The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

Mrs. Muir's Parenting Advice: Lock your child in a box with a flatulent dog. They'll never expect that!

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir is a 1947 raunchy sex comedy.  It’s the predecessor to Porky’s and American Pie.  I know, it sounds far-fetched, but take a look at the evidence.  Mrs. Muir is a recently-widowed woman who leaves her all-girl living situation to get some freedom.  She buys a house, largely because no one wants her to.  It’s inhabited by an ornery sea captain’s ghost.  The ghost watches her sleep and undress, and insists Mrs. Muir keep a picture of him hanging on her wall.  He swears excessively, comments on Mrs. Muir’s “needs”, and together they launch into a crazy scheme to save the rec center his house.  There’s constant talk of seamen and a playa that bounces from woman to woman.  It’s just one farting dog short of a direct-to-DVD National Lampoon release.

Now, with such strong language, such as “Blast!” and “Confound it!”, you may think I’m an irresponsible parent for letting my toddler watch this.  Well, I’ve got nothing on Mrs. Muir, since she leaves her pre-teen daughter alone on a beach in the care of a creepy old man that she’s never met before.  Later, she allows her daughter to marry a man she’s never met before just because he’s so dreamy.  Mrs. Muir also finds it flattering when she discovers the playa drawing pictures of her in her bathing suit.  Her entire personality boils down to not doing what anyone expects her to do, leading to some terrible decisions.  The titular ghost doesn’t get off much better, since his entire personality is summed up by “salty.”  The movie itself drags when the ghost isn’t on-screen, but for the rest of the time it’s funny and full of 40’s innuendo.

Rating: Must-See

Did I fast-forward: I almost did during a long-winded speech at the end, but I held back.