When Noel Coward wrote Blithe Spirit it was to give British audiences something to laugh at during the blitz. Odd that he picked a subject like spiritualism which became popular in the United Kingdom after the first World War when people tried to contact loved ones left dead on the Western front. It was a serious thing back in the Twenties, yet Coward managed to find a whole lot of laughs in it.

Blithe Spirit concerns a skeptical mystery writer who was twice married, his first wife dying of illness and he's now married to the second one. The husband here is Rex Harrison and he wants to write another novel with the background being spiritualism. He invites a well known spiritual medium in Margaret Rutherford for dinner with the express purpose of seeing how she operates.

Well we can't say that Rutherford didn't warn Harrison about the unintended effects that eating red meat can have. The London broil that he was serving did look superb. She has her séance with the usual rappings, but when its over it turns out that Rutherford has managed to materialize Harrison's first wife Kay Hammond who only Harrison can see.

Having two wives even if they exist on a different plane is a bit much for the household. The ghostly Hammond who looks fetching in that green tint she's photographed in wants to assert herself in what was her home. But that kind of gives current wife Constance Cummings a bad attitude because she's come to feel this is her home now.

I can't go any farther, but simply to say that Coward gives us a whole lot to think about maybe leaving the dead alone. Also just what will the arrangements be in a next life?

Blithe Spirit debuting in London in 1941 in the height of the blitz ran for 1997 performances there and Kay Hammond and Margaret Rutherford recreated their roles for this film. The other stars were Cecil Parker and Fay Compton. When it got to Broadway, the male lead was taken by Clifton Webb and I can certainly see Mildred Natwick in the part of the medium. The wives were Peggy Wood and Jacqueline Scott. Coward who narrates this film off screen also played the husband in touring companies.

Coward's wit is certainly present in the play, but the accent here is on the physical comedy and the whole absurdity of the situation. Rex Harrison on the strength of the popularity of this film on both sides of the pond got a contract from 20th Century Fox studios in America. And the role of Madame Arcati the spiritualist became the most well known one that Margaret Rutherford ever essayed until the Miss Marple films of the Sixties and her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for The VIPS.

If Blithe Spirit does anything it will make you think about just what kind of arrangements one will have in a next life. Coward provides excellent food for thought.