Writing on a Classic: Rebecca (1940)

Revisiting contemporary and modern critical appreciation
Alfred Hitchcock’s first Hollywood film has a British flavour
First adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s bestselling novel
Blockbuster success: nominated for 11 Oscars, winning two

Note: this is part of an ongoing series of 150-odd Hitchcock articles; any dead links are to those not yet published. Subscribe to the email list to be notified when new ones appear.

Rebecca: Writing on a Classic; Collectors Guide, Part 2: Production, 3: Home video, 4: 1956 re-release and bootlegs, 5: Soundtrack and radio, 6: Remakes

US insert poster by Eric Rohman

She is everywhere. The haunting presence of Rebecca, Maxim de Winter’s dead wife, still fills the manor where he now lives with his new bride. Like a spell, Rebecca lingers and won’t go away. Who was she? What happened to her? Why can’t she be forgotten? This renowned adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel features an all-star cast: Laurence Olivier as the tortured husband, Joan Fontaine as his terrified bride, George Sanders as Rebecca’s lover and Judith Anderson as the sinister housekeeper [of the flame]. Rebecca was Hitchcock’s first American production and his only film ever to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture, in 1941. One of the most romantic films he ever directed, it remains a classic of terror and suspense. “Hitchcock does it all his way and does a splendid job.” (Time) – US CBS/Fox VHS (1992) info

The Morning Tribune | Straits Times

Judith Anderson: Australian Star, First Lady of the American Stage (2019) – Desley Deacon

Rebecca begins with the camera weaving down a leaf strewn path and coming to rest before a gutted Tudor mansion. These first images are as haunting as the opening words spoken by Joan Fontaine playing a modest and shy young woman, who meets, falls in love with and eventually marries Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), who is also on vacation. When the new Mrs de Winter arrives at Maxim’s mansion, Manderley, she finds a house of hostile servants, most notably the housekeeper Mrs Danvers (Judith Anderson) who works with sinister cunning to keep alive the influence of her late mistress. Trying desperately to adjust to her new life, she is confronted and tormented by the memory of Rebecca, the previous Mrs de Winter, whose presence hangs over Manderley in an eerie and terrifying manner, recreating the turbulent emotions of days gone by!

Rebecca created much interest amongst the movie critics, which prompted the Hollywood Spectator of 1940 to say “Rebecca is a notable picture; from the standpoint of writing, direction and acting, one of the most beautiful examples of film craftsmanship Hollywood ever presented the world. Alfred Hitchcock directs with unfaltering skill and provides an absorbing psychological drama, expertly acted, rich in sombre atmosphere”. National Board of Review: “A masterly exhibition of the Hitchcock skill in creating suspense and shock.” – Australian ABC Video VHS

Movie of the Week: Rebecca – Life

‘Rebecca’: Grim and Gripping, Film Hews to Lines of Novel
David O. Selznick earned the gratitude of Margaret Mitchell’s admirers by modeling the film Gone with the Wind closely after the novel. For his first offering since then, the United Artists producer has turned out an even more faithful adaptation of a best seller. Dramatized with remarkably few changes by Robert Sherwood and Joan Harrison, Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca comes to the screen as a deliberate-paced but intensely interesting drama of character and somber atmosphere.

As in the book, the heroine is the narrator, known only as “I”; and the title character is a dead woman who remains an unseen but tangibly evil presence in the grim, Tudor castle of Manderley. Rebecca, the first wife of Maxim de Winter, has left a thousand reminders in Manderley to haunt the shy, impressionable bride who comes to take her place. But most terrifying is the memory of Rebecca as it lingers in the brooding mind of Maxim and battens on the fanatic unbalanced devotion of Mrs. Danvers, her housekeeper. Rebecca’s fight from the grave almost destroys her helpless rival, but as the mystery of her death is pieced together (it is accidental here, to satisfy the Hays office, not murder), the spell is destroyed.

