Rebecca (1940)

Remembering Manderley

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Buy Rebecca on DVD

Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier, Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) remains one of the Master's most overrated and underrated movies at the same time. It's based on a gothic romance rather than a traditional suspense story, and, at 130 minutes, it's one of Hitch's longest pictures. It was the director's first American picture and was heavily controlled by producer David O. Selznick. It won an Oscar for Best Picture, which Selznick collected, but not one for its director (John Ford won for The Grapes of Wrath).

Despite all this, it remains an extraordinary film, and it's one of Hitchcock's sturdiest and most enchanting works. During a stay at a ritzy seaside getaway, a humble girl (Joan Fontaine) meets the noble, elegant Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) and is swept off her feet. They marry and wind up at Maxim's gothic castle of a home, Manderley, where the girl begins to find her happiness at risk by the unseen, haunting presence of Maxim's former wife, Rebecca.

Rebecca is a rare subdued work from Hitchcock, aided by the lovely, soft presence of Joan Fontaine, who perfectly fit the role of the shy, meek Second Mrs. de Winter (her character has no name of her own). Olivier perfectly matches her, always keeping just a bit hidden and distant so that we're never quite sure we can trust him.

Whether or not Hitchcock counted Rebecca as a good experience, he considered du Maurier a good source for films. He had previously adapted Jamaica Inn in 1939 and went on to great success with The Birds (1963).

DVD Details: The film is newly available in a crystal-clear DVD from the Criterion Collection, which replaces Anchor Bay's previous no-frills edition. This double-disc set contains a commentary track by Hitchcock scholar Leonard J. Leff, an isolated music and effects track, optional English subtitles, screen tests for Fontaine and other actresses, excerpts from Hitchcock's great interview with Francois Truffaut, cast interviews, stills, correspondence and notes, script excerpts, footage from the Oscar ceremony, a trailer, three hours of radio adaptations (starring Orson Welles and others), and a 22-page booklet. (Note: In 2009, the Criterion edition went out of print, replaced by a new MGM DVD.)

Starring: Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Gladys Cooper, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Leo G. Carroll
Written by: Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison, based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
MPAA Rating: NR
Running Time: 130 minutes
Date: August 13, 1999