rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 1940
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock; produced by David O. Selznick; screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison
Starring Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny
Below you will find a temporary review for this film. The real (better, more complete) review will be online very soon.
'Rebecca' starts as a romantic movie with quite some funny moments. A young
woman (Joan Fontaine) is a ladies' companion in Monte Carlo. There she meets
Mr. de Winter (Laurence Olivier). They both fall in love and then suddenly
the young woman has to go back to New York. Mr. de Winter asks her to marry
him before she goes and instead of going to New York she goes with him to
his country estate.
Then the romantic comedy turns into a drama. Mr. de Winter had a first Mrs.
de Winter named Rebecca. Everywhere she goes the new Mrs. de Winter finds
Rebecca. She discovers Rebecca still has a big hold to everyone in the
house, especially the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. Mr. de Winter gets mad
sometimes because she does things like Rebecca, or she says things that has
to do with the death of Rebecca (she drowned while she was sailing). It
seems that she is just no comparison to Rebecca, not for the housekeepers,
friends and even Mr. de Winter.
Then the drama, which had some moments with suspense, turns into a mystery
and a thriller. A twist in the story is followed by another one. Of course I
will not reveal those, but it is great.
Directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock this is his first American classic.
Although the movie is a bit long it is never boring. Laurence Olivier and
especially Joan Fontaine are both great. The best thing is Judith Anderson
as Mrs. Danvers who really gives you the creeps. A fantastic story, a great
movie beautifully shot in black-and-white.