A One Mann’s Movies review of “Rebecca” (1940).
The photo above for “Rebecca” comes from the special poster produced for the film by Harbour Lights cinema in Southampton (a splendid little cinema!). Harbour Lights staff, in this case Anastasia, get their personal film favourites shown again on the big screen. And what a joy it was to see again this Hitchcock classic – an Oscar “Best Picture” winner – as it was meant to be seen.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
After a whirlwind romance on the French Riviera, a ladies ‘companion’ (Joan Fontaine) is married to the widowed Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier). But on returning to his rambling Cornish home, Mandelay, and its spooky housekeeper Mrs Danvers (Judith Anderson), the new Mrs de Winter finds that there are still ‘three in the marriage’: since the ghost of Rebecca, the former Mrs de Winter, is never far away.
Certification:
UK: PG; US: “Approved”. (From the BBFC: “Contains mild horror, threat and sex references”)
Talent:
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny.
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock.
Written by: Robert E. Sherwood & Joan Harrison. From the novel by Daphne Du Maurier.
Some of George Barne’s Oscar winning camera work. (Source: United Artists)
“Rebecca” Review:
Positives:
- It’s a classic Du Maurier story and a wonderful piece of film-making by Alfred Hitchcock. When I think of Rebecca, I always only think of the romance of the courtship and the creepiness of the old house and Mrs Danvers floating around, spreading doom and gloom like some malevolent spirit. Why was the “Master of Suspense” attracted to this material? I always forget that the final reel unwinds a real murder-mystery. And very well done it is too.
- Hitchcock, in collaboration with director of photography George Barnes, deliver some fabulously well-constructed shots in the movie. The lighting and camera blocking is memorable. A silhouette of Mrs Danvers, seen through the bedroom drapes (see above), is a good example. Another scene that stood out is the close-up photography of Fontaine and Olivier lit by a flickering cine projector. They are shots that would make you go “Wow” if in a modern-day movie. But for it’s day, in crisp black-and-white (the 4K restoration is of superb quality), it’s fantastic. Barnes justly won the Oscar in 1941 for this work.
- The script is taut and at times genuinely suspenseful. “Go On, Don’t be afraid” purrs Danvers as she tries to persuade Mrs de Winter to leap from the upstairs window.
Negatives:
- It’s a film of its day. And some of the misogynistic language deployed is jaw-droppingly shocking. We all KNOW that women are meant only for cleaning, cooking and sex, but YOU DON’T HAVE TO SAY IT OUT LOUD in a movie! (#Humour).
- Some of the characters are rather too broadly played, by modern standards. Notably the blackmailing ‘bounder’ Jack Favell, played by George Sanders, and Judith Anderson’s Mrs Danvers who strikes me a tad OTT. It’s one of the few areas – with Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs Danvers – where I thought the 2020 Netflix remake, with Lily James and Armie Hammer, improved on this original classic.
Summary Thoughts on “Rebecca”:
Deserving of its classic status, this Hitchcock classic was great to see on the big-screen again.
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Trailer for “Rebecca”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a3tRl8wwNo . (I thought I’d use this modern fan-made trailer, since it’s so good.)
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