The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is a 1947 American supernatural romantic fantasy film starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison. It was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and is based on a 1945 novel written by Josephine Leslie under the pseudonym of R.A. Dick. In 1945, 20th Century-Fox bought the film rights to the novel, which had been published only in the United Kingdom at that time. It was shot entirely in California.
Plot
<!--Opening caption establishes the Setting--> Mrs. Lucy Muir, recently widowed by Edwin, an architect, moves to Whitecliff by the sea, despite her sister-in-law Eva's sharp disapproval, and her mother-in-law Angelica's sadness at Lucy taking away her young daughter Anna, and her loyal housekeeper Martha Huggins. The local estate agent Mr. Coombe reluctantly shows her Gull Cottage, in which she sees the portrait of the former owner, the roguish sea captain Daniel Gregg. They hear a ghostly laugh – Lucy, unafraid, remarks, "Haunted. How perfectly fascinating." Coombe claims that Gregg committed suicide, but she persists in renting Gull Cottage, joking, "it's too ridiculous...in the 20th century,<!--Dialog establishes the Time--> to believe in apparitions."
That night, Lucy experiences odd disturbances. Resolutely, she demands that the ghost show himself. Captain Gregg manifests, explaining his death four years ago wasn't a suicide, but resulted from accidentally kicking the gas heater valve while sleeping. He wants Gull Cottage to house retired seamen, thus he frightens away other tenants. Due to Lucy's headstrong attitude, and her appreciation of the house, Daniel reluctantly agrees to allow her to remain, promising to materialize only to her.
Eva and Angelica visit, wanting Lucy to move back to London, as Lucy's gold mine investment — her only source of income — has "petered out" and "stopped paying dividends." However Daniel, having warmed to her, asks her to stay, suggesting her in-laws should "shove off." They decide to write a book from which she can profit; a dictation of his ocean-going memoirs. While writing the book, they fall in love. Realizing it's hopeless, Daniel urges Lucy to find a living man. Lucy meets London publisher Mr. Sproule, encountering Miles Fairley, a suave author of children's books under the pen name Uncle Neddy. Sproule agrees to publish Daniel's lurid and sensational recollections, titled Blood and Swash, providing Lucy with an advance to buy Gull Cottage.
Fairley follows her back to Whitecliff and they begin a whirlwind courtship. Though initially jealous of their relationship, Daniel decides to leave, as he considers himself an obstacle to Lucy's chance at happiness. While she sleeps, he imparts a mental suggestion that she alone wrote the book, and his presence was merely a dream. After declaring regret about never having had a life with her, he fades away.
Fairley cancels a planned visit to Gull Cottage, saying he will be in London for a few days. Lucy visits London to sign a contract, and obtains Fairley's address in the city from the office clerk to pay a surprise visit. She discovers that Fairley is already married with two children, and Mrs. Fairley sympathetically tells her, she's not Fairley's first extramarital affair. Heartbroken, Lucy returns to Whitecliff to spend the rest of her life as a recluse, with Martha looking after her.
Years later, Mrs. Fairley has had enough of her husband's philandering and divorces him, taking full custody of their children. Anna goes to university and returns with a Royal Navy lieutenant she plans to marry. Anna reveals to her mother that she knew about her mother's relationship with "Uncle Neddy", and that she believes that she too saw Daniel, whom she regarded as a childhood crush, meaning Daniel broke his promise to Lucy not to show himself. Anna argues that Daniel must be real since they both saw him, but Lucy still believes that it was a dream and reasons it is more logical to conclude that she transmitted her dream to Anna through her stories than to believe in ghosts. She also tells Anna that although she had at times been lonely, she was never truly alone.
Many years later, the elderly Lucy is now ailing, and Anna's daughter (also named Lucy) is engaged to an airplane captain; Anna believes that affection for captains runs in their family. Lucy rejects the glass of hot milk Martha has brought for her with a complaint that she is tired. After Martha leaves the room, Lucy dies. Daniel returns and approaches her, whispering that she will never be tired again. Taking his hands, her young spirit leaves her aged body and greets him with a loving smile. Unseen by Martha, the couple leave the house and walk arm-in-arm into an ethereal mist.
Cast
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Production
thumb|Tierney in the trailer
Initially, June Lockhart and Richard Ney were cast in the roles of Anna and Miles Fairley, respectively, but Ney had to leave due to scheduling conflicts with another film, Ivy (1947).