FAQ for
Rebecca (1940) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Rebecca can be found here.

Yes. Rebecca is based on a 1938 novel by British writer Daphne du Maurier.

Those who have both read the book and seen the movie generally report that they are quite different. One major difference is the circumstances surrounding Rebecca's death. In the movie, Rebecca is killed when she falls and hits her head on a boat tackle, whereas in the novel Rebecca is shot by Maxim. There are some character differences, too. For example, Jack Favell (George Sanders) in the movie is not the drunken slob that's portrayed in the novel. Mrs Danvers of the novel was an older woman and was more torn by Rebecca's death. In the movie, Danvers (Judith Anderson) is younger, cold and vicious, and more like a partner to Rebecca's evil. Another difference that irks some viewers is that, in the novel, the second Mrs de Winter (Joan Fontaine) undergoes a tremendous character transformation upon Maxim (Laurence Olivier) revealing to her that he never loved Rebecca. All her insecurity vanishes and she immediately becomes equal to the role of mistress of Manderley, even standing up to Mrs. Danvers now that she feels secure in her husband's love. In the film, her transformation occurs BEFORE Maxim's revelation when she simply declares out of the blue that she is Mrs de Winter now!

Alfred Hitchcock is known for placing himself in a short cameo in each of his movies. His cameo in Rebecca falls about 3.5 minutes before the end of the movie. Just after Jack Favell phones Mrs Danvers about Rebecca's suicide, he speaks with a policeman. Hitchcock can be seen from the side wearing a bowler hat and walking past them in the background. A photo of the scene can be viewed here.

The most plausible explanation is that Mrs Danvers knew how to run the house, she seemed loyal, and Maxim was only rarely at home, as he traveled a lot to get away from his memories. Plus, Maxim may not have realized just how disturbed Danvers was because she seemed like the ideal housekeeper -- silent, matriarchal, and capable of complete control.

Most likely, Danvers was trying to prove to the second Mrs de Winter that she is a pale shadow compared with Rebecca, playing on her lack of self-confidence and her rather childish love for her husband. She wants to either drive her to suicide (which she almost does) or to force her to run away. Danvers seems to believe that Maxim was as obsessed with Rebecca as she was.

Maxim does say in the book that the second Mrs de Winter has "a very lovely and unusual name" but, as in the movie, we never find out what it is. Since the novel is written in the first person from Mrs de Winter number two's point-of-view, she refers to herself only as "I" or as "the second Mrs de Winter". This may have been intentional on Daphne du Maurier's part, driving home the idea that the new wife is shy and insecure, lacking in personality and definition, totally unlike Rebecca.