One of Hitchcock's finest films, and in my top five of all time. What can I say about this movie? I'll start with Joan Fontaine- perfection. In her long career she never equaled her performance as the Second Mrs. De Winter. Incidentally, she was given an Oscar the following year for her role in Suspicion, a vastly inferior film. Obviously a make-up vote by the Academy. When I first saw Rebecca years ago I fell in love with Joan, and I remain so to this day. She proved everyone wrong, including Olivier himself (who incidentally wanted his fiancee Vivien Leigh to play the part) who said she couldn't handle the role. Could you imagine Leigh as the Second Mrs. De Winter? No, no one could have been better than Joan Fontaine.
I would like to address some comments made by other reviewers: First, the issue of lesbianism. After reading the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, I understood much better Mrs. Danvers obsessive devotion to Rebecca. Turns out she had been Rebecca's "maid", or "governess" since childhood. Strangely, we are not made aware of this in the film. Whether it was omitted deliberately to suggest that Danvers was a lesbian is anyone's guess. It's certainly suggestive, but it's hard to believe Rebecca would have returned any feelings to the loathsome Danvers, either for her looks or her personality. Danvers' obsession seems much more likely to stem from the fact that she had known and cared for Rebecca since childhood, and lived vicariously through her and her high social position.
Second, the issue of chemistry between Fontaine and Olivier. It's obvious Olivier is dissatisfied with his co-star, and it creates an interesting effect. I see Rebecca as a story about a man perhaps incapable of expressing love. From their on screen interactions, it's clear to me that De Winter cares deeply for his new bride, but just doesn't know how to show it. Or perhaps his spirit remains poisoned from Rebecca's cruelty. Fontaine's character, meanwhile, is the personification of love and devotion, and will do anything for her Maxim. This is also the feel I get from the novel about both characters. What we see on screen is two people in love, caught in a spider's web woven by the ghost of Rebecca. And there's nothing wrong with that. They don't smolder like Bogart and Bacall, but perhaps they will learn to after the shadow of Rebecca has been vanquished.
*spoiler alert* Another important difference from the novel is Rebecca's death. In the novel Maxim shoots her through the heart; on screen, he strikes her but she later stumbles and hits her head on a piece of ships tackle. This could have been changed because of the Motion Picture Code back then, which didn't allow for "villains" to go unpunished. If Maxim had killed her, he would have had to pay for it. Or, another interesting possibility is that Maxim lied about it. Maybe he really did kill her and made up the accident? Seems more Hitch's style. Intriguing, though unlikely. But, I digress.
The storyline in Rebecca flows smoothly with a steady, highly suspenseful pace. Little by little, we see through Fontaine's eyes and hear through her through ears as more and more of Rebecca's secrets are revealed. We watch her painful ordeal as she struggles to force her meek personality on the imposing domain of Manderly. And in the end, she succeeds.
The use of light and shadow in this film is unsurpassed in any black and white film I have seen. The presence of Manderly is constantly thrown on Fontaine's character through the ornate windows, casting their shadows on her. When Beatrice tells her in the study that "Mrs. Danvers simply adored Rebecca", we see a close-up of her profile in full lighting as she turns her head in shock and despair, and everything in the background fades to darkness. Hitchcock is showing us how heavily the specter of Rebecca weighs on her mind; she shuts everything and everyone else out.
I could go on well past 1000 words about Rebecca. I even loosely based one of the characters in a novel of mine on the Second Mrs. De Winter, and in describing her I quoted Olivier, saying she had that "funny, young lost look I loved." Rebecca should never be lost or forgotten. This film remains an ageless, timeless masterpiece by one of the greatest filmakers of all time.
I would like to address some comments made by other reviewers: First, the issue of lesbianism. After reading the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, I understood much better Mrs. Danvers obsessive devotion to Rebecca. Turns out she had been Rebecca's "maid", or "governess" since childhood. Strangely, we are not made aware of this in the film. Whether it was omitted deliberately to suggest that Danvers was a lesbian is anyone's guess. It's certainly suggestive, but it's hard to believe Rebecca would have returned any feelings to the loathsome Danvers, either for her looks or her personality. Danvers' obsession seems much more likely to stem from the fact that she had known and cared for Rebecca since childhood, and lived vicariously through her and her high social position.
Second, the issue of chemistry between Fontaine and Olivier. It's obvious Olivier is dissatisfied with his co-star, and it creates an interesting effect. I see Rebecca as a story about a man perhaps incapable of expressing love. From their on screen interactions, it's clear to me that De Winter cares deeply for his new bride, but just doesn't know how to show it. Or perhaps his spirit remains poisoned from Rebecca's cruelty. Fontaine's character, meanwhile, is the personification of love and devotion, and will do anything for her Maxim. This is also the feel I get from the novel about both characters. What we see on screen is two people in love, caught in a spider's web woven by the ghost of Rebecca. And there's nothing wrong with that. They don't smolder like Bogart and Bacall, but perhaps they will learn to after the shadow of Rebecca has been vanquished.
*spoiler alert* Another important difference from the novel is Rebecca's death. In the novel Maxim shoots her through the heart; on screen, he strikes her but she later stumbles and hits her head on a piece of ships tackle. This could have been changed because of the Motion Picture Code back then, which didn't allow for "villains" to go unpunished. If Maxim had killed her, he would have had to pay for it. Or, another interesting possibility is that Maxim lied about it. Maybe he really did kill her and made up the accident? Seems more Hitch's style. Intriguing, though unlikely. But, I digress.
The storyline in Rebecca flows smoothly with a steady, highly suspenseful pace. Little by little, we see through Fontaine's eyes and hear through her through ears as more and more of Rebecca's secrets are revealed. We watch her painful ordeal as she struggles to force her meek personality on the imposing domain of Manderly. And in the end, she succeeds.
The use of light and shadow in this film is unsurpassed in any black and white film I have seen. The presence of Manderly is constantly thrown on Fontaine's character through the ornate windows, casting their shadows on her. When Beatrice tells her in the study that "Mrs. Danvers simply adored Rebecca", we see a close-up of her profile in full lighting as she turns her head in shock and despair, and everything in the background fades to darkness. Hitchcock is showing us how heavily the specter of Rebecca weighs on her mind; she shuts everything and everyone else out.
I could go on well past 1000 words about Rebecca. I even loosely based one of the characters in a novel of mine on the Second Mrs. De Winter, and in describing her I quoted Olivier, saying she had that "funny, young lost look I loved." Rebecca should never be lost or forgotten. This film remains an ageless, timeless masterpiece by one of the greatest filmakers of all time.