Rebecca

"Rebecca" was the first Hitchcock film I ever saw, and I was mesmerized by it from the start, convinced that I had to see more of the director's work. It richly deserved the Oscar it received, but it's a real puzzle that the Academy saw fit to withhold a best director award for Hitch. Would one possibly give an award to a work by Picasso and not to Picasso himself?

"Rebecca" was the first of the director's American-made films, and it shows. It's quite different from his earlier British-made films, such as "Young and Innocent" and even "The Lady Vanishes," which somehow seem more amateurish by comparison. (I know little of the British cinema of that era, but it's difficult not to conclude that Hollywood was better at producing more sophisticated efforts.) I would even judge "Rebecca" the best of his films of the early 1940s, with the possible exception of "Shadow of a Doubt." It is true, of course, that much of this film has become cliché (remember the spoofs on the old "Carol Burnette Show"!), but it still weathers the decades very well. The acting is uniformly excellent. Olivier is the hardened Maxim de Winter, untitled lord of Manderly, trying to forget the past and given to unexpected bouts of anger and coldheartedness. Fontaine is perfect as the unnamed mousy heroine, innocent yet deeply in love, still carrying with her the aura of an awkward schoolgirl. Even character actor Nigel Bruce, best known for his role in the Sherlock Holmes films, makes an appearance and plays, in effect, Nigel Bruce!

But it is Judith Anderson's role as Mrs. Danvers that viewers are likely to remember best. Her presence is as dark and foreboding as that of the deceased Rebecca herself, and Fontaine is evidently cowed by her icy stare and unnervingly formal manner. The dynamics between the two actresses are wonderful. Who could fail to empathize with Fontaine's unenviable position as, in effect, the new employer of such an intimidating personage? On the other hand, Olivier seems quite unfearful of Anderson, despite her representing so much of the past he is trying to block out. This part of the plot (even in the book) never made much sense to me and is unconvincing.

As far as I know, this film marked Hitch's first collaboration with composer Franz Waxman, whose haunting score makes it all the more memorable. Waxman's scores are perhaps less obviously cinematic than those of the incomparable Bernard Herrmann, who would score Hitch's films from 1955 to 1966. Contrast the score for "Rebecca" to Herrmann's music for "Citizen Kane" the following year, and you'll immediately hear the difference. Waxman's is more symphonic in the central European style reflective of his own birth and upbringing. Yet it is worth recalling that scoring films was still a new art at this time, and both Waxman and Herrmann were pioneers.

Finally, one has to mention the cinematography, which is magnificent. Technically "Rebecca" might have been filmed in colour, which was newly available in 1940. ("Gone with the Wind" was filmed entirely in colour the previous year, while "The Wizzard of Oz" and "The Women" had colour scenes.) But colour would have diminished its impact. The suspense and the ominous sense of impending doom could only have been communicated through the medium of black-and-white and the deft use of light and shade which it affords.

In one respect, of course, "Rebecca" is not a typical Hitchcock film. There is no fleeing innocent trying to clear his name of a crime he did not commit. Surprisingly, there isn't even a murder, although its absence was apparently imposed by the Hayes Code and is certainly foreign to Daphne du Maurier's original novel. Some have said that there is more Selznick than Hitchcock in this film, and perhaps there's something to that. Still, if the collaborative effort between the two was not exactly amiable, it was nevertheless successful.

In short, this is the first in a string of Hitchcock masterpieces.

Hitchcock's first American movie, a word, American that is, that should be put in quotes because as Hitchcock pointed out, all of the cast and almost all of the crew were British. The film has already garnered so many comments that I'll avoid repeating most of them. The plot I'm sure has been thoroughly outlined and professionally analyzed but a few points are worth emphasis.

The plot of very precisely structured. It consists basically of a man who is the dream of many women in the 1940s audience: ruggedly handsome, intelligent, keen witted, a bit commanding but not too much, fabulously wealthy, a touch roguish, and mysterious. It's the mystery that provides the plot engine. Every incident of his past emotional life needs to be pried out of Maxim deWinter (what a name, suggesting frigidity and distance) as if it were an abcessed tooth. Each secret, as he reveals it, is a surprise to his wife. Except for the final secret uncovered in the plot, which surprises everybody. Maxim could clear the whole mystery up with an hour's worth of private conversation with his wife. But of course he doesn't, or else there would be no story. That's why Hamlet takes so long to slaughter Claudius. And why the Indians don't shoot the horses as they're chasing the stagecoach.

The acting. Olivier is extremely good at impersonating deWinter with all his charm and challenge. George Sanders is the best cad that the movies ever produced, and he proves it again here. Mrs. Danvers has a face and an expression that looks like an ice sculpture. The implicit lesbianism in her character of course had to remain implicit, but it is still rather a shock when she tenderly unfolds Mrs. DeWinter's nightie and says smoothly, "Look, you can see my hand through it." As for Joan Fontaine, a friend in Ireland said of her performance, "She does the shivering wife very well." Precisely put. With her delicate bone structure, fragile looking limbs, and her overall ikabani flower arrangement appearance, her wide asymmetrical eyes, with one brow arching up over her pale forehead, she looks about to faint with fright through half the movie. The only thing coarse about her is her wardrobe: bulky knit sweaters over her girlish bosom, long flapping drab skirts over her small but saucy rump, and those clodhoppers she wears while clunking about the house. She does the shivering naif in at least two other films of the period -- Hitchcock's "Suspicion" and "Jane Eyre." In fact, rummaging through the disarranged attic that is my long-term memory, I can't really remember her "doing" any other role.

