Several
times, I’ve blogged about how the book, Rebecca, changed my
reading life from young adult to adult. Not long ago, Handsome and I were
talking about this topic, and he mentioned he’d never seen the movie (although he said he knew it from my lengthy talks about it. LOL). The next day in
our local paper was an advertisement for special screenings of movies from 1970
and prior. This year’s line-up included Rebecca. Instantly, I emailed
Handsome we had to go as I had never seen Rebecca on the big screen.
Rebecca,
1940, and directed by the awesome Alfred Hitchcock, starred Joan Fontaine and
Laurence Olivier, adapted from the 1938 novel by Daphne du Maurier. The film adaptation is pretty true to Ms. du Maurier’s
plot.
Shot in black and
white, the film is considered to be a gothic tale,
not a romance. We never see Rebecca, Maxim de Winter's first wife, who died
before the story starts, but the audience grows to know her reputation through
recollections about her. Her constant presence is kept alive by Mrs. Danvers,
the housekeeper. Also to note is the second Mrs. de Winter is never called by
her first name.
The film won two Academy
Awards, Outstanding Production and
Cinematography, out of a
total 11 nominations. Olivier, Fontaine and Anderson were all Oscar
nominated for their respective roles. Funny bit: Mr. Hitchcock lied to Ms. Fontaine, saying
that no one in the cast liked her.Blurb: A naïve paid companion marries an aristocratic widower and becomes intimidated by her responsibilities and the memories of the first wife and doubts her relationship with her husband.
My thoughts: I loved this movie. It is perfectly cast, movies well. There are close up subtleties that are incredible. Truly, one of Hitchcock’s finest movies. I was a little baffled as to why some audience members tittered during it. Maybe because it seemed a little melodramatic.
FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_(1940_film)
18 comments:
Vicki, what a wonderful review and interesting tidbits about the film. Can you imagine Ms. Fontaine's distress -- or maybe not -- when Alfred Hitchcock told her that diabolical lie. Or perhaps he was just trying to slip her into the second Mrs. De Winter's character. I would love to see this film! xxoo
Hi, Donnell! Knowing he'd said this to Ms. Fontaine, I really watched her. She conveyed and embodied timidity well. And when she finally takes control, her body and speech took over. She did an excellent job and deserved to be nominated for an Oscar. Thanks for stopping!
Nice post. You make me want to watch Rebecca again. Haven't seen it since I was a kid and I'm sure I missed most of the subtleties.
Vicki, some of our fav classics do seem "camp" to melodramatic to a young audience. But I love them ... like noir ... they don't always get it.
One of my all time favs is Now Voyager with Betty Davis and Paul Henreid.
We had a tiny movie house in the village ... The Regency and they specialized in the old classics. You could get a whole week of Bogart and that bunch. It was heaven :)
I read all her books. Are on my all time favorites list. Will hunt for the movie.
Thanks for interesting post.
Hi linda! Yes watch for the little things. I noticed a lot of the first part was back story.
Hi florence! I watched Now Voyager not long ago. What a great cast. Have uou watched Casablanca and Play it Again Sam back to back?
Hi alice! I hope you Are better. ive read all her books too. The House on the Strand blew me away with its premise. And Rule Britannia was interesting. Thanks for posting
This is the book that made me want to be a writer. Du Maurier took the reader down the garden path and then tipped them over a cliff. I had to read the passage about the truth of Rebecca several times because I didn't believe it. The writer had made me believe something completely different.
Thank you for this post on a great book and wonderful movie.
Mitzi Reinbold w/a Mitzi Flyte
Hi, Mitzi! Ms. du Maurier did this so well. We thought oh that girl is so silly, inept, then find that no one knew Rebecca, even Mrs. Danvers didn't. Done very well. Thanks for posting.
I saw this movie years ago, but never read the book. It's a great flick!
Hi, Angela! I'm a huge fan of the book; so read it!
I've never seen the movie either! I guess I'll have to watch it!
No, Vicki. I've watched Turner Classics do a Boggie and Becall weekend, or a Boggie day, but never those two back-to-back. And a Woodie marathon is a wonderful experience :)
You seem to have hit a viral nerve with all of us :)
Try both and notice the similarities. Youll get a good giggle.
I'll have to watch for it the next time it's on the classics station. I'm def a Hitchock fan. JC
Im a hitchcock fan too. My fav is rear window. Have you seem lifeboat? Omg thanks for stopping by and sharing.
Thanks for this reminder, Vicki. How lucky you are to be able to see it in a theater.
There were some big writers associated with this script. Du Maurier wrote the book, but it was up to screenwriters to make a movie out of it.
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