Movie
Rebecca stars Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter, Joan
Fontaine as his second wife, and Judith Anderson as his late wife's servant,
Mrs. Danvers. The film is a gothic tale about the lingering memory of the title
character, which still controls her husband, his new bride, and the housekeeper
of their estate, Manderley, long after her death.
One plot detail in the novel was altered to comply with the Hollywood Production
Code, which said that the murder of a spouse had to be punished. In the novel,
Maxim shoots Rebecca, while in the film, he only thinks of killing her after she
taunts him, saying she is pregnant with someone else's child. She then suddenly
falls back, hits her head on a piece of boat equipment, and dies from her head
injuries.
Trivia
In order to maintain the dark atmosphere of the book, Hitchcock insisted
that the film be shot in black and white.
Selznick looked unsuccessfully all over America (particularly New England)
for a suitable location to portray Manderley. In the end he was forced to use a
miniature instead.
As in the novel, the protagonist who narrates the tale is never identified
by name. The original script named the heroine Daphne, after Daphne du
Maurier, the writer of the novel. Selznick objected and the name was dropped.
Ronald Colman turned down the part of Max de Winter.
More than 20 actresses were screen-tested for the role of Mrs. de Winter,
among them Anne Baxter, Loretta Young, Margaret Sullavan and Vivien Leigh (who
was involved with Sir Laurence Olivier at the time). Olivier pushed strongly for
Leigh to get the role; as it was awarded to newcomer Joan Fontaine instead, he
retaliated by treating Fontaine badly. Hitchcock used this to his advantage by
telling Fontaine that everyone on the set hated her, in order to magnify
the required shyness and unease of the role.
Hitchcock can be seen walking past a phone booth just after Jack Favell
makes a call in the final part of the movie.
Rebecca was the only Hitchcock film to receive an Academy Award for
Best Picture. This went to producer David O. Selznick.
Joan Fontaine was nominated in the Academy Award for Best Actress category.
The prize however went to Ginger Rogers. Judith Anderson, who was nominated for
Best Actress in a Supporting Role, also went home empty-handed, as did Laurence
Olivier, who lost out to James Stewart.
Credit