It's the closest Hitchcock ever came to making what was then called "a woman's picture." It received a "best picture" Oscar, which went to Selznick. Something Hitchcock seemed to resent for the remainder of his life. It was a commercial and critical success and it deserved to be.

The only Alfred Hitchcock (Oscar-nominated for directing) film to win the Best Picture Oscar, "Rebecca" is one of those typical films from the amazing director that chills, entertains and puts you on the edge of your seat each time you watch it. Joan Fontaine (Oscar-nominated) has just married the very wealthy Laurence Olivier (also Oscar-nominated), but she is haunted by his mysterious housekeeper (a show-stopping Oscar-nominated performance by Judith Anderson) and the memory of the film's titled character (Olivier's late wife). Hitchcock, noted for his subtle sexual under-tones in films spares none of that here as Anderson's character and the late titled character's relationship seemed to go much further than employee-employer. Anderson slowly tries to drive Fontaine to insanity and the end she may accomplish her devious goal. Hitchcock's first real major U.S. debut stunned the Academy and audiences alike and would lead to the coveted Best Picture Oscar. It is not the best film the legendary director ever worked on, but it is still an amazingly good production that works on many cinematic levels. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Director Alfred Hitchcock is renowned for his visual acuity, creating some of the most memorable shots in movie history; he also had a keen eye for beauty, casting some of Hollywood's most stunning actresses in iconic roles: Grace Kelly in Rear Window, Maureen O'Hara in Jamaica Inn, Tippi Hedren in The Birds, Ingrid Bergman in Spellbound, and Janet Leigh in Psycho, to name but a few. Perhaps his most enchanting leading lady was Joan Fontaine, who won an Oscar for her role in Suspicion (1941), but who was never more appealing than in her first film for Hitch, Rebecca, based on a novel by Daphne Du Maurier.

The gorgeous Fontaine plays a meek young woman (we never discover her name, but she's not the 'Rebecca' of the title) who falls for rich aristocrat 'Maxim' de Winter (Laurence Olivier) while working in the South of France. Equally besotted, Maxim proposes to the self-effacing beauty, and takes her back to his ancestral home, Manderley, which he once shared with his first wife Rebecca, before she drowned in a boating accident. The new Mrs. de Winter does her best to adapt to her new lifestyle, but is constantly under the shadow of her predecessor, with stern housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) being particularly disapproving of Maxim's new bride, deliberately driving a wedge between the married couple and even going so far as to try and talk Mrs. de Winter Mk. II into killing herself.

Thus far, the film is pure melodrama and sappy romance, and avid Hitchcock fans might be wondering where the murder and mystery is; worry, not, for this comes in the second half of the film and provides plenty of intrigue and suspense as Maxim reveals what really happened to his first wife and is subsequently suspected of her murder. Both his wife and the viewer are aware of his innocence, but with Rebecca's lover Jack Favell (George Sanders) accusing Mr. de Winter of murder, and plenty of damning evidence, things are looking pretty bad for the poor fellow. It all wraps up nicely in the end, of course, but there are plenty of tense moments along the way, all handled in the director's typically assured manner, with bags of atmosphere and sumptuous cinematography.

But as great as the direction and story are, it is the performances that really make Rebecca a winner: Olivier is perfect as the troubled toff, Anderson is wonderfully wicked as scheming housekeeper Danvers, nobody does 'bumbling oaf' quite as well as Nigel Bruce (playing Major Giles Lacy, who puts his foot in his mouth whenever he speaks), Sanders is suitably slimy as adulterous blackmailer Favell, and Fontaine... well, she is completely captivating, every smile, every tilt of her head, and every nervous glance guaranteed to win over the viewer (she was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the Oscars, but lost to Ginger Rogers). Hell, even the dog that played Maxim's mutt Jasper was excellent (so cute!).

Hitchcock felt 'Rebecca', his first Hollywood film, was a compromise, but as a viewer I just can't fault it. It's a masterpiece in my opinion, full of suspense, mystery and brooding atmosphere. It's also one of the most romantic movies I've ever seen. I've watched it several times over the years, and even now that I know all the plot twists and turns (quite shocking on your first viewing), it never fails to hook me in. One of the reasons it really works is the flawless casting. I'm not much of an Olivier fan but he's superb as de Winter, with just the right mixture of charm and coldness. And Joan Fontaine is just perfect as de Winter's new bride. I can't spot an unconvincing moment in her performance and can't imagine any other actress in the role. Hitchcock subsequently used her in 'Suspicion' with Cary Grant. She was also excellent in that but 'Rebecca' is a much stronger movie. The supporting cast also includes some brilliant performances, especially Judith Anderson ('Laura') as the extremely creepy Mrs. Danvers, George Sanders who plays Rebecca's slimy cousin, and Nigel Bruce in a typical role as de Winter's bumbling brother-in-law Major Lacy. Sanders subsequently worked again with Hitchcock in 'Foreign Correspondent', and Bruce played Cary Grant's lovable pal "Beaky" in 'Suspicion'. I sometimes think that Hitchcock's 1940s movies are overlooked by many because they are regarded as being too "old fashioned", but for me movies like 'Suspicion', 'Saboteur', 'Lifeboat' and 'Spellbound' are some of the most entertaining movies Hitchcock ever made, and 'Rebecca' is the best of the lot. If you want to be totally enthralled for two hours just watch 'Rebecca'!