Rebecca (1940) Review

Rebecca (1940)

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My Review

The Best Picture of 1940 is…..”Rebecca.” Suspense is the name of the game in this romantic psychological thriller film. Laurence Olivier plays Max DeWinter, who marries an American woman (Joan Fontaine) after a whirlwind romance in the south of France. The story takes quite a turn when they arrive at his estate in Cornwall, England. It is apparent that memories of his first wife linger all over the place, kept alive by the creepy housekeeper, well played by Judith Anderson.

Director Alfred Hitchcock does a marvelous job in his first American motion picture, from a lucid screenplay by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison. It was adapted from the 1938 Gothic novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier. This film gave Hitchcock the title of the “Master of Suspense.” He expertly managed the talented cast headed by Olivier and Fontaine, while giving the film top-rate production values.

The supporting cast behind Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and Judith Anderson includes George Sanders, Reginald Denny, Gladys Cooper, C. Aubrey Smith, Nigel Bruce, Leo G. Carroll, Florence Bates, Edward Fielding, Melville Cooper, Leonard Carey, Lumsden Hare, and Forrester Harvey. “Rebecca” was popular at the box office for producer David O. Selznick, Selznick International Pictures, and United Artists. This gothic black-and-white movie was the third highest grossing film of the year, and was nominated for eleven Oscars, winning two: Best Picture (Selznick) and Best Cinematography (George Barnes).

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