by Chris Marshall:
Ah, Rebecca. I
knew a little bit about it going in, but it was only at the most superficial
level. It was Alfred Hitchcock’s only Best Picture winner. It was based on the
novel by Daphne du Maurier. It was something of a melodrama.
Other than the Hitchcock connection, none of those tidbits
made me particularly excited about watching it. Then I learned it co-starred
Laurence Olivier. Ok, he’s pretty good. Then I found out that it was more of a
psychological thriller than a straight drama. All right, even better. Then I
actually watched the thing.
And it was really good! The true star of the film, Joan
Fontaine, turned in an immaculate performance as the brand new bride of the
recently widowed Maxim de Winter (Olivier). As I started to write this, I
realized I could not remember what her character’s name was; when I looked it
up, I discovered that she was never given one, despite being in almost every
scene. If she needed to be spoken to directly, it was always “Mrs. de Winter.”
Oh, and Rebecca’s dead. That’s important. The film’s
namesake was Maxim’s first wife, who died in a drowning accident. According to
some of her family members, the circumstances were quite suspicious indeed.
