Rebecca

In 1940, Alfred Hitchcock released his first American project, Rebecca. Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Greg Sanders, and Judith Anderson, the film is a gothic psychological drama-thriller that features a woman becoming a brooding aristocrat’s second wife, after his first died in a tragic accident.

 

The film begins as an unnamed young woman (Fontaine) is in Monte Carlo as a paid companion to Edythe Van Hopper (Florence Bates) when she meets the aristocratic widower Maximilian “Maxim” de Winter (Olivier). They fall in love and are married in two weeks.

Now the second Mrs. De Winter, Maxim takes her back to Manderley, his house in Cornwall. The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Anderson) is domineering, cold, and obsessed with the first Mrs. de Winter, Rebecca. She preserves her former bedroom as a shrine. Rebecca’s “cousin” Jack Favell (Sanders) visits the house while Maxim is away.

The new Mrs. de Winter is intimidated by her responsibilities and beings to doubt her new relationship. Being constantly reminded of Rebecca overwhelms her as well. She believes Maxim still loves her and discovers that he can become angry at her for insignificant actions.

She, however, tries to be the perfect wife, convincing Maxim to hold a costume party. Something he had done with Rebecca. She wants to plan her own costume, but Danvers suggess she copy a certain outfit in the ancestral portrait of Caroline de Winter. At the party, she tries to  reveal the costume, but Maxim is repulsed as Rebecca wore the same outfit a year ago before her death.

Mrs. de Winter confronts Danvers, who tells her she can never take Rebecca’s place and almost convinces her to jump to her death. Danvers’ suggestion is ruined when a nearby ship signals for help. She rushes out and hears that during the rescue, a sunken boat was found with Rebecca’s body in it.

Maxim admits to her that he had misidentified another body as Rebecca’s in order to conceal the truth. His first marriage, which everybody had viewed as ideal was a sham. At the start, Rebecca told Maxim that she intended to continue her scandalous life. While he hated her for it, they agreed to an arrangement. In public, she was the perfect wife and hostess. However, Rebecca was careless, having an ongoing affair with Favell. One night, Rebecca revealed to Maxim that she was pregnant with Favell’s child. During the ensuing argument, she fell and hit her head, dying. Maxim took the body out in her boat and scuttled it.

His new wife, after hearing the story, coaches Maxim on how to conceal the mode of Rebecca’s death from the authorities. In the new police investigation, deliberate damage to the boat points to suicide. However, Favell shows Maxim a note from Rebecca that proves that she was not suicidal and tries to blackmail him. Maxim tells the police and falls under the suspicion of murder. The investigation reveals Rebecca’s secret to a London doctor (Leo G. Carroll). Favell assumes it was due to her illegitimate pregnancy. However, it is established that Rebecca was not pregnant, but was suffering from late-stage cancer.

The coroner rules Rebecca’s death a suicide. The only ones who know of the true story, that Rebecca goaded Maxim into killing her by telling him of her pregnancy as an indirect means of suicide, are Maxim, his wife, and his estate manager, Frank Crawley.

Maxim returns home to Manderly and sees that the manor is on fire, set alight by the deranged Danvers. Mrs. de Winter and the staff escape, but Danvers is killed when a floor collapses. The film ends, zooming in on a silk nightdress case on Rebecca’s bed with an embroidered “R” consumed by flames.

This is quite an interesting film. The heroine has no name, which seems like a terrible idea at first. But when the staff starts comparing her to Maxim’s first wife, it becomes clear. Rebecca has a name, but is never seen. The heroine is constantly seen, but has no name. The staff loved Rebecca, the heroine feels like the staff hates her. Danvers actually does. Maxim and Rebecca had a terrible marriage, the heroine and Maxim have a great marriage. The heroine being unnamed is a brilliant move to give the maximum amount of contrast between her and Rebecca.

The film also won the Oscar for Best Cinematography – Black and White. And it’s the cinematography that gives the film its suspenseful edge. Lingering on the door to Rebecca’s room when it is first shown, the opening shot with Maxim on a cliff, Danvers looking at Mrs. de Winter while she sleeps. Hitchcock really was the master of subtle suspense.

For the most part, the acting is pretty good. Fontaine does naïve and nervous quite well and Anderson’s performance is downright disturbing. However, there are some places where it’s off. While Florence Bates is only in the film for a short time, she tends to overact and eat the set. Olivier’s acting is also a little off-kilter in some areas, especially at the beginning of the film. This could be attributed to his hatred of Fontaine though.

Most likely this got Best Picture for being Hitchcock’s first American film.

Final Call: Mostly good acting with great cinematography and contrast between the heroine and the film’s namesake. It crosses the Edge of Enjoyment and passes Grand Hotel as #3