Rebecca (1940) is the only film by Alfred Hitchcock that has ever won an Oscar Award for Best Picture. It stars Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine and it is a story of love, mystery and grave choices.
The film's protagonist is a shy, inexperienced girl with low self-esteem that works as a ladies' companion and while on vacation she meets an attractive, handsome and rich man.
The man is standing on the edge of a cliff and the girl shouts at him not to jump. He is a very reserved man who seems annoyed at first but soon opens up and shows his true colours.
These two start to spend some time together and soon a relationship is blossoming.
When the girl tells him that she and her lady are about to depart, the wealthy Maxim de Winter proposes and they get married quickly.
They decide to live in Mr. De Winter's mansion where he and his deceased wife were living until her sudden death in a boat accident the previous year.
The mansion is enormous and the lifestyle that Mr. De Winter and his servants lead is so different from what the girl is used to.
However, the reception everyone has in store for her isn't the best. Everyone compares her to the previous Mrs. De Winter and they make life miserable for her.
It seems like the whole mansion, its staff and everyone else are still haunted and affected by the deceased woman. And there are many secrets that haven't been revealed yet.
The protagonist of the film has no first name. Everyone refers to her by the name "Mrs. De Winter".
Laurence Olivier was campaigning for his girlfriend at the time, Vivien Leigh to take the leading part. When Joan Fontaine took it instead, he treated her horribly. Hitchcock took advantage of that and told Fontaine that everyone on the set loathed her so that she would be shy and uneasy - exactly what her performance needed to be.
It was Hitchcock's choice to shoot the film in black & white. He wanted it to have the dark atmosphere of the book.
Judith Anderson who plays Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper and main antagonist to the film's lead, was instructed rarely to blink.
Mrs. Danvers is also rarely seen walking. She usually glides. That is because the audience sees her through Mrs. De Winter's anxious point of view. She also seems to appear everywhere unexpectedly.
Director Cameo: At the end of the film, after Jack Favell (George Sanders) has spoken to the phone and is talking to a police officer Hitchcock walks fast behind the two men.
Memorable Quotes:
"Happiness is something I know nothing about."
Maxim De Winter
"Everyone loved her."
Mrs. Danvers
"I say, marriage with Max is not exaclty a bed of roses, is it?"
Jack Favell
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