Rebecca (1940)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (novel)
Philip MacDonald (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

12 April 1940 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

The shadow of this woman darkened their love.

Plot:

When a naive young woman marries a rich widower and settles in his gigantic mansion, she finds the memory of the first wife maintaining a grip on her husband and the servants.

Plot Keywords:

Intrusiveness | Cigarette | Sadist | Constable | Foundering Ship

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	'Maxim' de Winter
Joan Fontaine	...	The Second Mrs. de Winter
George Sanders	...	Jack Favell
Judith Anderson	...	Mrs. Danvers
Nigel Bruce	...	Major Giles Lacy
Reginald Denny	...	Frank Crawley
C. Aubrey Smith	...	Colonel Julyan
Gladys Cooper	...	Beatrice Lacy
Florence Bates	...	Mrs. Edythe Van Hopper
Melville Cooper	...	Coroner
Leo G. Carroll	...	Dr. Baker
Leonard Carey	...	Ben
Lumsden Hare	...	Tabbs
Edward Fielding	...	Frith
Forrester Harvey	...	Chalcroft
Philip Winter	...	Robert
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Billy Bevan	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Egon Brecher	...	Hotel desk clerk (uncredited)
Gino Corrado	...	Hotel manager (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man outside phone booth (uncredited)
Leyland Hodgson	...	Mullen (uncredited)
Alphonse Martell	...	Hotel Headwaiter (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Hotel Waiter (uncredited)
Ronald R. Rondell	...	Hotel Dining Room Guest (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Daphne Du Maurier		(novel)
Philip MacDonald		(adaptation) and
Michael Hogan		(adaptation)
Robert E. Sherwood		(screenplay) and
Joan Harrison		(screenplay)

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Original Music by
Franz Waxman

Cinematography by
George Barnes		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
W. Donn Hayes		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Lyle R. Wheeler		(as Lyle Wheeler)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Edmond F. Bernoudy	....	assistant director (as Edmond Bernoudy)
Eric Stacey	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Howard Bristol	....	interior decorator
Joseph B. Platt	....	interior designer
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator (uncredited)

Sound Department
Jack Noyes	....	sound recordist
Arthur Johns	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Jack Cosgrove	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Albert Simpson	....	matte artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Arthur E. Arling	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Vincent J. Farrar	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Lloyd Knechtel	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Fred Parrish	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Irving Rosenberg	....	camera operator (uncredited)
Archie Stout	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
John F. Warren	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Harry L. Wolf	....	assistant camera (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Hal C. Kern	....	supervising editor (as Hal G. Kern)
James E. Newcom	....	associate film editor

Music Department
Louis Forbes	....	musical associate (as Lou Forbes)
Robert Russell Bennett	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Hugo Friedhofer	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Paul Marquardt	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Joseph Nussbaum	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Leonid Raab	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Barbara Keon	....	scenario assistant
W.A. Bagley	....	technical advisor (uncredited)
Russell Birdwell	....	unit publicist (uncredited)
Kay Brown	....	story editor (uncredited)
Adele Cannon	....	script clerk (uncredited)
Val Lewton	....	story editor (uncredited)
Marcella Rabwin	....	executive assistant to producer (uncredited)
Lydia Schiller	....	continuity supervisor (uncredited)
David O. Selznick	....	presenter (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Selznick International Pictures

Distributors

• United Artists (1940) (USA) (theatrical)
• United Artists Corporation (1940) (UK) (theatrical)
• S.R.O. (1947) (France) (theatrical)
• Eagle-Lion Films (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Athos Films (196?) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Aventi (2005) (France) (DVD)
• Braveworld (1992) (UK) (video)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (1996) (UK) (theatrical)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2006) (UK) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista International (????) (worldwide) (DVD)
• CBS Television (1978) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Criterion Collection, The (1991) (USA) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Fox Video (video)
• Guild Home Video (1986) (UK) (video)
• Pearson Television International (2000) (UK) (DVD)
• Sonoro Filme (Portugal)
• T&K Telefilm (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Total Home Entertainment (1996) (UK) (video)
• Videosonic Arts (1996) (Greece) (VHS)

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

West Germany:16 | UK:PG (re-rating) | Iceland:L | Spain:13 | USA:Approved (certificate #5969) | UK:A (original rating) | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Peru:14 | Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

Due to the success of this film in Spain, the specific jackets that Joan Fontaine wears during the film began to be known as "rebecas". The word "rebeca" is still used nowadays to refer to this item of clothing.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: George is driving on the left-hand side of the road outside Monte Carlo.

Quotes:

The Second Mrs. de Winter: No, it's not too late. You're not to say that. I love you more than anything in the world. Oh, please Maxim, kiss me please.
Maxim de Winter: No, it's no use. It's too late.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Ultimate Film (2004) (TV)

Stunning

Hitchcock's first Hollywood film is a haunting and fascinating thriller about a girl who marries a British nobleman but is haunted by the memory of his dead wife. Stunning performances (especially by Judith Anderson) and direction by Alfred Hitchcock (he appears walking past a phone booth just after George Sanders makes a call in the final part of the movie). Deserved Oscar for Best Picture, and one of Hitch's best.