Week 9: Rebecca (1940)

Rebecca, based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, follows the story of a young woman (Joan Fontaine) who travels to the South of France as a paid companion for a rude, abrupt woman. She is swept off her feet by the handsome but mysterious Maxim De Winter (Laurence Olivier) who recently lost his wife in a tragic drowning accident. To keep her from returning to New York with her employer, Maxim proposes to and marries the woman, taking her to his home, Manderlay. But once there, she finds that the shadow of his ex-wife, Rebecca, has a haunting presence that she can't seem to overcome.

I don't even know where to begin when talking about Rebecca. While not necessarily my personal favorite, it is certainly in my top five or so, and it is probably the most fascinating of all his works in my mind. It was his first film made in Hollywood, and it won Best Picture in 1940, his only film to do so.

Something I particularly love about this film is the symbolism of names. Maxim has three first names, giving him lots of esteem and apparent power and prestige. Rebecca's name titles the film and is used frequently, but she never appears. And the second Mrs. De Winter, the "lead," has no name. She is only identified by the name of her husband, and even then when the characters refer to Mrs. De Winter they are most often referring to Rebecca. De Maurier was very crafty and deliberate in this tier of names and power.

Hitchcock was ever his controlling self in this film. He studied handwriting in preparation, and he was quite adamant that the characters should have handwriting that matched their personality types. So if you were to analyze the notes written by the characters you would find their character traits in their writing.

Furthermore, he butted heads with producer David O. Selznick quite a bit in this film. One particular instance is that Selznick insisted that the film should end with smoke over Manderlay in the shape of an R. Hitchcock thought that was tacky and lacked subtlety, so he waited until Selznick was busy with his work on Gone with the Wind, and he changed the shot to the embroidered case in the flames. He even edited the film in the camera so that Selznick could have no possible way of changing it back. Hitchcock always had to have his way, auteur that he was. 
The directing and cinematography are beautifully executed. Hitchcock chose to shoot the film in black and white to contribute to the dark mood. He used deep focus photography, in which both close and distant planes are kept in focus, which was at the time a relatively unused style. And so much of the film is about the look in people's eyes, and reading what the characters are thinking without hearing what they are saying. It is through this that we feel the pain in Fontaine's character, the conflict in Olivier's, and the hatred in that of Mrs. Danvers, Rebecca's confidante and maid of Manderlay. It is lovely to see the dynamics in the characters.

The acting in the film is wonderful. Laurence Olivier is flawless as always. The viewer watches a strong man with a dark secret that turns him weak and heavyhearted, and he plays it to perfection. Fontaine is amazing. She was not a very big star at the time, and competed with over 20 other actresses for the part. In fact, Olivier wanted Vivien Leigh, whom he was dating at the time, to play the part, and she was strongly considered. He was so bitter about Fontaine getting the part over Leigh that he treated Fontaine awfully on the set. Hitchcock, not one to let such an opportunity pass him by, chose to tell Fontaine that everyone on the set hated her, contributing to her performance as a woman with no power and no self esteem. Fontaine shows a great range in this film, as her character is the only one who takes a great journey. Not many Hitchcock films focus primarily on the story of a woman, and she pulled this one off with grace and elegance.

Of course I would be amiss to not point out the breathtaking performances of some of the minor characters. Judith Anderson delivers a cold, chilling portrayal of Mrs. Danvers that gives me nightmares every time I watch the film. She is showstopping in this film. And Florence Bates provides some lovely comic acting at the beginning of the film as Fontaine's rude and overbearing employer. Interestingly enough, Bates had never acted in a film before this part. She began stage acting just years before, but she had a long list of careers before that. Besides running an antique shop, teaching, and being a social worker, she was the first woman to pass the bar in Texas. She met Hitchcock briefly before he cast the film and he offered her the part.

I am always surprised when I meet a fan who has not seen this film, and I would recommend it to anyone. It's a classic, so if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and go watch it!