Rebecca (USA) (United Artists) (1940) *****Decade: '40siMDB
Director: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson
Rebecca is one of Alfred Hitchcock's masterpieces, though nowadays it doesn't get as much attention or airplay as some of his other works such as Psycho, Vertigo and Rear Window, despite the fact that it's the only Hitchcock movie to ever win the Best Picture Oscar. It's based on a classic gothic horror romance by Daphne DuMaurier, about a young woman who marries a man who is haunted by the memory of his first wife.
What makes Rebecca such a fine horror story is not because of any visible scaryness. There are no apparitions, no blood. All the horror in fact, is psychological - emanating from the sheer force of personality of a dead woman, and the profound impact she had on others - especially on her faithful housekeeper. The gorgeous black and white photography is top-notch, as are the performances, especially by Joan Fontaine as the timid second Mrs. De Winter, and Judith Anderson as the fanatical Mrs. Danvers.
Posted by bc on October 28, 2005 04:30 PM