Rebecca (1940)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock                         Writer: Robert E. Sherwood
Film Score: Franz Waxman                       Cinematography: George Barnes
Starring: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders and Reginald Denny

Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca is a fascinating film, considering its position in the Hitchcock cannon. His first American film, it occupies the space right between his great British films, The Lady Vanishes, The 39 Steps, and Sabotage, and the more powerful early American films that came directly after, Suspicion, Saboteur, and Shadow of a Doubt. And it is exactly that, a perfect bridge between the two major periods of his career. In addition, Rebecca was also given the Academy Award for best picture, though not for Hitchcock’s directing. Hitch’s only Oscar was an honorary award given to him in 1968.

There’s a certain filmic quality to the picture that is very reminiscent of Hitchcock’s British period. The microphones of the day muffle the dialog a bit, and coupled with the fast-paced dialog (though not quite Howard Hawks speed) it makes it somewhat of a challenge to keep up with. But there are also very specific Hitchcock touches like the car scenes, Fontaine riding in the car with Olivier, that became trademarks of Hitch’s work from Suspicion and Notorious, on through North by Northwest and Family Plot. And, of course, midway through the film it becomes the classic innocent man accused of murder that really fits into Hitchcock’s oeuvre.

The story concerns Laurence Oliver as the wealthy Max de Winter who contemplates suicide in Monte Carlo after the death of his wife. He’s saved by Joan Fontaine and she becomes the second Mrs. de Winter. As the circumstances surrounding the first Mrs. de Winter’s death come to light, it becomes clear that her husband may be charged for the murder of his first wife. At the same time, the lowly born second wife has to adjust to life at Manderley where the servants, especially Mrs. Danvers, do not appreciate their former mistress’s place being usurped by a commoner.

Of course, Hitchcock’s film was based on the gothic romance novel Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, and that’s probably one of the factors that helped it win the Oscar that year, that and the influence of David O. Selznick, for whose company Hitch made the film, especially since it was going up against films like The Grapes of Wrath and Kitty Foyle. The film also has a great score by Franz Waxman. Suspicion, with Cary Grant, is probably the better Hitchcock film during this period, but with the later firmly in the suspense/mystery category, a genre Hitch would be connected with all his life, he was never again seriously considered for an Academy Award. Still, it’s a great transitional film, and one that would presage Hitchcock’s masterful career in the U.S. for many years to come.