Rebecca
Short description
Rebecca follows a young, inexperienced woman working as a companion to an American widow in Monte Carlo. There she meets Maxim de Winter, a wealthy English widower still grieving the recent death of his wife, Rebecca. After a quick courtship they marry, and he brings her home to Manderley, his grand family estate on the English coast. The new Mrs. de Winter soon finds that the household, and especially the housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, remains devoted to her predecessor. Surrounded by reminders of a woman she never met, she struggles to find her place as the estate's mistress, while questions about Rebecca's death cast a shadow over her marriage.
Alfred Hitchcock directed the film, the thirteenth of the forty-three features listed in the facts, arriving between Jamaica Inn and Foreign Correspondent. David O. Selznick produced a screenplay written by Robert E. Sherwood and Joan Harrison. Laurence Olivier plays Maxim, Joan Fontaine plays his new wife, and Judith Anderson plays Mrs. Danvers, with George Sanders, Gladys Cooper and Nigel Bruce among a credited cast of twenty-six.
Made for about a million dollars, the film earned roughly six times that worldwide. On IMDb it holds 8.1 from around 162,000 votes, while TMDB users give it 7.9 from about 2,000. Its critics' rating stands at 9, showing that professional reviewers rate it considerably higher than the general audience did.
What's left behind the scenes
- Alfred Hitchcock can be spotted in a scene where Jack Favell is on the phone shortly before the end of the film.
- Laurence Olivier wanted Vivien Leigh to play Mrs. De Winter. However, the role went to Joan Fontaine. Throughout the entire filming period, Olivier treated her with extreme hostility and unfriendliness. After Alfred Hitchcock noticed this, he asked the crew to treat her in the same manner. Thus, the director sought to elicit maximum shyness and insecurity from the actress, qualities required for her character.
- Alfred Hitchcock wanted to make the film several years earlier, but was unable to do so as he could not afford to buy the rights to adapt Daphne du Maurier’s novel.
- Selznick suggested Nova Pilbeam, a former English protégé of Hitchcock who had appeared in his films “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and “Young and Innocent,” for the role of Mrs. de Winter, but the director wanted an American actress for the part and dissuaded Selznick.
- Around 20 actresses were considered for the role of Mrs. de Winter, including Margaret Sullavan, Anne Baxter, Vivien Leigh, Loretta Young, and Maureen O’Hara.
- Ronald Colman refused the role of Maxim de Winter, and before Laurence Olivier was cast, Selznick and Hitchcock considered Melvin Douglas, Leslie Howard, and William Powell for the part.
- Throughout the film, Mrs. Danvers seems to glide rather than walk. This was precisely the effect the director aimed for, striving to present Mrs. Danvers exclusively from the perspective of Mrs. De Winter (Joan Fontaine).
- Unlike most of his films, Alfred Hitchcock did not participate in writing the screenplay.
- Despite all the producers' efforts, they were unable to find a suitable location to film Manderley. Therefore, a miniature model was used in the film.
- In Daphne du Maurier's novel, the narrative is told in the first person, and the main character is unnamed. Hitchcock suggested to producer David O. Selznick that the character be named Daphne, after the author, but it was ultimately decided to leave the second Mrs. de Winter nameless.
- “Rebecca” was Alfred Hitchcock’s first Hollywood film and his only one to win the Academy Award for Best Picture.
- “Rebecca” was the first film Alfred Hitchcock made in collaboration with David O. Selznick.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
