Blithe Spirit


04:00 am - 06:00 am, Thursday, January 1 on WNYW Movies! (5.2)

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About this Broadcast
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David Lean directed Noel Coward's fantasy about a ghost returning to disrupt her husband's second marriage.

1945 English
Comedy Fantasy

Cast & Crew
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Rex Harrison (Actor) .. Charles Condomine
Margaret Rutherford (Actor) .. Madame Arcati
Kay Hammond (Actor) .. Elvira Condomine
Constance Cummings (Actor) .. Ruth Condomine
Hugh Wakefield (Actor) .. Dr. Bradman
Joyce Carey (Actor) .. Mrs. Bradman
Jacqueline Clark (Actor) .. Edith
Jacqueline Clarke (Actor) .. Edith
Marie Ault (Actor) .. Cook
Johnnie Schofield (Actor) .. R.A.C. Man Directing Traffic
Judi Dench (Actor)
Dave Johns (Actor)
Emilia Fox (Actor)

More Information
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Did You Know..
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Rex Harrison (Actor) .. Charles Condomine
Born: March 05, 1908
Died: June 02, 1990
Birthplace: Huyton, Lancashire, England
Trivia: Debonair and distinguished British star of stage and screen for more than 50 years, Sir Rex Harrison is best remembered for playing charming, slyly mischievous characters. Born Reginald Carey in 1908, he made his theatrical debut at age 16 with the Liverpool Repertory Theater, remaining with that group for three years. Making his British stage and film debut in 1930, Harrison made the first of many appearances on Broadway in Sweet Aloes in 1936. He became a bona fide British star that same year when he appeared in the theatrical production French Without Tears, in which he showed himself to be very skilled in black-tie comedy. He served as a flight lieutenant in the RAF during World War II, although this interruption in his career was quickly followed by several British films. Harrison moved to Hollywood in 1945, where his career continued to prosper. Among his many roles was that of the king in the 1946 production of Anna and the King of Siam. Harrison was perhaps best known for his performance as Professor Henry Higgins in the musical My Fair Lady, a character he played on Broadway from 1956-1958 (winning a Tony award in 1957) and again in its 1981 revival, as well as for a year in London in the late '50s; in 1964, he won an Oscar for his onscreen version of the role. He had previously received a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Julius Caesar in Cleopatra (1963). Harrison continued to act on both the stage and screen in the 1970s and into the '80s. He published his autobiography, Rex, in 1975, and, four years later, edited and published an anthology of poetry If Love Be Love. Knighted in 1989, he was starring in the Broadway revival of Somerset Maugham's The Circle (with Stewart Granger and Glynis Johns) until one month before he died of pancreatic cancer in 1990. Three of Harrison's six marriages were to actressesLilli Palmer, Kay Kendall, and Rachel Roberts.
Margaret Rutherford (Actor) .. Madame Arcati
Born: May 11, 1892
Died: May 22, 1972
Birthplace: Balham, London, England
Trivia: Rutherford was a bulky, eccentric comedic supporting player of British films and plays. Following a number of years spent as a speech and piano teacher, she trained at the Old Vic and debuted onstage in 1925, when she was in her 30s; it was 1933 before she appeared in London. Rutherford began appearing in films in 1936 and went on to have a sporadically busy screen career through the late '60s, meanwhile continuing her illustrious stage career. She is best remembered as Miss Marple, the little old lady detective of Agatha Christie novels, in four films made in the '60s. For her work in The V.I.P.s (1963) she won a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar. In 1967 Rutherford became a Dame of the British Empire. She was married to actor Stringer Davis, with whom she appeared in several films; one of their children was writer Gordon Langley Hall, who underwent a sex-change operation in 1968 and later wrote a biography of Rutherford under the name "Dawn Langley Hall." She wrote an autobiography, Margaret Rutherford (1972).
Kay Hammond (Actor) .. Elvira Condomine
Born: February 18, 1909
Died: May 04, 1980
Trivia: Kay Hammond played leads in a number of early Hollywood talkies. She was born in London, the daughter of actor Sir Guy Standing. In 1927, Hammond made her debut bow on the London stage. In film, one of her most famous roles was Mary Todd Lincoln in Abraham Lincoln. She returned to England in the mid-'30s and returned to the stage, but periodically, Hammond appeared in films through the mid '50s.