As the fragile, awkward girl-bride who becomes a woman in adversity, Joan Fontaine gives an unexpectedly sensitive performance that brings her stardom with her first important role. Laurence Olivier is quietly impressive as the not always sympathetic or completely credible Maxim; and Judith Anderson makes a successful transition from Broadway to Hollywood as the bitter Danvers. Similarly, the supporting cast—George Sanders, Reginald Denny, Nigel Bruce, Florence Bates—has been carefully chosen, and the production is in excellent taste. However, the effectiveness of this psychological tour de force depends almost entirely on Alfred Hitchcock’s masterly direction.

This is the roly-poly English director’s Hollywood debut and his first assignment under a long-term contract with Selznick. Without his sure hand, this quiet narrative might have succumbed under its two-hour-odd running time. As it is, Hitchcock’s mastery of the active and passive trappings of melodrama not only sustains a mood but high-lights it with some of the vivid directional flashes that distinguished The 39 Steps and The Lady Vanishes. – Newsweek

Rebecca – The Hollywood Reporter

Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier in Rebecca

Rebecca is an artistic success whose b.o. [box office] [al]lure will be limited. Picture is noteworthy in its literal translation of Daphne du Maurier’s novel to the screen, presenting all of the sombreness and dramatic tragedy of the book in its unfolding. More important, it commands attention in establishing Joan Fontaine as a potential screen personality of upper brackets. Dave Selznick’s picture is too tragic and deeply psychological to hit the fancy of wide audience appeal. It will receive attention from critics and class patronage as an example of the power in narrative drama of vivid screen portraiture, but general audiences will tab it as a long-drawn out drama that could have been told better in less footage.

Daphne du Maurier’s story unfolds the tragic experience of a young wife (Joan Fontaine) who lives in the shadows of the memories of Olivier’s first spouse. Concerned with her husband’s continual moodiness over the former wife, Miss Fontaine gradually pieces together the tragedy of the former marriage to eventually find marital happiness when the burdensome secret of Rebecca’s death is lifted from the shoulders of Olivier.

Alfred Hitchcock, English director, pilots his first American production with capable assurance and exceptional understanding of the motivation and story mood. Despite the psychological and moody aspects of the tale throughout its major footage, he highlights the piece with several intriguing passages that display Inspired direction and portrayal.
Olivier provides an impressionable portrayal as the master of Manderley, unable to throw off the memory of his tragic first marriage while trying to secure happiness in his second venture. Miss Fontaine is excellent as the second wife, carrying through the transition of a sweet and vivacious bride to that of a bewildered woman marked by the former tragedy she finds hard to understand.

Supporting cast has been selected with careful attention to individual capabilities. Judith Anderson is the sinister housekeeper and confidante of the former wife: George Sanders is personable in portrayal of the despicable Jack Flavell; and Reginald Denny is Crawley, the estate manager and pal of Olivier. Florence Bates provides many light moments in the early portion as a romantically-inclined dowager. Artistically, Rebecca is one of the finest productional efforts of the past year. – Walt, Variety

Rebecca – Vaughn Grable, Albany News

A young serving woman weds a wealthy widower and goes to live in his palatial Cornish estate. Her good fortune turns nightmarish, however, when she finds herself haunted by the specter of her husband’s first wife, Rebecca. Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine and George Sanders, Rebecca is one of the richest and most romantic movies ever directed by Hitchcock. His first American-made film, it was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two, including Best Picture.

Rebecca, Hitchcock’s first American film, was seemingly, with its British cast, British locale, and British director, “more English than beer and skittles.” Yet producer David O. Selznick wasted little time getting to the point. He wanted another success on the scale of his previous release, the 1939 film Gone with the Wind. With much fanfare, the producer hired Hitchcock to direct his newest project and brought the English director to Hollywood.

The film, starring Laurence Olivier and twenty-two-year-old Joan Fontaine, brought to the screen a romantic and psychological thriller in the Gothic tradition. Fontaine plays a modest and unsophisticated young woman who falls in love with and marries Maxim de Winter (Olivier). When the couple returns to the family estate of Manderley, Fontaine – whose name we never learn – is overshadowed by the legacy of de Winter’s dead wife, Rebecca. Dame Judith Anderson stars as Manderley’s cold and efficient housekeeper who is forever appearing out of dark corridors and passageways to remind Fontaine of her shortcomings, always comparing her to Rebecca.

