Movie #107 – Rebecca (1940) - 130 min, cert PG.
While Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) is holidaying in the South of France, he meets a young woman (Joan Fontaine) working as a companion to rich old lady and they fall in love. They get married and take up residence together in Manderlay, his ancestral family mansion in Cornwall. The house, however, is full of memories of Maxim’s first wife, Rebecca, who died tragically in a boating accident. Max was, by all accounts, devastated by the loss, and has never really recovered. The housekeeper at Manderlay, Mrs Danvers, is clearly still mourning her previous mistress’ death and makes her new mistress aware of her inferiority in no uncertain terms, undermining and belittling her at every opportunity. Things come to a head when a wrecked boat is discovered that still contains Rebecca’s body, and Max is plunged back into despair.
This is not typical Hitchcock fare. He was a master of the suspense thriller, and while there are elements of that here, particularly in the middle section when the new Mrs de Winter is being terrorised by Mrs Danvers, it is predominantly a love story. Hitchcock was adapting a well-known book, so he had little room for manoeuvre within the plot. This was also his first movie after relocating to America from Britain, so he was probably keen to establish a solid foundation by giving the studio what was expected. Still, the movie won two Oscars, including Best Picture, and had 9 other nominations, so he must have done a pretty good job.
There were a couple of interesting tricks that Hitchcock used to emphasise the power that Rebecca has over her successor, even in death. Joan Fontaine’s character is never named in the film. She is always known as the second Mrs de Winter. Also, we never see Rebecca in the film. There are no pictures or portraits of her in the house, so the audience is left to imagine her beauty.
Overall, I enjoyed the film and it certainly deserves its place in the Top 250. But from a personal point of view, I wouldn’t rave over it.
Score – 7/10. Enjoyable enough, but not really my cup of tea.
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