out of Gull Cottage and into the mists.  The door closes behind them.

Cast rundown:

   Gene Tierney...................................Lucy Muir

   Rex Harrison...................................Captain Daniel Gregg

   George Sanders...............................Miles Fairley

   Edna Best.......................................Martha Huggins

   Natalie Wood...................................Anna Muir

   Isobel Elsom...................................Angelica

   Victoria Horne.................................Eva

And that's it for The Ghost And Mrs. Muir.  It's a favorite of mine and one of the first older films that I can clearly remember watching.  While set on the seaside in England, this movie was filmed entirely in California along its central coast.  The film is listed at #73 on the American Film Institute's "100 Years...100 Passions" list.

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The Great Race (1965)

The Great Race - 1965

How about a trip around the world?  That's what we have for you with 1965's "The Great Race", a film about two daredevils who challenge each other to a global car race from New York to Paris.

The film's cast includes Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk, Keenan Wynn, Arthur O'Connell, Vivian Vance, Dorothy Provine, and Ross Martin.

The Great Leslie and Professor Fate are both daredevils who perform stunts for the general enjoyment of their audiences.

While Professor Fate's stunts always end in failure, the Great Leslie enjoys enormous success.  To say the two are each others' nemesis would be an understatement.

They get the idea to participate in a race around the world with the prize being ultimate bragging rights.  Also joining the race is a feminist newspaperwoman named Maggie DuBois, who is intent on keeping up with the boys.  The Great Leslie rides with his partner Hezekiah, while Professor Fate rides with his, the dimwitted Max.

On the way to the first stopover, a western town called Borracho, Professor Fate mistakes the town's welcoming committee for an imminent attack, which does not make them happy.  His car is equipped with all sorts of devious tricks to evade them and give him an advantage.

The Great Leslie (now giving a lift to Ms. DuBois, whose car has broken down) arrives in the town to be feted and acclaimed by the populace.

That night, our race participants attend a reception with entertainments provided by the town beauty, Miss Lily Olay, who sings a spirited song entitled "He Shouldn'ta Hadn'ta Oughtn'ta Swang On Me", which is great fun.

During the song, Maggie gets a bit jealous at the attention that Leslie is paying to Miss Olay.

And it sure doesn't make her happy when Lily slaps her boa repeatedly in Maggie's face.  When Leslie tries to get to know a little bit about Miss Olay, he asks her, "Are you a native of Borracho?"  To which a stunned Miss Olay exclaims, "I ain't a native!  I was born here!"

Things turn chilly when the group is en route to Alaska and has to stop on account of a blizzard.  Naturally, Professor Fate and Max run into some trouble and have to get out of their car.

And just as they get out, a polar bear gets in.  By the time they realize what's happening, the polar bear is comfortably settled in the back seat, which necessitates that Professor Fate and Max share a vehicle with Leslie and Maggie (without Hezekiah, who has mysteriously disappeared).

Things go from bad to worse when the ice their cars are on starts to melt and gets smaller and smaller.  Have no fear though.  Just in the nick of time, Hezekiah is there to rescue them.

After making it to Russia and driving through Eurasia, the group comes to the European capital of Potsdorf, whose inhabitants are very enthusiastic about the race coming to them.

The Great Leslie is greeted with much pomp and taken to the palace to meet Prince Hoepnick, the ruler of Potsdorf, who is due to have his coronation the next day.

Professor Fate and Max, however, unwittingly become part of a plot to overthrow the prince.  With their very lives threatened, they are forced to participate in the coup.

Meanwhile, Leslie and Hezekiah are shocked to see that Prince Hoepnick looks exactly like Professor Fate.  They can't believe their eyes.  However, the man couldn't be more different in personality.  To say his mental status is shaky would be kind.  After walking a long way through the corridor, the Prince takes a big gulp of wine and says, "You know, there’s one thing wrong with living in a palace.  It takes so long to get from one place to another.  I live in a constant state of exhaustion."

After a switcheroo, Professor Fate is forced to take the place of the Prince.  He can't stand the Prince's dogs (something the Prince adores).  And it's fun to watch him try and acclimate to the changes.

He is even supposed to stand in for the Prince at the coronation service the next day.  Professor Fate can hardly believe what's happening.  He wants desperately to get back to the race.

At the earliest opportunity, he makes a break for it.  Running through the streets of Potsdorf in an effort to escape, he enters a bakery.

What follows is the most hysterical pie throwing scene you've ever had the privilege to witness!  The real prince, Professor Fate, Max, Hezekiah, Maggie, and Leslie all participate in this hilarious sequence.

Here's a little info on the scene.  Over 4,000 pies were used over the course of a five day shoot.  Jack Lemmon bears the brunt of the pie throwing.  At the final call of "cut", the entire cast and crew each had a pie which they then threw at him.  The sequence cost about $200,000, which would be over $1.6 million today.  Lemmon is absolutely hilarious to watch here.  Well worth the 4 minutes.

At the end of the pie throwing, the real prince (now restored to his crown) waves the cars goodbye as they continue on with the race.

Our friends make a mad and frenzied dash to Paris.  Both teams get there anxious to be the first at the finishing line.

I won't spoil it for you and tell you who wins (you'll have to watch to find out).  But it's a close one right up until the end.

The winner decrees that there needs to be a rematch: another race, this time from Paris to New York.

Cast rundown:

   Jack Lemmon...........................Professor Fate/Prince Hoepnick

   Tony Curtis..............................The Great Leslie

   Natalie Wood............................Maggie DuBois

   Peter Falk................................Max Meen

   Keenan Wynn...........................Hezekiah Sturdy

   Arthur O'Connell.......................Henry Goodbody

   Vivian Vance............................Hester Goodbody

   Dorothy Provine........................Lily Olay

   Ross Martin..............................Baron Rolfe Von Stuppe

And that's it for The Great Race.  Natalie Wood did not want to have a role in this film.  She accepted it to get a part in a film that she really wanted.  You would never know she was unhappy with this movie.  She plays Maggie DuBois with a bubbly personality that you can't help but like.

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