Rebecca (1940 film)

Rebecca (1940 film)
Name	Rebecca
Caption	Theatrical release poster
Director	Alfred Hitchcock
Producer	David O. Selznick
Based on	Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Starring	Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson
Music	Franz Waxman
Cinematography	George Barnes
Editing	Hal C. Kern, Walter Thompson
Studio	Selznick International Pictures
Distributor	RKO Radio Pictures
Released	21 April 1940
Runtime	130 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$1.5 million
Box office	$6.5 million

Rebecca (1940 film) is a American psychological romantic drama directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by David O. Selznick, adapted from Daphne du Maurier's 1938 novel. The film stars Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter and Joan Fontaine as the unnamed young woman who becomes Mrs. de Winter, with Judith Anderson as the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers. Renowned for its atmosphere, cinematography, and narrative suspense, the film won critical acclaim and multiple Academy Awards.

Plot

A young woman working as a companion meets widowed Maxim de Winter at a resort and hastily marries him. She moves to his vast estate, Manderley, where the memory of Maxim's first wife, Rebecca, dominates the household through the manipulative housekeeper Mrs. Danvers and the servants. Strange events, including a storm, a costume ball, and an offshore shipwreck, raise questions about Rebecca's death and Maxim's past. Tensions culminate in a legal investigation and revelations that force confrontations between the couple, Mrs. Danvers, and the law, reshaping their lives and the future of Manderley.

Cast

- Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter (billed as the second Mrs. de Winter), opposite Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter. - Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers. - George Dolenz as Frank Crawley (note: actor George Dolenz later associated with The Trial of Mary Dugan type roles). - Gladys Cooper in a supporting role as Mrs. Van Hopper's acquaintance. - Reginald Denny, Cecil Kellaway, and Nigel Bruce in notable supporting parts, with appearances by actors connected to British theatre and Hollywood contemporaries.

Production

Selznick acquired rights to Daphne du Maurier's novel after its publication and assembled a production team including director Alfred Hitchcock, cinematographer George Barnes, composer Franz Waxman, and editors Hal C. Kern and Walter Thompson. Principal photography occurred in Los Angeles soundstages and select California locations designed to represent the Cornish estate, employing art directors and set designers influenced by Georgian architecture and English country houses. Selznick's production style involved extensive retakes and collaboration, often clashing with Hitchcock's approach, amid contractual arrangements with RKO Radio Pictures for distribution. The screenplay, credited to Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison among others, condensed du Maurier's novel while emphasizing Gothic motifs and psychological tension.

Release and Reception

The film premiered in 1940 and became one of the year's highest-grossing pictures, distributed by RKO Radio Pictures in the United States and later released in Europe and other markets. Contemporary reviews from publications associated with New York Times critics and Hollywood trade papers praised the performances of Olivier, Fontaine, and Anderson, the direction of Hitchcock, and the visual style achieved by George Barnes's cinematography. The film's mood, pacing, and studio-crafted sets drew commentary in Variety, Time (magazine), and other periodicals, while box office returns reflected popular and critical success during a wartime entertainment climate linked to events such as the early years of World War II.

Themes and Analysis

Critics and scholars have analyzed the film's exploration of identity, memory, and power dynamics within domestic spaces, linking its Gothic atmosphere to literary precedents like Charlotte Brontë and Emily Brontë. The portrayal of the second Mrs. de Winter evokes discussions of gender roles, insecurity, and social class relative to aristocratic settings involving characters reminiscent of English gentry and servants. Mrs. Danvers's obsession with Rebecca has been read in studies drawing on psychoanalytic theory influenced by figures like Sigmund Freud and cultural analysis connected to Henry James motifs. The film's visual grammar—high-contrast lighting, deep-focus compositions, and shadow—has been compared to techniques used by cinematographers in German Expressionism and later film noirs, informing debates about Hitchcock's auteur status alongside contemporaries such as John Ford and Orson Welles.

Awards and Legacy

At the 13th Academy Awards, the film won Best Picture and Best Cinematography (Black-and-White), with additional nominations for Best Director (Hitchcock), Best Actor (Olivier), Best Actress (Fontaine), and others, marking Selznick's production as a major Academy success. Its influence extends to subsequent adaptations, homages, and studies in film schools associated with American Film Institute curricula and archives at institutions like the British Film Institute. The performances—particularly Anderson's Mrs. Danvers—entered the canon of screen villains, cited in analyses alongside characters from Sunset Boulevard and Vertigo as emblematic of Hollywood's Golden Age psychological melodramas. The film continues to feature in retrospectives, restorations, and lists of significant American films and is preserved in national and international film registries and collections.

Category:1940 films Category:Films directed by Alfred Hitchcock Category:Best Picture Academy Award winners