Rebecca
REBECCA (PG)
D: Alfred Hitchcock
Selznick (David O. Selznick)
US 1940
130 mins
Thriller
W: Robert E. Sherwood & Joan
Harrison [based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier]
DP: George Barnes
Ed: James E. Newcom & Hal C. Kern
Mus: Franz Waxman
PD: Lyle Wheeler
Laurence Olivier (Maxim de
Winter), Joan Fontaine (Mrs. de Winter), George Sanders (Jack Favell), Judith Anderson (Mrs. Danvers), Nigel Bruce (Maj. Giles Lacy), C. Aubrey Smith (Col.
Julyan), Reginald Denny (Frank Crawley), Gladys Cooper (Beatrice Lacy)
The naïve, young second wife of a rich landowner is
haunted by the image of his beautiful first wife shortly after they get married.
Rebecca was Alfred Hitchcock's first American movie
was his only film to win a Best Picture Oscar, yet it's still one of the greatest crimes that he never won a Best Director Oscar in his own right.
Rebecca is a great example of the legendary director's
work. It's a perfectly blended romance, thriller & mystery with excellent performances from both Laurence Olivier & Joan Fontaine, plus excellent supporting performances from the
rest of the ensemble.
Based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier, this movie has
twists which I really didn't see coming and is beautifully captured with atmospheric black & white photography.
A bona fide classic.
10/10
