Rebecca (1940)

Rebecca (1940) – A young woman is drawn into the dark life of an older man who is haunted by the memory of his first wife.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock                           Starring – Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine

This is what gothic horror looks like.  Thepresence of death hanging over what seems and ordinary, almost perfect life.  An innocent person trapped in a growing understanding of the madenss that surrounds them.  Hitchcock is brilliant with this kind of material, and he’s at the peak of his prowess here.  This was his first Hollywood film and the only one that would win an Oscar.  The sense of dread hangs over every moment of the movie.  At the same time the director keeps it carefully controlled.  Because of that the movie never slides into melodrama.  Every twist in the story creates as much surprise for the audience as for the heroine.

The movie is also an apt choice for the current moment in history as well.  It is the story of a young woman dominated by an older man.  Mere seconds after Olivier’s character proposes, he instructs his new bride to get him some coffee.  Made a specific way.  Which she must never forget.  In real life, it was more of the same. Hitchcock has a well deserved reputation for manipulating and abusing his female leads.  Olivier treated Fontaine with disdain because he had wanted his then girlfriend Vivien Leigh to have the role.  Hitchcock built on that by telling Fontaine that everyone on the set hated her.  Thus getting the haunted and hunted performance he wanted from the actress.  While the end result is brilliant, the process is profoundly objectionable.

In the midst of this, is one character who is the inspiration for a later, and beloved film.  If you’re a fan of Mel Brooks’s brilliant “Young Frankenstein”, you will clearly see the source material for Frau Blucher in the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers.

Why You Will Like It –  Fontaine and Olivier deliver wonderful performances as two sides of a gothic horror coin.  Hitchcock delivers a movie that you won’t be able to stop watching.


Rating – ***** Highest Reccomendation