Rebecca (1940)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (novel)
Philip MacDonald (adaptation) ...

Release Date:

12 April 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The shadow of this woman darkened their love.

Plot:

When a naive young woman marries a rich widower and settles in his gigantic mansion, she finds the memory of the first wife maintaining a grip on her husband and the servants.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Housekeeper | Death | Widower | Servant

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	'Maxim' de Winter
Joan Fontaine	...	The Second Mrs. de Winter
George Sanders	...	Jack Favell
Judith Anderson	...	Mrs. Danvers
Nigel Bruce	...	Major Giles Lacy
Reginald Denny	...	Frank Crawley
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Colonel Julyan
Gladys Cooper	...	Beatrice Lacy
Florence Bates	...	Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper
Melville Cooper	...	Coroner
Leo G. Carroll	...	Dr. Baker
Leonard Carey	...	Ben
Lumsden Hare	...	Tabbs
Edward Fielding	...	Frith
Forrester Harvey	...	Chalcroft

Also Known As:

Rebecca (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Rebeca (Spain) [es]
Rebeca, una mujer inolvidable (Argentina) [es]
Rebecca (Sweden) [sv]
Rebecca (Denmark) [da]
Rebecca (Portugal) [pt]
Rebecca (France) [fr]
Rebecca, A Mulher Inesquecível (Brazil) [pt]
Rebecca, la prima moglie (Italy) [it]
Rebeka (Serbia) [sr]
Rebeka (Poland) [pl]
Rebekka (Finland) [fi]
Revekka (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Iceland:L | USA:Approved (certificate #5969) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Peru:14 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

Just as in the original novel, Mrs. de Winter has no first name.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the new Mrs. De Winter first enters the room to do her correspondence, there are three books on the table. An establishing shot shows that the book on the left is labeled "menus", and the one in the center is labeled "addresses". Mrs. de Winter picks up the one on the left, and it is now revealed in a close-up to read "addresses" on the cover.

Quotes:

Maxim de Winter: I'm asking you to marry me, you little fool.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Bloodlust! (#7.7)" (1994)

A Fine Classic

This fine classic combines a great director, a great story, and a great cast. Any one of those would have made for a good movie, but all three make it an excellent one. Hitchcock's style and eye for detail combine very well with a story (from a novel that is extremely good in its own right) filled with psychological fear and settings that are interesting and suggestive.

Most of the time the story itself moves fairly slowly, allowing the focus to be on the characters, but there are also a couple of very good plot twists, which can be very surprising if you've not seen the movie or read the novel. So if you happen not to know the story, it's a good idea to see the film before reading a lot of comments about it. Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, and George Sanders are all perfectly cast and do a wonderful job bringing their characters to life, and making you feel a part of the story.

"Rebecca" should be satisfying not only to any Hitchcock fan, but to anyone who likes classic movies. Whether you like romance, suspense, or drama, they're all here, and put together by a director and cast that are masters of their art.