| Major Cast | |
|---|---|
| Gene Tierney | as Lucy Muir |
| Rex Harrison | as Captain Daniel Gregg |
| George Sanders | as Miles Fairley |
| Edna Best | as Martha Huggins |
| Vanessa Brown | as Anna Muir as an Adult |
| Anna Lee | as Mrs. Miles Fairley |
| Robert Coote | as Mr. Coome, the publisher |
| Natalie Wood | as Anna Muir as a Child |
| Isobel Elsom | as Angelica Muir |
| Victoria Horne | as Eva Muir |
| MPAA Rating: | NR |
| Distributor: | Twentieth Century Fox |
| Release Date (US): | May 1947 |
| Domestic Box Office: | $? |
| Foreign Box Office: | $? |
| Production Budget: | $? (Est.) |
Recently widowed, Lucy Muir has been living with her mother and sister. Now she decides to strike out on her own. She has income from her late husband's investments; with this she finds and rents a seaside cottage that enchants her, despite the agent's warnings that it will prove unsuitable, and moves in with her daughter and housekeeper. In short order she learns why the agent warned her: the ghost of a sea captain, the designer and former owner of the house, remains to haunt it and scare away "landlubbers."
However, Mrs. Muir doesn't scare. They quickly arrive at a modus vivendi that in time develops into love. It is a cautious love, to be sure, constrained by the fact that the captain has no flesh and can be seen or heard only by her, unless he wishes otherwise. Other complications arise. First, Mrs. Muir's income stops, and her inlaws reappear to coldly invite her back. She refuses — a refusal the captain reinforces. Next there is the problem of income. The captain solves that by dictating his memoir, which a publisher he directs her to snaps up. The royalties come to her, enabling her to eventually buy the house. Finally, she is deceived by a philanderer (George Sanders) she meets at the publisher's. The captain reluctantly leaves her then, understanding she must live her life as she chooses. But they are reunited in the end.
This is one of Hollywood's classic romances, based on the 1945 novel by R. A. Dick (pen name of Josephine Leslie). It features a bravura performance by Gene Tierney (1920-1991) as the plucky woman achieving independence. Rex Harrison also delivers a fine performance as the initially brusque "old salt" who mellows (but not too much) as their relationship develops. The supporting cast, including a young Natalie Wood, are also fine.
This movie will not be to everyone's taste. In particular, those who crave dazzling special effects or "action" should look elsewhere. But those who appreciate a well-acted, well-produced, and well-filmed romantic period piece will find much enjoyment from it.
My Rating:
8 out of 10
Capsule review: A bravura performance by Gene Tierney,1 one of the loveliest leading ladies of Hollywood's golden era, transforms Rex Harrison's gruff and ghostly sea captain in this classic romance.
| IMDB Rating: 7.9 | Raters: 11,799 |
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