Constance Cummings (Actor) .. Ruth Condomine
Born: May 15, 1910
Died: November 23, 2005
Trivia: The daughter of an attorney father and an opera-diva mother, Constance Cummings took dancing lessons in the hopes of becoming a prima ballerina. She switched to acting, landing the role of Diana in a stock-company production of Seventh Heaven when she was only 16. Within a few years, she was appearing on Broadway as a chorus dancer in the company of such leading lights as Gertrude Lawrence and Clifton Webb. In 1930, she was brought to Hollywood by Sam Goldwyn for the Ronald Colman vehicle The Devil to Pay. She was replaced in that film by Loretta Young, but the next year she was prominently cast in Howard Hawks' prison picture The Criminal Code (1931). Seldom cast as a conventional ingenue, Constance enjoyed such complex roles as the twin-personality heroine in Harold Lloyd's Movie Crazy (1932). Upon her marriage to British playwright W. Benn Levy in 1933, Constance moved to England, where she remained for the rest of her career. Matriculating into a topnotch character actress, Constance starred in the London production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and appeared opposite Laurence Olivier in Long Day's Journey Into Night. Constance Cummings was honored with the Order of the British Empire in 1974, and in 1979 she won a "Best Actress" Tony for her Broadway performance in Arthur Kopit's Wings.
Hugh Wakefield (Actor) .. Dr. Bradman
Born: January 01, 1887
Died: January 01, 1971
Joyce Carey (Actor) .. Mrs. Bradman
Born: March 30, 1898
Died: February 28, 1993
Trivia: The daughter of stage favorite Lillian Brainwaithe, Joyce Carey made her first theatrical appearance at age 18. In films from 1942, Carey made her mark in incisive character roles, playing everything from warmhearted lower-class types (Brief Encounter) to bitchy bourgeoisie (Way to the Stars). In her 70th year, she launched a new phase of her career as a co-star on the TV sitcom Father Dear Father. Active well into her eighties, Joyce Carey died just a month away from her 95th birthday.
Jacqueline Clark (Actor) .. Edith
Jacqueline Clarke (Actor) .. Edith
Marie Ault (Actor) .. Cook
Born: January 01, 1869
Died: January 01, 1951
Trivia: British character actress and comedienne Marie Ault is best remembered for her fingernail-on-the-chalkboard portrayal of Rummy Mitchens in 1941's Major Barbara. In addition to appearing in feature films, Ault also played on the British stage. She was born Mary Cragg.
Johnnie Schofield (Actor) .. R.A.C. Man Directing Traffic
Born: January 01, 1889
Died: January 01, 1955
Trivia: For a fan of British programmers of the 1930s and 1940s, it was hard to miss character-player Johnny Schofield. From 1934 onward, Schofield made more screen appearances than he cared to count, usually in such inexpensive crowd-pleasers as Mystery of Marie Celeste (1935) and Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939). His larger roles included Joe in Went the Day Well? (1943) and Inspector Robson in Shop at Sly Corner (1947). Johnny Schofield made his final appearance in The Fake (1953).
Isla Fisher (Actor)
Born: February 03, 1976
Birthplace: Muscat, Oman
Trivia: In the immediate aftermath of David Dobkin's Wedding Crashers (2005), many American filmgoers began to associate Isla Fisher largely (if not exclusively) with her vivacious turn in that blockbuster summer comedy as the feisty and slightly off-kilter Gloria, the sex-crazed daughter of treasury secretary William Cleary (Christopher Walken) and his wife (Jane Seymour). It was a testament not only to the memorable quality of the role but to Fisher's outstanding comic turn in it, as the seductress of gorilla Vince Vaughn. But this short, spunky actress had much more up her sleeve than simply the Gloria Cleary bit.Born in Oman but raised in Australia, Fisher published two teen romance novels in high school, then traveled to France and enrolled in a Parisian drama school, where she learned miming and juggling. Though Fisher's onscreen presence technically dates back to the late '80s, with a plum role in the small-screen Aussie soaper Home and Away, she took her Hollywood bow over a decade later, as Shaggy's girlfriend, Mary Jane, in the Raja Gosnell-directed Scooby-Doo (2002). Sandwiched in between forgettable features such as Dallas 362 (2003) and London (2005) came Fisher's portrayal of Heather in the David O. Russell "existential comedy" I Heart Huckabees (2005). The actress starred as the "unlikely" wife of Jason Biggs (American Pie) in the 2006 romantic comedy Wedding Daze, then geared up for choice parts in the sports comedy Hot Rod (2007) and the thriller The Lookout. She also signed to voice one of the characters in the 2008 animated feature Horton Hears a Who, adapted from the classic book by Dr. Seuss. Fisher joined the cast of the popcorn flick Confessions of a Shopaholic in 2009, and lent her voice to the cast of the animated children's feature Rango in 2011, as well as for director Peter A. Ramsey's Rise of the Guardians in 2012. Fisher co-stars with Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire for Baz Luhrmann's 2012 3D adaptation of The Great Gatsby. She had a supporting role in Life of Crime (2013) and later had a guest spot on the revived season 4 of Arrested Development.
