Rebecca (A or 4/4 stars)
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again". This enticing opening line is spoken by a young woman known only in the script as The Second Mrs. de Winter in ... 'Rebecca' (Alfred Hitchcock's 1st Hollywood film, adapted from a Daphne du Maurier gothic novel). This young woman (Joan Fontaine) then tells us her story in flashback. While in lavish Monte Carlo, working as the paid travel companion of an overbearing matronly socialite (Florence Bates), our demure heroine meets & is courted by wealthy, but sad widower Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), in town to forget his wife Rebecca's recent drowning. Though Maxim claims he can never be truly happy again, the young woman's innocence of spirit rekindles his love of life.
They fall for each other during a whirlwind romance, she accepts his marriage proposal, & they arrive at his palatial seaside estate in Cornwall, England ... completely unprepared for her new station in life. Fontaine's {I'll use the actress' name since her character doesn't have one; to show how inconsequential she is} 1st days at Manderley are intimidating, creepy, & cold. Servants & family members constantly talk about Rebecca, making Fontaine feel like an inferior intruder in her own vast home -- even the dog leaves the room when she enters it. She is soon being tormented by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), who has an odd obsession (it can certainly be construed as sexual) with the macabre memory of the "1st Mrs. de Winter".
Mrs. Danvers goes on & on about how beautiful, elegant, witty, & refined Rebecca was while making hostile, disparaging comments to Fontaine. None of this makes Fontaine any more comfortable in her opulent new home. And even her husband's love becomes a burden because she sees how he can't get over his 1st wife. The memory of Rebecca haunts the mansion like a ghost; with rooms kept as shrines & her possessions sprinkled all throughout the great house.
Fontaine slowly-but-surely learns more about her dead 'rival' (for Maxim's love), as well as the murky circumstances surrounding her death. Everything culminates in the film's 3rd act as a bewildered Fontaine finally learns the dark truth about Maxim, Rebecca, & Mrs. Danvers.
Wow. I found 'Rebecca' to be a thoroughly engrossing, wonderfully crafted, exceedingly well-acted tale about class, guilt, fear, & deception. Alfred Hitchcock's direction is, of course, 2nd-to-none {he famously quarreled with producer David O. Selznick about how the film should be filmed/interpreted}. 'Rebecca' may not be considered one of Hitchcock's (The Master of Suspense) most psychologically terrorizing works, but this Oscar-winning gothic melodrama has more than enough dark romance, tension, & frights to qualify as a Hitchcockian masterpiece.
The script is multi-faceted and unfurls in 3 distinct portions/acts. The 1st is a simple love story; told with tenderness & feeling. The 2nd act encompasses "The Second Mrs. de Winter's" uneasy relationship with Manderley -- be it the servants, Mrs. Danvers, her tortured 'inner-battle' with the memory of Rebecca, or Maxim's revelation of the truth. Hitchcock uses strange camera angles, editing, & the soundtrack to emphasize Fontaine's claustrophobia as it escalates to hysteria-like proportions. There's also a palpable aura of gloomy dread that permeates the story. In what wound up being a smart decision by Hitchcock, he chose not to cast an actress for Rebecca, but rather to have her very presence loom over the film in an absentee ghoulish way. And finally, the 3rd act is part police procedural/part melodrama as the film propels to logical explanations and a fiery climax.
Joan Fontaine's qualities of innocence & vulnerability serve her VERY well, here. She shines in the film's tense sequences when paranoia/fear start to take hold of her, but also impresses as she starts to overcome her weak will. Hitchcock knew what he was doing when he cast her {over such big names as Carole Lombard, Maureen O'Hara, Vivien Leigh(!), & even Fontaine's sister, Olivia de Havilland. David O. Selznick got great mileage out of the ballyhooed casting for Gone With the Wind, so he tried to replicate that craze for 'Rebecca' one year later}. Whereas Fontaine is lovely, yet weak-willed, Laurence Olivier is handsome & brooding; which makes for a great juxtaposition. Olivier is the perfect Maxim de Winter. He's charming, sophisticated, manly, yet also troubled. Maxim is a bit of a mystery, but Olivier is excellent at making him a fully fleshed-out character in the last 45 minutes.
The 1st time we see Judith Anderson step into view to welcome Maxim & his new wife into Manderley, I felt the icy breath of death on my neck. The only time Mrs. Danvers loses her austerity is the scene in which she recalls how things used to be when Rebecca was alive; showing Fontaine Rebecca’s bedroom, including her underwear & sheer negligee {the lesbian undertones here are off the charts}. Mrs. Danvers (or "Danny", as the character played by George Sanders refers to her) rarely blinks, appears suddenly in doorways, and always seems to be gliding, not walking. And in her best scene, she tries to talk a nerve-rattled Fontaine into committing suicide by leaping from a window. This is an iconic villain portrayal & Judith Anderson deserved her Supporting Actress nomination for the 1940 Academy Awards; losing to Jane Darwell who was also superb in The Grapes of Wrath.
Manderley, too, is a major character. Whether shown in ruins at the beginning of the film or shown in all its glory during the midsection, I sat in awe of it. It's huge, sprawling, gorgeous ... but also mysterious & disturbing; especially with Rebecca's relics placed all throughout the house in pristine condition. Now, if there are any weaknesses in 'Rebecca', I would say they lie in the editing & script. The editor could have ironed-out a few draggy spots early on and the writers rely a bit too much on melodramatics, at times. But that's nitpicking. Though it's adorned as a romantic period drama, 'Rebecca' is vintage Hitchcock, offering up wonderful performances, great atmosphere, and a compelling mystery that most filmmakers could only wish to produce.
