# Rebecca (1940)

### reviewed by
Ted Prigge

    REBECCA (1940)
    A Film Review by Ted Prigge
    Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge

Director: Alfred Hitchcock Writers: John Harrison, Michael Hogan, Philip MacDonald, and Robert E. Sherwood (based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier) Starring: Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, George Sanders, Gladys Cooper, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Florence Bates

The Master of Suspense took a slight turn away from international intrigue to create his American debut film, "Rebecca." Instead of spies, conspiracies, and chases involving innocent men and women, "Rebecca" is a thriller dealing with the depths of the human soul. There are no bad guys or good guys in "Rebecca" - just some people who end up being psychologically wounded one way or another by result of the death of one woman: Rebecca de Winters.

We never see our title character, but we more than feel her presence. In it, we meet a girl who's name we never really find out (Joan Fontaine), who is the "companion" of a spoiled rich woman - Mrs. Van Hopper (Florence Bates) - in the south of France. There, she meets Rebecca's widower: the wealthy and depressed Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier, eight years before he would make his version of "Hamlet," yet looking like he was around 50). Over the course of a short period of time (about a half-hour of film time), the two hit it off, and by the end of her stay there, he proposes to her, and she gleefully accepts.

But although they're time on vacation was full of happiness, returning to his giant house, Mandalay, begins to set some nasty vibes off. Although welcomed into her house nicely by almost all of the servants, the creepy (not to mention homoerotic) servant Mrs. Danvers, begins to give her the chills. Although at first the film looks as though it's going to go all cheap and have the new Mrs. de Winters just become the old Mrs. de Winters (who was drowned), the film steers clear of that notion, although drifts near it from time to time, and instead goes for something creepier.

The film unfolds beautifully. We the audience sympathize with the noveau riche Joan Fontaine, as she's obviously not exactly comfortable with the rich life. And we watch as the past of Mandalay opens up, and we learn more and more about Rebecca and her impact on not only Maxim (or "Max"), but on other people, most importantly Mrs. Danvers, who is said to have "really adored the late Mrs. de Winters").

The final half hour would seem cheap and anti-climactic, as it takes a completely different direction than what was pre-conceived, but nevertheless deepens the film. I actually rewound the movie and rewatched it with the new knowledge I attained from watching the rest of it, and noticed a whole other depth to the film.

What's remarkable about "Rebecca" is how it obtains suspense through non-life-threatening situations. In a sequence where Joan Fontaine is making a costume for a big ball of hers, we never see what she's creating, but I actually hoped I didn't think what she was doing, and felt some tension before finally seeing her creation. The entire film is mired with gothic creepiness, creating moments where I was just afraid because of the feel of the film.

"Rebecca" is not only notable for this distinction, but also because it is the only one of his films to win a Best Picture Oscar. Unfortunately, Hitchcock goes into the same club of extremely talented directors who have never won an Oscar for their efforts, inclduing such noteworthy directors as Martin Scorsese and Stanley Kubrick. Although "Rebecca" does not show Hitchcock in his element of damn-near-flawless direction in his typical thrillers, I think the man should have at least won for this, since his direction is, as it is mostly, damn-near-flawless.

The film received a total of 11 nominations, claiming some of them (it was no "English Patient," after all). Olivier and Fontaine were both nominated, and justly, but lost, perhaps justly (I don't know who else was nominated that year). Fontaine creates a very sympathetic character, a protagonist we can identify with (in most cases), and care about. And Olivier creates a man who has distanced himself from everyone else, and who's problem we never fully understand, but just quickly diagnose him superficially with the old "oh, well, his wife just died!"

Judith Anderson was also nominated but lost, but I think she should have won for her Mrs. Danvers is one of the most intriguing and bizarre characters in all of film history. She is also a distanced character, but one who possesses a lot of creepiness, as well as some homoeroticism (there's a scene where she gets so close to Fontaine, it looked like Fontaine was trying to escape from her because there was some sexual tension). This is not just me; many filmmakers claim that this was intentional.

In a smaller role, George Sanders (who was in some other Hitchcock films, like "Foreign Correspondent") is a scene stealer as an old lover of Rebecca's who turns up mostly in the end to start some trouble with Max. Why he wasn't nominated, I don't know.

"Rebecca" is one of the more deeper and stranger of the Hitchcock films, as it deals more with psychological terror than espionnage terror. It's an unforgettable film, and further proof that Hitchcock was one of the best and freshest directors around, and who's timeless classics make him one of the best directors of all time.

    MY RATING (out of 4): ****

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