Rated:
Unrated
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, et al.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Review
"Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
Rebecca's haunting opening line conjures the entirety of Hitchcock's
romantic, suspenseful, elegant film. A young woman (Joan Fontaine)
believes her every dream has come true when her whirlwind romance with the
dashing Maxim de Winter culminates in marriage. But she soon realizes that
Rebecca, the late first Mrs. de Winter, haunts both the temperamental,
brooding Maxim and the de Winter mansion, Manderley. In order for Maxim
and the new Mrs. de Winter to have a future, Rebecca's spell must be
broken and the mystery of her violent death unraveled. The first
collaboration between producer David O. Selznick and Hitchcock, Rebecca
was adapted from Daphne du Maurier's popular novel and won the 1940
Academy AwardŽ for Best Picture and Cinematography (Black and White).
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Rebecca is an ageless, timeless adult movie about a woman
who marries a widower but fears she lives in the shadow of her
predecessor. This was Hitchcock's first American feature, and it garnered
the Best Picture statue at the 1941 Academy Awards. In today's films, most
twists and surprises are ridiculous or just gratuitous, so it's sobering
to look back on this film where every revelation not only shocks, but
makes organic sense with the story line. Laurence Olivier is dashing and
weak, fierce and cowed. Joan Fontaine is strong yet submissive, defiant
yet accommodating. There isn't a false moment or misstep, but the film
must have killed the employment outlook of any women named Danvers for
about 20 years. Brilliant stuff. --Keith Simanton
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