They fall for each other during a whirlwind romance, she accepts his marriage proposal, & they arrive at his palatial seaside estate in Cornwall, England ... completely unprepared for her new station in life. Fontaine's {I'll use the actress' name since her character doesn't have one; to show how inconsequential she is} 1st days at Manderley are intimidating, creepy, & cold. Servants & family members constantly talk about Rebecca, making Fontaine feel like an inferior intruder in her own vast home -- even the dog leaves the room when she enters it. She is soon being tormented by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), who has an odd obsession (it can certainly be construed as sexual) with the macabre memory of the "1st Mrs. de Winter".
Mrs. Danvers goes on & on about how beautiful, elegant, witty, & refined Rebecca was while making hostile, disparaging comments to Fontaine. None of this makes Fontaine any more comfortable in her opulent new home. And even her husband's love becomes a burden because she sees how he can't get over his 1st wife. The memory of Rebecca haunts the mansion like a ghost; with rooms kept as shrines & her possessions sprinkled all throughout the great house.
Fontaine slowly-but-surely learns more about her dead 'rival' (for Maxim's love), as well as the murky circumstances surrounding her death. Everything culminates in the film's 3rd act as a bewildered Fontaine finally learns the dark truth about Maxim, Rebecca, & Mrs. Danvers.
Wow. I found 'Rebecca' to be a thoroughly engrossing, wonderfully crafted, exceedingly well-acted tale about class, guilt, fear, & deception. Alfred Hitchcock's direction is, of course, 2nd-to-none {he famously quarreled with producer David O. Selznick about how the film should be filmed/interpreted}. 'Rebecca' may not be considered one of Hitchcock's (The Master of Suspense) most psychologically terrorizing works, but this Oscar-winning gothic melodrama has more than enough dark romance, tension, & frights to qualify as a Hitchcockian masterpiece.
The script is multi-faceted and unfurls in 3 distinct portions/acts. The 1st is a simple love story; told with tenderness & feeling. The 2nd act encompasses "The Second Mrs. de Winter's" uneasy relationship with Manderley -- be it the servants, Mrs. Danvers, her tortured 'inner-battle' with the memory of Rebecca, or Maxim's revelation of the truth. Hitchcock uses strange camera angles, editing, & the soundtrack to emphasize Fontaine's claustrophobia as it escalates to hysteria-like proportions. There's also a palpable aura of gloomy dread that permeates the story. In what wound up being a smart decision by Hitchcock, he chose not to cast an actress for Rebecca, but rather to have her very presence loom over the film in an absentee ghoulish way. And finally, the 3rd act is part police procedural/part melodrama as the film propels to logical explanations and a fiery climax.
Joan Fontaine's qualities of innocence & vulnerability serve her VERY well, here. She shines in the film's tense sequences when paranoia/fear start to take hold of her, but also impresses as she starts to overcome her weak will. Hitchcock knew what he was doing when he cast her {over such big names as Carole Lombard, Maureen O'Hara, Vivien Leigh(!), & even Fontaine's sister, Olivia de Havilland. David O. Selznick got great mileage out of the ballyhooed casting for Gone With the Wind, so he tried to replicate that craze for 'Rebecca' one year later}. Whereas Fontaine is lovely, yet weak-willed, Laurence Olivier is handsome & brooding; which makes for a great juxtaposition. Olivier is the perfect Maxim de Winter. He's charming, sophisticated, manly, yet also troubled. Maxim is a bit of a mystery, but Olivier is excellent at making him a fully fleshed-out character in the last 45 minutes.
The 1st time we see Judith Anderson step into view to welcome Maxim & his new wife into Manderley, I felt the icy breath of death on my neck. The only time Mrs. Danvers loses her austerity is the scene in which she recalls how things used to be when Rebecca was alive; showing Fontaine Rebecca’s bedroom, including her underwear & sheer negligee {the lesbian undertones here are off the charts}. Mrs. Danvers (or "Danny", as the character played by George Sanders refers to her) rarely blinks, appears suddenly in doorways, and always seems to be gliding, not walking. And in her best scene, she tries to talk a nerve-rattled Fontaine into committing suicide by leaping from a window. This is an iconic villain portrayal & Judith Anderson deserved her Supporting Actress nomination for the 1940 Academy Awards; losing to Jane Darwell who was also superb in The Grapes of Wrath.
Manderley, too, is a major character. Whether shown in ruins at the beginning of the film or shown in all its glory during the midsection, I sat in awe of it. It's huge, sprawling, gorgeous ... but also mysterious & disturbing; especially with Rebecca's relics placed all throughout the house in pristine condition. Now, if there are any weaknesses in 'Rebecca', I would say they lie in the editing & script. The editor could have ironed-out a few draggy spots early on and the writers rely a bit too much on melodramatics, at times. But that's nitpicking. Though it's adorned as a romantic period drama, 'Rebecca' is vintage Hitchcock, offering up wonderful performances, great atmosphere, and a compelling mystery that most filmmakers could only wish to produce.