IFC Films to distribute 'Blithe Spirit' in North America

June 13 (UPI) -- IFC Films said it has acquired the North American distribution rights to a new screen adaptation of Noel Coward's classic comedy, Blithe Spirit.

No official release date has been announced.

The movie was helmed by Downton Abbey and Restless director Edward Hall.

The cast includes Leslie Mann, Dan Stevens, Isla Fisher, Julian Rhind-Tut, Emilia Fox, Adil Ray, Dave Johns, James Fleet and Judi Dench.

Writers Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard and Piers Ashworth adapted the play.

Blithe Spirit is about recently remarried novelist Charles, who is suffering writer's block and, seeking inspiration, hires a medium to conduct a seance at his home.

The mystic unexpectedly summons the ghost of his first wife, who isn't happy to see another woman married to her husband and living in her home.

"I am delighted that IFC will be bringing this re-imagining of Blithe Spirit to American audiences. Elegant, escapist and anarchic, a testament to the enduring appeal of Noel Coward's unique and clever comedy," Hall said in a news release.

Famed filmmaker David Lean previously adapted the 1941 play as a 1945 movie, starring Rex Harrison, Constance Cummings, Kay Hammond and Margaret Rutherford.