My movie to end the year with

JT Twissel

Let’s see if you can guess the name of the movie I’ve decided to end the year with.

  • It was based on a three act play by Noel Coward
  • The title is from a poem called “To a Skylark” by Percy Bliss Shelley
  • It was the screen debut of Margaret Rutherford

The plot in a nutshell: The ghost of a writer’s first wife is conjured forth by a bumbling spiritualist causing great distress to his second wife.

By far the best thing about this film is the performance of Margaret Rutherford (1892-1972) as the spiritualist. She was a “big boned” actress with so-called “spaniel jaws” who nonetheless, stole every scene she was ever in … although she never meant to. She once wrote of being called a comedian: “I never intended to play for laughs. I am always surprised that the audience thinks me funny at all.”

She’s probably most famous for playing Miss Marple, Agatha Christie’s aging and unconventional detective.

Many other actresses have played Miss Marple but Rutherford was different. Perhaps because she was not a dainty, prim and proper old lady.

My hero!

21 thoughts on “My movie to end the year with”

  3. I know the answer, but only because you have told me about a million times. Which takes me out of the game. Okay, here’s my quiz: How many Nazis were among the six Mitford sisters? I want to up the ante here in a random way. Bonus question: which sister loved chickens? Duke

    Reply

    1. Jessica loved chickens but I don’t know which ones of her sisters were Nazis – have you ever watched the PBS series Foyle’s War? According to that show, very few of the aristocrats weren’t at least Nazi sympathizers so I’d say five of them were Nazis.

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  4. I can’t play the game because you have told me the answer about a million times. Here’s my quiz: how many of the Mitford sisters were Nazis? Bonus points if you know which of them loved chickens? These questions relate to your question. Duke

    Reply

    1. Happy New Year to you as well. The movie is a 1945 screwball British comedy called Blythe Spirit. It’s been remade many times but I think the first one was the best.

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