Blithe Spirit

Noel Coward authored Blithe Spirit; a black comedy play considered as provocative in nature because of the outbreak of World War II nevertheless it became a British box office hit in the West End Theatre in 1941 garnering 1,997 performances that gave way to New York’s Broadway Theater with 657 performances. The success of the play leads to a series of adaptations from musical, film, television and radio. It was in 1945 when a collaborative effort of Coward himself to adapt it in film with Director David Lean, a top director of the British Film Industry thus Blithe Spirit was born. The cast were composed of Rex Harrison played as Charles Condomine; Elvira was played by Kay Hammond, Madame Arcati was played by Margaret Rutherford and Ruth played by Constance Cummings.

The film Blithe Spirit was all about a flamboyant novelist, Charles Condomine whose first wife Elvira died and remarries another woman in the person of Ruth. Maybe challenge by the world of séance where communicating the dead through a medium, Madame Arcati, bringing back the spirit of his first wife. Indeed it happened with Charles ending up having two wives; one, Elvira in spirit to whom he alone can see and Ruth his second wife. Elvira became so obsessed with Charles to the point of ending his life by a car accident so that both will be in each other’s arm but sad to say it was Ruth who became the victim. Charles had witnessed how Elvira suffer the torment brought to her by invisible Ruth thus seeking the help of Madame Arcati to banish the two spirits of his wives yet Ruth became visible to Charles instead. The violent reactions of the two wives in spirit prompted Charles to leave as warned by Madame Arcati and in the film of David lean; as Charles was about to escape from his two wives, his car was sabotaged and Charles died again he joins his two wives in spirit.

 The film has a series of revivals in the West End Theatre in the 70s and 80s as well as in Broadway Theatre. In 2004, it was revived in London and another revival will be on its way in Broadway Theatre on February 2009.

Work Cited:

1. Blithe Spirit (play). 2009. Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia. 6 February 2009

          < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blithe_Spirit_(play)>.