Rebecca (film)

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Rebecca is an Academy Award winning 1940 psychological thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock as his first American project. An adaptation by Joan Harrison and Robert E. Sherwood of British author Daphne Du Maurier's 1938 novel Rebecca, it was produced by David O. Selznick.

Summary

Rebecca stars Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter, Joan Fontaine as his second wife, and Judith Anderson as his late wife's servant, Mrs. Danvers. The film is a gothic tale about the lingering memory of the title character, which still controls her husband, his new bride, and the housekeeper of their estate, Manderley, long after her death.

At Selznick's insistence, the plot of the novel Rebecca is largely unchanged in the film. Hitchcock was even able to sneak past the Hollywood Production Code the lesbianism of the housekeeper who is still obsessed with Rebecca, even after her death. It was one of the earliest, but far from the only, example of Hitchcock slipping veiled references to homosexuality into his films. Rope and Strangers on a Train are two notable examples of Hitchcock films that imply homosexual subtext without overtly dealing with the issue.

Trivia

• Hitchcock had wanted to shoot Rebecca, but had been unable to afford the rights.
• In order to maintain the dark atmosphere of the book, Hitchcock insisted that the film be shot in black and white.
• Selznick looked unsuccessfully all over America (particularly New England) for a suitable location to portray Manderley. In the end he was forced to use a miniature instead.
• As in the novel, the protagonist who narrates the tale is never identified by name. The original script named the heroine Daphne, after the writer of the novel, Daphne Du Maurier. Selznick objected and the name was dropped.
• Ronald Colman turned down the part of Max de Winter.
• More than 20 actresses were screen-tested for the role of Mrs. de Winter, among them Anne Baxter, Loretta Young, Margaret Sullavan and Vivien Leigh (who was involved with Sir Laurence Olivier at the time). Olivier pushed strongly for Leigh to get the role; as it was awarded to newcomer Joan Fontaine instead, he retaliated by treating Fontaine badly. Hitchcock used this to his advantage by telling Fontaine that everyone on the set hated her, in order to magnify the required shyness and unease of the role.
• Hitchcock can be seen walking past a phone booth just after Jack Favell makes a call in the final part of the movie.
• Rebecca was the only Hitchcock film to receive an Academy Award for Best Picture. This went to producer David O. Selznick.
• Joan Fontaine was nominated in the Academy Award for Best Actress category. The prize however went to Ginger Rogers. Judith Anderson, who was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, also went home empty-handed, as did Laurence Olivier, who lost out to James Stewart.
• In Spain, a [rebeca] refers to a variety of female knit jacket, after the one worn by the protagonist of the film.

Featured cast

Actor	Role
Laurence Olivier	George Fortescu Maximillian '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

Awards

Academy Awards won

• Best Picture - David O. Selznick
• Best Cinematography, Black and White - George Barnes

Academy Award nominations

• Best Actor in a Leading Role - Laurence Olivier
• Best Actress in a Leading Role - Joan Fontaine
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Judith Anderson
• Best Director - Alfred Hitchcock
• Art Direction, Black and White - Lyle R. Wheeler
• Special Effects - Jack Cosgrove, Arthur Johns
• Best Film Editing - Hal C. Kern
• Best Music, Original Score - Franz Waxman
• Best Writing, Screenplay - Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison

External links

• [Classic Movies: Rebecca (1940)]
• [Robin Wood essay at criterionco.com]
• [An analysis of Rebecca] in the context of Hitchcock's career
• [Page sur le film Rebecca]

 

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