Judi Dench (Actor)
Born: December 09, 1934
Birthplace: York, England
Trivia: One of Britain's most respected and popular actresses, Judi Dench can claim a decades-old career encompassing the stage, screen, and television. A five-time winner of the British Academy Award, she was granted an Order of the British Empire in 1970 and made a Dame of the British Empire in 1988.Born in York, England, on December 9, 1934, Dench made her stage debut as a snail in a junior school production. After attending art school, she studied acting at London's Central School of Speech and Drama. In 1957, she made her professional stage debut as Ophelia in the Old Vic's Liverpool production of Hamlet. A prolific stage career followed, with seasons spent performing with the likes of the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. Dench broke into film in 1964 with a supporting role in The Third Secret. The following year, she won her first BAFTA, a Most Promising Newcomer honor for her work in Four in the Morning. Although she continued to work in film, Dench earned most of her recognition and acclaim for her stage work. Occasionally, she brought her stage roles to the screen in such film adaptations as A Midsummer Night's Dream (1968) and Macbeth (1978), in which she was Lady Macbeth to Ian McKellen's tormented king. It was not until the mid-'80s that Dench began to make her name known to an international film audience. In 1986, she had a memorable turn as a meddlesome romance author in A Room with a View, earning a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA for her tart portrayal. Two years later, she won the same award for her work in another period drama, A Handful of Dust.After her supporting role as Mistress Quickly in Kenneth Branagh's acclaimed 1989 adaptation of Henry V, Dench exchanged the past for the present with her thoroughly modern role as M in GoldenEye (1995), the first of the Pierce Brosnan series of James Bond films. She portrayed the character for the subsequent Brosnan 007 films, lending flinty elegance to what had traditionally been a male role. The part of M had the advantage of introducing Dench to an audience unfamiliar with her work, and in 1997 she earned further international recognition, as well as an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe award, for her portrayal of Queen Victoria in Mrs. Brown.While her screen career had taken on an increasingly high-profile nature, Dench continued to act on both television and the stage. In the former medium, she endeared herself to viewers with her work in such series as A Fine Romance (in which she starred opposite real-life husband Michael Williams) and As Time Goes By. On the stage, Dench made history in 1996, becoming the first performer to win two Olivier Awards for two different roles in the same year. In 1998, Dench won an Oscar, garnering Best Supporting Actress honors for her eight-minute appearance as Queen Elizabeth in the acclaimed Shakespeare in Love. Her win resulted in the kind of media adulation usually afforded to actresses one-third her age. Dench continued to reap both acclaim and new fans with her work in Tea with Mussolini and another Bond film, The World is Not Enough. For her role as a talented British writer struggling with Alzheimer's disease in Iris (2001), Dench earned her third Oscar nomination. Sadly, that same year Dench's husband died of lung cancer at the age of 66.The prophetic artist continued to act in several films a year, wowing audiences with contemporary dramas like 2001's The Shipping News and period pieces like 2002's Oscar Wilde comedy The Importance of Being Earnest. She reprised the role of M again that same year for Brosnan's last Bond film Die Another Day, before appearing in projects in 2004 and 2005 such as The Chronicles of Riddick, Pride & Prejudice, and an Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated performance as a wealthy widow who shocks 1930s audiences by backing a burlesque show in Mrs. Henderson Presents. In 2006, she followed the Bond franchise into a new era, maintaining her hold on the role of M as Brosnan retired from playing the title character and Daniel Craig took over. Casino Royale was the first Bond movie to be based on an original Ian Fleming 007 novel in 30 years, and it was a great success. In 2008, Dench rejoined the Bond franchise for Quantum of Solace.Dench shared the screen with Cate Blanchett for the critical smash Notes on a Scandal (2006). The film's emotional themes ran the gamut from possession and desire to loathing and disgust, and Dench rose to the challenge with her usual strength and grace, earning her a sixth Oscar nomination and seventh Golden Globe nomination.Dench joined the cast of 2011's Pirates of the Carribean: On Stranger Tides, as well as taking on the pivotal role of Mrs. Fairfax in Cary Fukunaga's adaptation of Jane Eyre. The actress also joined Leonardo DiCaprio to play the intimidating mother of J. Edgar Hoover in J. Edgar (2011). In 2012, Dench starred alongside fellow film great Maggie Smith in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, a compassionate comedy-drama following a group of senior citizens' experience with a unique retirement program in India.
