Rating: 
Summary: Gene Tierney's Crowning Achievement
Review: Exquisite. That one adjective describes both this film, and its leading lady. Although she is best remembered as the title character in the classic 1944 mystery, "Laura", and received greater acclaim for her Oscar-nominated performance in the highest-grossing 20th Century-Fox film of the 1940's, "Leave Her to Heaven", "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" nonetheless remains Gene Tierney's most successful film performance. As Lucy Muir, a spirited British widow at the turn of the 20th century who falls in love with the ghost of a sea captain, Miss Tierney is on screen in every scene of the film, and dazzles throughout with her ethereal beauty and her thespic versatility. Afforded the rare opportunity to play moments of high comedy, quiet drama, and romantic yearning all in one film, Miss Tierney never once strikes a false note. She is particularly touching in the sequence during which the middle-aged Mrs. Muir reflects on the past with her grown daughter; in the hands of a lesser actress, this scene could easily have become maudlin and overly sentimental, but Tierney plays it with a quiet dignity and sweet resolve that distills the essence of her graceful and independent character.Yet, while "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" is arguably Tierney's best film, its success is not due to her efforts alone. Rex Harrison, in his second American film, also triumphs as the salty sea captain whose gruff veneer is slowly peeled away by the determined widow sharing his home. The scene in which he bids her a tender farewell is brilliantly played. George Sanders excels in his role as a romantic cad; the vocal sneer he practically patented on film suits his part here perfectly. And the entire production is aided tremendously by Bernard Herrmann's lush and majestic score, as well as Charles Lang's Oscar-nominated cinematography (that nomination was for the 1947 awards, by the the way, not the 1942 ceremonies as incorrectly noted on the front of the DVD box). Speaking of the DVD, the transfer is - in the 20th Century-Fox Home Video tradition - disappointing. While the source print is much better that the one used for the VHS and laserdisc releases, and is infinitely superior to the scratchy, poorly-spliced copy that is often screened on pay-TV stations like AMC, the film has not been digitally restored. There are still significant flutters (especially noticeable during the opening credits), scratches, and jumps in both the picture and the soundtrack. The DVD does include the rarely-seen Original Theatrical Trailer; a stills gallery that emphasizes set design photographs but does include some interesting on-the-set photos of Gene Tierney in her wheelchair (she broke her foot during production and continued filming against her doctor's advice); Theatrical Trailers for the five previously-released Fox Studio Classics DVDs; an A&E "Biography" segment on Rex Harrison; and audio commentaries including remarks by film historian Jeanine Basinger who supervised the cataloging of the Tierney archives in Connecticut ... and whose name is misspelled on the DVD package. (Way to go, Fox! You REALLY need to hire a film historian to proof-read your DVD packages. They're uniformly inaccurate, filled with both typos and misinformation.) Despite its flaws, this DVD edition is the still one available of this classic, greatly-beloved film and is therefore cheerfully recommended. Trivia note: Not surprisingly, after Tierney died in 1991 at the age of 70 (not 71 as noted in the DVD's liner notes), "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" was the film chosen to represent the actress' career during the two-day auction of many of her personal effects at the Hart Galleries in Houston, Texas. The screening was a most fitting tribute to both a marvelous actress and a lovely human being.
Rating: 
Summary: HAUNTED ROMANCE GETS SHAFTED ON DVD
Review: Fox will have to start doing more with the quality of their transfers if they expect the public to shell out good money for shoddy workmanship. "The Ghost & Mrs. Muir" is one of those immortal classics that seems so improbable by today's standards and yet comes off beautifully in all its dated simplicity. Gene Tierney is a young widow who moves into a sea side resort only to discover that it is haunted by the ghost of a sea captain. The romance that blossoms between the two is enchanting.
The same can't be said for the transfer quality. While the black and white picture has been well balanced in contrast levels, the picture throughout is plagued with aliasing, shimmering and edge enhancement that make for a wholly unsatisfying visual experience. There are even several cases where splice cuts are evident in a sudden flicker or jump as the image changes from scene to scene. The sound, though remixed to stereo, is unremarkable and characteristically mono with the exception of its music track. We get no "making-of" that has accompanied previous Fox Studio Classics in the series - a lost opportunity. Instead there's a biography on Rex Harrison that is short and glossy but ultimately limited in its critique of this great intercontinental actor. There are also stills and trailers to be had.
BOTTOM LINE: VERY DISAPPOINTING!
Rating:
Summary: a great and romantic film.
Review: "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir," is one of the best romantic films of all time. Rex Harrison is so dashing as the ghost of Captain Daniel Gregg, and Gene Tierney is so beautiful and angelic, as Lucy Muir. It is really entertaining and romantic. A film that really depicts eternal love. The scenery near the sea is beautiful and charming. It's a must see film for all romantic and lovers of a good story with an eternal theme.
