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When
Laurence Olivier was refused his fiancee Vivien Leigh as his protagonist/antagonist
to play the new Mrs. DeWinters, he instigated a furor between he and his new
sidekick, Joan Fontaine (who later was able to tustle the pie in his face with
an Oscar nomination). But you would never know it with the chemistry and symmetrical
provocativity that elapses between Mr. and Mrs. DeWinters throughout the tense
and melodramatic thrill of Rebecca.
Rebecca has the leverage of being able to play the haunted house/psychotic nanny bit as an original. Based on the glorious novel by bisexual genius Daphne DuMaurier, it centers around the shadowy figure of the film's title. Though we never meet the pedestalized Rebecca, her luminous (at times burdensome) sire upon the characters is definitely not relative - anyone who ever came into contact or was in turn affected by Rebecca forever changed. There's the head housekeeper (affectionately refusing to compromise any other way than Rebecca's), the chill that Maxim does not ebb when her name is mentioned, and the harrowing glory that concludes a deranged and life-changing saga.
Rebecca's effect doesn't carry just through the film's masterpiece of a screenplay, she also leaves an indelible impression on the viewer. Oscars for Best Picture and Best B&W Cinematography.
Hitchock's
first American film a legacy of his finest. Non-offbeat from tradition
yet never lacking film greatness. Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan
Fontaine. Dir: Alfred Hitchcock.