Rebecca

Rebecca is a gothic suspense/mystery film that was released in 1940 and was the first picture that Hitchcock filmed in the USA. He was lured across the ocean by producer David O. Selznick who was one of the main industry figures in Hollywood at the time, especially after the release of Gone with the Wind in 1939. Hitchcock had previously wanted to film Rebecca in England, but was unable to afford the film rights to the book. The film stars Laurence Olivier as Mr De Winter and Joan Fontaine as the 2^nd Mrs De Winter, with Judith Anderson in a memorable supporting role as Mrs Danvers.

Whilst on holiday in Monte Carlo as a paid companion, Fontaine meets Olivier. The first meeting takes place on a windy cliff top and the impression given is that Mr De Winter is contemplating suicide, until Fontaine shouts out to stop him. After a whirlwind romance, they marry and move back to Manderley, the De Winter estate, in England. Mrs De Winter the 2^nd is very shy and uncomfortable in her new surroundings, especially in the presence of Mrs Danvers, the head of the housekeepers on the estate. She also notices that Mr De Winter seems uncomfortable at the very mention of the name of his first wife, Rebecca.

One afternoon, whilst the married couple are out walking their dog, the dog runs off and Mrs De Winter spots a beach house. While the dog barks and scratches at the door of the cabin, Mrs De Winter, ignoring her husband’s shouts not to go near it, opens the door and finds a strange and mentally unsound man who rambles on about Rebecca. She also notices the place is filled with cobwebs and seems to be untouched for a long while, which is strange since Rebecca’s possessions are all in the house. Confused, she thanks the man and then runs back with her dog to Mr De Winter.

One day while Mr De Winter is away on business, Mrs De Winter overhears Mrs Danvers talking to someone in Rebecca’s old room. Eventually it is revealed to be Rebecca’s favourite cousin, Jack Favell, who suggests that Mrs De Winter not mention his visit to her husband.

Since returning to Manderley, Mr De Winter becomes colder and colder towards his wife. Worried, she takes the advice of Mrs Danvers and gets her husband to agree to allow her to hold a costume ball for all the families’ friends and associates, just like Rebecca used to do. While thinking of a costume to wear, Mrs De Winter takes the advice of Mrs Danvers and wears a dress just like the one on one of the many portraits in the hall. Attempting to surprise her husband, he instead reacts in horror and demands she go back upstairs and change into something else. It is the exact same costume that Rebecca had once worn to a costume ball. While running up to her room, she notices Mrs Danvers going into Rebecca’s room. Angry and humiliated, she follows to confront her.

When confronted, Mrs Danvers admits to knowing how Mr De Winter would react. She dislikes Mrs De Winter as she was devoted to Rebecca, and will not allow any woman to replace her in Manderley. After Mrs De Winter breaks down into tears, Mrs Danvers opens one of the large windows and try’s to tempt Mrs De Winter into jumping to her death. Just as it seems as if she is about to, she is snapped out of it by the sound of an airborne flair from a ship that just hit the rocks. After everyone runs down to the beach, it is discovered that the ship actually hit a sunken boat that contained the body of Rebecca, who apparently committed suicide by sinking the boat.

Seeking answers, Mrs De Winter demands answers from her husband. He admits that he identified a body previously that he knew was not Rebecca’s. He reveals in the beach house that his marriage to Rebecca was a sham, and she was not the person everyone thought she was. Although she seemed the model of perfection to everyone else, she was carrying out a number of affairs, including one with her cousin Jack Favell, her cousin. To avoid disgrace, Mr De Winter pretended his marriage was fine to avoid a scandal and social humiliation. However, one night Rebecca told him she was pregnant with someone else’s child. Laughing at him, she told him that the child would inherit the Manderley estate one day. A vicious argument then took place and according to Mr De Winter Rebecca fell, hit her head and died. He then put her body on the boat and sunk it. After these revelations, he declares that he loves the 2^nd Mrs De Winter much more than he ever did Rebecca, which greatly reassures her.

After this, Mrs de Winter loses her naïve innocence and coaches her husband on how to lie to the police. While the police initially believe the suicide, Favell produces a letter written by Rebecca on the day of her death which proves she was not suicidal and then tries to blackmail Mr De Winter. Mr de Winter informs the police of the blackmail attempt but as a result is put under investigation of murder by the police. Favell informs the police that Rebecca has visited a doctor just before she died, and brings in Mrs Danvers to prove this. A trip to the doctor reveals that Rebecca checked in under Mrs Danvers name. It is then revealed that she was not pregnant but on that fateful day she was diagnosed with terminal cancer and told she did not have long left to live. Rebecca then tried to goad Mr De Winter into killing her so both their lives would be ruined as a final act of cruelness. This revelation proves to the police that Mr De Winter is innocent.

After he is acquitted, Favell phones Mrs Danvers to tell her the true story. Mr De Winter leaves the coroner’s office and heads back to Manderley to meet up with his life. While driving up to the house, he notices that the house is on fire (“That’s not the Northern lights, that’s Manderley!”). Outside, he finds his wife who tells him that Mrs Danvers has gone crazy and set the whole house on fire, dying in the fire. Finally, the couple are free of Rebecca.