When a book is adapted into a movie and then a TV series, you can be sure it’s something special. In 1945, Josephine Lesley wrote the beautiful novel The Ghost and Mrs Muir. It was about a widow, Lucy Muir, her young children and her maid, who moved into a cottage by the sea. The idea was to get away from everything (and especially for Lucy to get away from her two overbearing sisters-in-law). Gull Cottage was locally known to be haunted and could not attract tenants for this reason. Undeterred, Lucy moved in, lured by the low rent.
History
Instead of enjoying the peace he longed for, he soon discovered that the rumors about a ghost were true. The ghost she encountered was that of a sea captain and Lucy was the only person she would reveal herself to, though only in her mind. Lucy’s children and her maid were unaware of her existence. The captain at first tried to scare Lucy like ghosts are supposed to, but she refused to be intimidated and just continued to live happily in the house. The captain couldn’t help but respect her for her firmness. He stopped chasing her and they began to become close friends. She decided to write her biography using true stories in her own words. Over time, they would share many long conversations and intimate moments that bring the story to a poignant and romantic conclusion.
film
Shortly after the book’s publication, Twentieth Century Fox bought the rights to make a movie out of the story. Within two years, Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney starred The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. The movie followed the book in most respects. As usual, some of the readers of the original story were a bit disappointed with some of the changes that were made. In the film, for example, the captain (the ghost) appears in person, while in the book he is merely a voice in Mrs. Muir’s head. Although it was not a huge box office success, the film was well received by all who saw it and by critics.
tv show
Another 21 years passed until 1968, and Fox Television was actively seeking new ideas for television programs along the same lines. Haunted Y I dream of Jeannie. The book and the movie The Ghost and Mrs. Muir had a lot of comedic moments in them and the executives at Fox, especially Howard Leeds, who had written episodes of Hauntedcould see the potential for The Ghost and Mrs. Muirwhich contained the same fantasy elements of I dream of Jeannie Y Haunted. Seasoned writer Jean Holloway was given the task of starting the writing, and the show was soon put together, starring Hope Lange as Mrs. Muir (now Carolyn Muir) and Edward Mulhare as the captain.
The long gap between the 1947 film and the 1968 television show meant that fewer comparisons were made between them. Some of those that made comparing them were not always satisfied with the result, perhaps because this was like comparing apples to pears. The show ran for two seasons, which was (and maybe still is) average for a comedy series and not a bad effort considering the limited storylines that were possible.
after the show
Both Hope Lange (Mrs. Muir) and Edward Mulhare (The Captain) went on to co-star in a variety of television dramas and comedies for many years, as well as the occasional movie. Hope Lange died in 2003 and Edward Mulhare died in 1997.