Hitchcock Considers Rebecca – Bosley Crowther, The New York Times

Star Search
Selznick, who had masterfully stirred up a media blitz for the selection of an actress to star in Gone With the Wind, was intent on doing the same with the casting in Rebecca. Daphne du Maurier’s novel was so popular, it had been reprinted seven times in its first year of publication alone. In 1938, Orson Welles created a successful radio version of Rebecca, whetting audience appetites even further for the soon-to-be-made film. With Olivier already cast as Maxim de Winter, the search for an actress to portray the shy and demure female lead was on. Throughout the fall of 1938 and the following spring, every eligible actress in Hollywood tested for the part. The roster included Virginia Mayo, Vivien Leigh, Loretta Young, Joan Fontaine, Susan Hayward and Lana Turner.

Olivier was involved in a well-publicized affair with Vivien Leigh and supported Leigh’s cause. Neither Hitchcock nor Selznick was overly keen on the idea, thinking the young actress “far too attractive and seductive to play the role of the mousy heroine.” In the end, it was Joan Fontaine, known in Hollywood circles as the “wooden woman,” who won the part. Olivier never forgave Fontaine for taking the role from Leigh, causing much tension on the set. Hitchcock capitalized on this tension, always keeping Fontaine “on edge and unsure of her position.” He also encouraged the rest of the cast to stay away from the actress in order to ensure Fontaine’s ability to feel the isolation of her character.

Is Fontaine’s Future in Hitchcock’s Hands? – Jack Holland, Motion Picture

US half sheet poster

Next Year’s Academy Award Winner! – Lupton Wilkinson, Hollywood

Script Wars
The advertisements for Rebecca read “You loved the novel, you’ll live the picture” but getting the book to screen involved many arguments between Hitchcock and Selznick. The director would have one idea, the producer a contrary one. From the start, Selznick disliked Hitchcock’s script, going so far as to bring in playwright Robert E. Sherwood, who had previously distinguished himself as the screenwriter of The Petrified Forest.

At one point, Selznick was so perturbed at the script’s progress, he ordered Hitchcock to come work at his house with Sherwood. Although he was on the scene, the writer primarily drank and “sailed little boats in Selznick’s swimming pool.” This apparently exhausted Hitchcock who later remembered, “I had a dim recollection of trying to keep awake at 3 a.m., and little, if any copy was written.”

The disagreements between producer and writer continued throughout their collaboration on Rebecca, but on one occasion the producer went too far. Selznick wanted an “R” to form out of the smoke as Manderley burned to the ground in the film’s finale. “Mercifully.” as one critic stated, “Hitchcock fought against one sensational Selznick ploy,” and it did not appear in the movie. Adding to the friction between Hitchcock and Selznick, Rebecca was voted Best Picture of the Year in 1940, but the Academy Award went to the producer, not the director.

Splendid Film of du Maurier’s Rebecca – Frank Nugent, The New York Times

US 1946 re-release half sheet poster

Behind the Scenes
Rebecca cost one million dollars to produce in 1940 and was one of three du Maurier works Hitchcock adapted to the big screen. In 1939, he filmed Jamaica Inn and in 1963, The Birds. Alfred Hitchcock had offered to buy the movie rights for Rebecca but was far outbid by Selznick who paid $50,000. Hitchcock, stunned when he heard the cost, stated he was “vastly amazed at the price!”

Laurence Olivier won the role of Maxim de Winter only after Ronald Colman declined to star in the film because the character murdered his wife. Joan Fontaine was only one of two Americans to star in Rebecca. The next year she starred in Suspicion, also directed by Alfred Hitchcock and won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Judith Anderson, acclaimed stage actress, demanded that Selznick pay her $1,000 per week for her audition, plus transportation and expenses. Her most audacious demand was that Hitchcock himself direct her screen test. – US ABC/Time Life VHS (1991)

Hitchcock’s Rebecca is a Grippingly Powerful Movie – I.A.L.D., Columbia Daily Spectator