#97 Rebecca - watch out for the woman with the creepy eyes

1940. dir. Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson.

Seen it before? No

Joan Fontaine plays an idealistic travel companion to a cranky old woman. Laurence Olivier plays a man with a secret who is stand offish and impulsive and ends up taking the former as his second wife. He comes from a lot of money and lives in a mansion that's more like a castle with a huge staff to fulfill every whim. In case you haven't already read Sam's post Joan Fontaine's character doesn't have a name. She is simply the SECOND Mrs. De Winter. In fact, the title character is never actually on-screen but comes to life in the deep devotion of her former staff, particularly her dear Mrs. Danvers...the woman with the creepy eyes.

I would imagine that it must be difficult to be a second wife. Especially if the first wife died mysteriously. The great thing about a Hitchcock film is that you want to know the who, the what, the where, the why, and the how, and so regardless of the characters you do continue to watch. It's a good movie. You want to root for Joan Fontaine and you get totally creeped out by Danvers...you'll see.

Final tidbit...cousin relations ARE incestuous right?
See it again? Yes
Own it? I don't know, is it still available?

#97 Rebecca: I've opened a window for you

1940. dir. Alfred Hitchcock, starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson.

Max De Winter (Laurence Olivier) is a wealthy aristocrat with a recently dead wife named Rebecca. He's on vacation in Monte Carlo and he meets a young woman (Joan Fontaine, whose character is never given a name) who he impulsively decides to marry.

So he brings her back to "Manderley", his huge estate. The house is killer huge and has a small army of servants, most of whom immediately disapprove of the new Mrs. De Winter. The one who disapproves the most is the head housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) who keeps shooting icy death stares and poor whatever-her-name-is. It's a wonderful performance, and Hitchcock frames her so as to emphasize how much she unnerves Mrs. De Winter.

It's amazing how richly developed the character of Rebecca is, considering she's completely absent from the movie. Joan Fontaine's mousy, anxious performance was a result of enforced Method acting... apparently Hitchcock told her that everyone on the set hated her. Hitchcock was a jerk.

Position on the list: 97
Hitchcock's cameo: I completely missed it. Oops