Rebecca (1940)

My Review

The Best Picture of 1940 is…..”Rebecca.” This is the story of a young bride who marries a much older man and begins to realize there are many secrets when she moves to his estate on the Cornwall coast of England. Director Alfred Hitchcock delivers suspense on a grand scale with superior production values, memorable performances, and great writing. The screenplay was penned by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison, from a story by Philip MacDonald and Michael Hogan. It was adapted from the 1938 Gothic novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier.

The cast is populated by Lawrence Olivier as the owner of Manderley-by-the-sea and the elderly groom, Joan Fontaine as the young American bride, George Sanders as the first wife’s cousin, Judith Anderson as the housekeeper, Reginald Denny as the estate manager, Gladys Cooper and Nigel Bruce as Olivier’s sister and brother-in-law, C. Aubrey Smith as the policeman, Leo G. Carroll as Dr. Baker, Melville Cooper as the coroner, and Florence Bates as Mrs. Hopper.

“Rebecca” was the third highest grossing film of 1940 for producer David O. Selznick and United Artists. It was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, winning two – Best Picture and Best Cinematography/Black-and-White (George Barnes). Non-winners include Best Director, Best Actor (Olivier), Best Actress (Fontaine), Best Supporting Actress (Anderson), Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score (Franz Waxman), and Best Special Effects. “Rebecca” was filmed entirely in California.