Leslie Mann (Actor)
Born: March 26, 1972
Birthplace: San Francisco, California, United States
Trivia: With a golden-locked classic Hollywood beauty reminiscent of Mia Farrow, pretty Leslie Mann has been gracing the screens of both theaters and televisions since her film debut in 1991 (Virgin High). A San Francisco native, Mann's striking blue eyes and softly high-pitched voice aren't the only factors that got her work in Hollywood amidst a sea of struggling actors; she credits much of her success to her three therapists, a psychic, and Susan Jeffers' popular self-help book Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway. Fidgety and energetic, Mann continued acting on television's Birdland (1994) before beating out 500 other aspiring actresses two years later for the role of Matthew Broderick's girlfriend in The Cable Guy. After turning up in She's the One the same year, Mann would take another high-profile role, as a period prostitute alongside Bruce Willis in Last Man Standing. Essaying the role of Ursula in George of the Jungle (1997) before taking on Adam Sandler in Big Daddy (1999), fans with a quick eye could later spot Mann in one of four screens in director Mike Figgis' Timecode in 2000. In the following years the attractive and increasingly prominent actress could be seen in such comedies as Orange County and The Promise (both 2002). In 1997 she married comedy writer/producer/director Judd Apatow, and he put her in a a great scene in 2005's The 40-Year-Old-Virgin which led to more high-profile parts in comedies such as Knocked Up, Funny People, 17 Again, I Love You Phillip Morris, and The Change-up. In 2012 she and Paul Rudd revived their characters from Knocked Up for the middle-age marriage comedy This Is 40.
Aimee-Ffion Edwards (Actor)
Michele Dotrice (Actor)
Born: September 27, 1948
Birthplace: Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, England
Trivia: Was born in a family of actors, both her parents and sisters are actors.Made her stage debut when she was three weeks old.Met Edward Woodward in 1959 when he was doing a play with her father at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre.After watching the scene from Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em where her character is hanging over a cliff, her mother slapped her in the face and told her to never do a stunt like that again.Studied at the Corona Academy.In 1987, appeared in an episode of The Equalizer with her future husband actor Edward Woodward.
Dave Johns (Actor)
Emilia Fox (Actor)
Born: July 21, 1974
Birthplace: London, England
Trivia: British actress Emilia Fox attended Oxford University to study her craft, before setting out to begin her professional acting career in the late '90s. She most notably played the title role in the play Katherine Howard at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1998, and played Clara Copperfield in a TV movie production of David Copperfield. As the new millennium began, Fox had wracked up enough roles on her resumé that she was ready for more substantial parts in projects like the 2003 TV biopic Henry VIII, and the 2005 comedy Keeping Mum. In 2004, she began playing pathologist Nikki Alexander on the TV series Silent Witness, and she stayed with the show for seasons to come. In 2006, she also garnered much praise for her role in the independent dramedy Cashback.
Julian Rhind-Tutt (Actor)
Born: July 20, 1968
Birthplace: West Drayton, Greater London, England
Dan Stevens (Actor)
Born: October 10, 1982
Birthplace: Croydon, Surrey, England
Trivia: Adopted at birth by middle-class teachers. Knew he wanted to become an actor while in primary school. Honed his acting chops with Britain's National Youth Theatre. Pursued stand-up comedy for a time during his college years. Joined the amateur theatrical Footlights Dramatic Club while at Cambridge. Discovered by British theatrical-film director Peter Hall, who spotted him in a Footlights production of Macbeth opposite Hall's daughter Rebecca. Editor-at-large for the Junket, an online quarterly magazine. Writes a column for the Sunday Telegraph (a British newspaper).
Ken Richmond (Actor)
Born: July 10, 1926
Died: August 03, 2006

Before / After
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