Rating:
Summary: When he says
Review: I melt. A lovely, impoverished widow comes to roost at Capt. Greggs' cottage by the sea. Long rumored to be haunted, Lucy Muir, her young daughter ( played by darling little Natalie Wood ) and their loyal servant settle in, only to find a charming home and Lucy finds her Captain. Protective and yet impatient, Capt. Gregg assists the lovely Lucy to become free of her impossible in-laws and financial insecurity...and also in finding love and surviving a betrayal. I won't spoil it for you, except to say the dashing captain and the beautiful widow form one of filmdoms' most cherished couples. A timeless and romantic story - this makes the modern day Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts romantic movies pale in comparison. Do yourself a favor and see this one !
Rating:
Summary: The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
Review: This movie was spellbinding----a romance....with a ghost!! Yet, the script is written in such a way as to make it totally believable. Mrs. Muir endures battles with her dead husband's relatives, and raises a child alone in a cottage by the sea. Watch out for George Saunders who plays the scoundral (as usual). She is visited several times by the crusty sea captain who formally built the cottage, and still considers it his. She is the only renter who is not afraid of ghosts, and decides to stay even if the place is haunted. A relationship between them developes, and when it looks as if she will become destitute, he dictates a book of sealore to her, which she has published to produce an income for herself and her child. The end is very touching....I cried.
Rating:
Summary: As I saw the 1960's TV series first...
Review: ..., imagine my knocked-to-my-feet surprise when I discovered this earlier, period, version of the same romantic charmer!! As another critic so masterfully captioned earlier, the true beauty of GAMM is that its romance is fully realized, courted, and even consummated without its two protagonists ever having physical contact. How *can* they, when one of them is flesh and the other isn't. But they do court- first in genteel, witty, one-upmanship banter between the sexes, then in gradual, verbal revelations of their most private and personal thoughts, all the while realizing that their individual stubborness and fire is exactly what attracts them to one another. (Listen especially to passages like Lucy describing her late husband- but not with much affection, or the Captain first talking about his rite of passage with an older woman.) Every time they speak they truly enjoy each other's company (the conversation on the train is especially fine) and there is an unspoken yearn to take their friendship to the next level. When Lucy finally utters the sad line "what's to become of us," you realize that their relationship can never really materialize. The later epilogue, where an older Lucy tries to remember the Captain for her teenage daughter- and the daughter's revelation that she knew about him too- is at once lovely and bittersweet. Bernard Herrmann's score? No words are adequate.
Rating:
Summary: Not Your Average Goofy Ghost Flick
Review: When I started to watch this, I did so with reservation, expecting to be bombarded with the sadly typical Hollywood "ghost" special effects, that are anything but special. But I got sucked into the story when Gene Tierney's character showed spunk and determination, as a young widow with a young daughter, trying to escape the clutches of her severe and annoying sister-in-law and mother-in-law, now who among the married, can't relate to that? She moves away from her repressive in-laws and rents a haunted house by the sea, because it's cheap and has a great view. Well, the house is haunted by a cranky Sea Captain, Rex Harison, who is quite handsome, if not a bit surly. She wins him over with her resolve and as weird as it sounds, they kind of fall in love, well, he does. When a mortal fellow enters the picture, and Tierney falls in love with him, Rex steps aside to allow her happiness. It's a sweet movie, where a strong and independent Tierney triumphs by facing her fears and finding love.
Rating: 
Summary: a painting that is too realistic....
Review: Old movie, likeable love story: The characters (Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison) are likeable enough in this fourties period piece. A determined young widow and her daughter decide to get away from it all, moving to a house by the sea. The house has been for sale for quite some time and the locals say it's haunted, which only seems to encourage her to move in...but the owner still has yet to move out. The sea captain, the man from a too-realistic painting in the house, resents that his accidental death was called a suicide and hence punishes all who try to live in his house, like his latest house guest the widow. But she's the proverbial different and nether widowing, a corset, or a ghost can hamper her. Eventually the captain and the widow forge a living together (he can stay if he won't bother the widows daughter), complete with .... tension, until a suitor moves in on Mrs. Muir and eventually the captain and his painting are taken down... Rex Harrison plays a less articulate version of the unapologetic, well, sadist that was Henry Higgins (of "My Fair Lady"). The widow is smart but sensitive (and a lady, who covers up the captains painting before undressing) and likeable, who notices that neither she nor her daughter have no accent? Will the couple end up together, despite the boundaries of class AND mortality? This is not a masterpiece, but why compare it? The story is sweet and the characters are likable. A good rainy day yarn...
Rating:
Summary: One of Hollywoods Best
Review: This film should be amoung the best in anyone's list. As we look at some of the truely classic romance movies "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" should be at the top. From the performance of the sea captain by Rex Harrison to Gene Tierney's Mrs. Muir this is one that captures the true love in all of its heart breaking catagories. The black and white of the film makes it all the more overcast by the story itself.
See it and believe!
Rating:
Summary: Enchanting!!
Review: I just love the way that Mrs. Muir (Gene Tierney) and The Ghost (Rex Harrison) meet and go on about life, living as one and falling for each other. I adore the older movies and this one ranks the best on my list to watch.
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