Rebecca (1940)

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (novel)
Philip MacDonald (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

12 April 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The shadow of this woman darkened their love.

Plot:

When a naive young woman marries a rich widower and settles in his gigantic mansion, she finds the memory of the first wife maintaining a grip on her husband and the servants.

Plot Keywords:

Death | Love | Housekeeper | Monte Carlo | Estate

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	George Fortescue Maximilian 'Maxim' de Winter
Joan Fontaine	...	The Second Mrs. de Winter
George Sanders	...	Jack Favell
Judith Anderson	...	Mrs. Danvers
Nigel Bruce	...	Major Giles Lacy
Reginald Denny	...	Frank Crawley
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Colonel Julyan
Gladys Cooper	...	Beatrice Lacy
Florence Bates	...	Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper
Melville Cooper	...	Coroner
Leo G. Carroll	...	Dr. Baker
Leonard Carey	...	Ben
Lumsden Hare	...	Tabbs
Edward Fielding	...	Frith
Forrester Harvey	...	Chalcroft

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Iceland:L | USA:Approved (certificate #5969) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Peru:14 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

The novel was bought by David O. Selznick for $50,000 as a vehicle for Carole Lombard with the idea that he would attempt to get Ronald Colman for the male lead. According to Selznick's memos, when Colman put off accepting the part because he was afraid that the picture would be a "woman starring vehicle" and because of the murder angle, Selznick turned to his second choices for the role, Laurence Olivier and William Powell. Olivier was willing to work for $100,000 less than Powell and so he was chosen. Leslie Howard was also considered for the part.

Goofs:

Continuity: The second Mrs. De Winter follows Jasper to the cottage. When she sees Jasper, he is standing up, barking in front of the door. She approaches the door and the dog is now lying to one side.

Quotes:

Maxim de Winter: I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bloodlust! (#7.7)" (1994)

Hitchcock's 1941 Best Picture Starring Fontaine & Olivier

London, England's 'notorious' director of psychological thrill, suspense, mystery & drama films, Sir Alfred Hitchcock (8.13.1899-4.29.1980), was nominated for 5 Oscars: "Rebecca" (1940), Hitchcock's 1st US motion picture, earned his 1st directorial Oscar nomination & won the 1941 Oscar for Best Picture. Thus, began the history of acclaim for Hitchcock's remarkable career as a motion picture & television show director.

Both of "Rebecca's" lead actors, Sir Laurence Olivier ('Maxim' de Winter) & Joan Fontaine ('Madam' de Winter), were nominated for Oscars, as well. Original music by Franz Waxman provides a combination of eerie, erotic, moody & emotive orchestration effects. George Barnes won "Rebecca's" 2nd Oscar for Best Cinematography in Black & White.

Novelist Daphne Du Maurier's plot certainly wouldn't work nearly as well without the spooky head housekeeper of the de Winters' castle, Manderley: Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson). Danvers entered Manderley with Rebecca (de Winter), Maxim's first wife who left him a widower & left Danvers obsessed with her. The nearly unspoken memory of Rebecca is the haunting aspect that Hitchcock expertly raises from the dead throughout this film to its magnificent end.

Fontaine & Olivier deliver superb starring performances of Du Maurier's novel's protagonists through Philip MacDonald's & Michael Hogan's adaptation and Robert E. Sherwood's & Joan Harrison's screenplay. The two fall in love on vacation in Monte Carlo, marry & return to Maxim de Winter's castle on a craggy coastal cliff in England.

Fontaine's Mrs. de Winter is young, unassuming & constantly feels out of place due to Danvers' psychological torment by comparing Maxim's new wife with his dead one. Danvers contrasts Rebecca's perfection to the newlywed's shortcomings. Fontaine's Madame de Winter is led to believe that everyone was "enchanted" by Rebecca, even as she knows of her own plain, unpretentious simplicity. The historical atmosphere of Rebecca seemingly shrouding Manderley has the effect of nearly driving Fontaine's de Winter nuts.

Before the true mystery of Rebecca is revealed, a shipwreck near Manderley forces Maxim to tell his new wife the truth about Rebecca. That's when everything the film builds the audience up for starts to unfold. Unlike so many psychological suspenses, Hitchcock's delivers a grand flood of surprises & unpredictable twists up to the very end.

A note of interest: 9 of Hitchcock's motion pictures still rank in the top 250 today on IMDb.com. "Rebecca" is currently #75. An astounding 5 Hitchcock films are ranked in the top 100! No other actor, director, producer or any other contributor of works to motion pictures comes close to ranking as consistently high for the span of a century as Sir Alfred Hitchcock. Though Sir Ian McKellen comes close with 3 films in the top 100 & rated by over 400,000 viewers' votes!