1947 must have been an interesting year, though I
hadn't yet arrived on the birth scene to know anything, but just imagine --
something (something, something, something. . .) landed, crashed or bounced on
ranch land, causing a stir in Roswell, New Mexico. In addition, reports of strange flying discs
and other airborne objects were being reported through official government
channels, often by pilots, thus racking up a wealth of documents, most of which
wouldn't see public release until many years later, redactions included.
The same year, Twentieth Century Fox released an enchanting film
entitled, The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, starring Rex Harrison, Gene Tierney, George
Sanders and a very young Natalie Wood (forget the TV series of a later day,
populated by different actors, remarkable only for being a TV series. . .). TGAMM
has long been one of my favorite motion pictures of all time, enhanced
by a beautiful and haunting musical
score by master composer Bernard Herrmann.
In basic terms, the story concerns the ghost of dead sea captain
Daniel Gregg (Harrison) and a very much alive purchaser, widow Lucy Muir (Tierney)
of his former seaside home, Gull Cottage.
After a few minor ghostly episodes in a house the captain has no
intention of sacrificing to a new owner, Gregg and Muir develop a sometimes
stormy but ultimately loving relationship, and of course the "happy
ending" arrives when Mrs. Muir grows old, dies and walks off into an
eternal mist with the captain.
Why do I bring this up? Only
because this early film, innocently appearing in 1947, the "year of the
UFO," mirrored coincidentally a
scripted relationship with alleged UFO/alien abductions which would become
routinely reported later on in the sixties and seventies.
Huh?
Okay, this is minor stuff, but if I don't plant myself on terra firma
now and then, I'll have to write about Hillary Clinton's comments about aliens,
and I really don't want to lower myself to those
standards (and may I reiterate -- if you plan to vote a chronic liar
and demon of Benghazi into the presidency simply because you "hope"
or "expect" that she'll perform some nebulous disclosure about UFOs,
totally ignoring her poised ability to build upon Obama's fetid legacy many times over
as a presidential bonus for four or eight years -- you're fooling yourself and
trading freedom for more tyranny).
This fictional movie about ghosts reflected a few similarities to the
UFO abduction phenomenon during a time long before UFO abductions were even
acknowledged. For instance, in a scene
where Mrs. Muir sleeps in her bed, having become infatuated by the attention of
a man (George Sanders) whom she thinks will marry her, Capt. Gregg appears over
her sleeping figure, commanding her subconscious mind to forget him, to forget
that he ever existed except as merely a dream.
This somewhat Shakespearean approach would later be classic for alleged UFO abductees who,
through hypnosis or the passage of time itself, would tell investigators that
they were told by an entity in control to forget about their experiences. And yes, though I cringe to insert this --
those who believe "sleep paralysis" has a role in the perceived UFO
abduction experience would view both Lucy and abductees as nothing but victims
of sleep paralysis.
Earlier, Lucy had written a best-selling book about the life of a sea
captain, dictated to her by Capt. Gregg's ghost. How many books have been written by contactees and abductees who profess special knowledge
gleaned from entities with whom they claim experiences?
Clocks and bells also play a role in the film, denoting time changes
and perhaps "missing time" in "Lucia's" (Lucy's)
relationship with Capt. Gregg.
However, of most interest to me in noting similarities to abductions
and this ghostly tale is an encounter between Lucy and her daughter Anna, who
has grown from a small child to a young adult woman preparing to marry. Anna, having just arrived for a visit with
her mother at Gull Cottage with boyfriend in tow, apparently reveals to her
mother in the kitchen for the first time ever that she, too, had seen Capt.
Gregg as a child. Lucy, having by now
(per Gregg's instructions) remembered Gregg as only a dream, is surprised by
the revelation, and after the two disagree on actually witnessing the
manifestations years ago, they seem to let the matter drop, though still uncomfortable
about reality vs. a dream and childhood imaginations.
Fiction often gives us a view of
the future, though I realize harping upon a ghostly dramatic love story and its
parallels with some alleged UFO abductions may be tenuous at best. But it's so true that we can usually find
recurrent themes among a wealth of subjects throughout history. Whether involving one's alleged "interrupted journey" on a lonely road in the dark of night, or the sound of waves from a stormy sea, crashing against a rocky shore during a particular fictional midnight, primal emotions and fears arise to have their own say within the dense, blackened fog of it all.
