The true beauty of "The Ghost And Mrs. Muir" is that the romance which ultimately springs forth from its two stars is fully realized, fleshed out, and consummated without them ever having physical contact. I won't spoil anything by going over too much of the plot, but suffice it to say that what begins as a verbal battle between the sexes never disappoints as it gradually turns into the most thoughtful and sensitive banter betwixt a man and woman. And even though there are no kisses or exchanges of "I love you's," the friendship, longing, and love which passes between Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison is smoldering, even bewitching. (Consider, in particular, the exchanges of dialog between Lucy and the Captain: he accurately sums up her practical, but somewhat loveless union with her late husband; she asks about his life as a sailor and what made him go to sea in the first place, and so on.) Every exchange they have is like two concert instruments playing in perfect harmony. And yet there is an unspoken yearn for them to take their friendship to the next level. Add to this a positively stunning music score by Bernard Herrmann, whose orchestral crescendos begin weaving a spell as soon as the Fox logo appears on screen. There are later, equally glorious, scenes- like Lucy and the Captain, at the end of their pen collaboration, gently revealing their affection for each other for the first time ("what's to become of us?"); Harrison's late-night departure from a sleeping Tierney which will make your heart race and simultaneously bring tears to your eyes; and a particularly moving epilogue (which I think often goes unappreciated) of a middle-aged Mrs. Muir with her beautiful college-age daughter, who has her own revelations about the salty sea captain. At once lovely and bittersweet it is. And that *still* isn't the climax of the film!!
Review of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
