The Ghost and Mrs. Muir ~ Best Movie of All Time

She isn't living in Gull Cottage for long before Captain Gregg makes his presence known. Even after "showing" himself to Mrs. Muir, she is not scared away.

A friendship between these two is quickly cemented and a lifetime of a rather odd relationship ensues. They have conversations that no one else can hear and Captain Gregg dictates a book to Mrs. Muir in order to provide a living so she can stay at Gull Cottage and remain independent.

There are a few scenes that I find extremely entertaining. Even after seeing it dozens of times, I still laugh out loud when an unseen Captain Gregg "escorts" Mrs. Muir's rude in-laws out of Gull Cottage and another time when he releases the brake on the visiting realtor's automobile.

I never hear the nickname "my dear" that I don't think of Captain Gregg.


Image Right From: letraslibres.com
Image Below From: austinchronicle.com

Excerpt from: The Official Website of Gene Tierney

She was the ideal woman of mystery, and she starred in one of the very few virtually perfect movies ever made - "Laura."

Unlike most actors, Gene Tierney entered movies from a privileged background. Her prosperous parents raised the aspiring actress in Brooklyn and Connecticut. She attended private schools there in Green Farms, near Westport, and in Switzerland. After a society debut in 1938, the modest Tierney quickly tired of the social scene and sought roles in the Broadway theatre. Her etched cheekbones, her exceptional crystal-like light green eyes, and her gentle features all easily trumped Tierney's lack of stage experience. Following one of her performances, critic Richard Watts observed, "I don't see why Miss Tierney shouldn't have an interesting theatrical career if the cinema doesn't kidnap her."

Less than two years passed before Twentieth Century-Fox studio chieftain Darryl F. Zanuck happened to catch the exotic looking teenaged beauty in a small but showy stage role for "The Male Animal." He offered a movie contract. Tierney's father created a family corporation, Belle-Tier, to contract with the movie studio for his daughter's services. She told reporters at the time, "I hadn't studied any law, but I know how to keep from getting skinned. I also know that I don't want to be ruined for life by having the studio pull out my teeth, or something like that, trying to make me photograph better."

Consequently no one could tamper with her hair length or color, nor fix her slightly crooked teeth (she featured a marginal overbite). Writer Gavin Lambert has stated that hers was a face "of delicate, almost perfect beauty, flawed only by slightly projecting teeth, which she realized were part of its attraction and never had fixed."

Read more at: The Official Website of Gene Tierney

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Excerpt From: Rex Harrison: Biography from Answers.com

Sir Rex Harrison was a star of stage and screen for sixty years, known best for his role as Professor Henry Higgins in the musical play and film My Fair Lady, a role that brought him a Tony (1957) and and Oscar (1965). Harrison began on the English stage in the 1920s and appeared in his first film in 1930. By the end of the '30s he was a leading man, especially good as a witty sophisticate in British black-tie comedies. After World War II -- Harrison was a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force -- he began making movies in America as well as in Britain, including Blithe Spirit (1945, directed by David Lean), Anna and the King of Siam (1946) and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947, with young Natalie Wood). He was also a hit on Broadway and won a Tony in 1949 for his portrayal of King Henry VIII in the play Anne of the Thousand Days. He became an international star by the early 1960s, thanks to the huge success of My Fair Lady on stage in New York and London (1958-62), an Oscar nomination for his role as Caesar in the Elizabeth Taylor film Cleopatra (1963) and an Oscar win for the film version of My Fair Lady (1964, co-starring Audrey Hepburn). His other films include Midnight Lace (1960, with Doris Day), The Agony and the Ecstasy (1965, starring Charlton Heston ) and Dr. Doolittle (1967).

My Fair Lady is based on the George Bernard Shaw play Pygmalion... Harrison was knighted in 1989.

Read More at: Rex Harrison: Biography from Answers.com

Image from: aveleyman.com

One of the first "encounters" between Captain Gregg and Mrs. Muir was a dispute about the Monkey Puzzle tree planted on the property. Captain Gregg loved the tree and Mrs. Muir thought it was ugly.

Since I had no idea what a Monkey Puzzle tree looked like, I was intrigued. Personally, I find it fascinating. Sorry, Gene, I have to side with Rex on this one.

Here is what Wikipedia says: Araucaria araucana (Monkey-puzzle) is the hardiest species in the conifer genus Araucaria. It is native to central Chile and west central Argentina, and is an evergreen tree growing to 40 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter. Because of the species' great age it is sometimes described as a living fossil. Araucaria araucana is the national tree of Chile.

You can read more about the Monkey Puzzle tree at Wikipedia.org


Image of Monkey Puzzle Tree From: katmulkey.com
Image Below From: themave.com

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Updated: 3/3/12