I’m using this series as a motivation to take a look at all of the Best Picture winners from the past 86 Academy Awards. This may take awhile… Rebecca was nominated for 11 Academy awards but only won two, the most important being Best Picture of course. It’s not only Alfred Hitchcock’s first American production but his lone film to take home the honor of Best Picture, making it a somewhat divisive win.
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock Written by: Philip MacDonald & Michael Hogan Starring: Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier, Judith Anderson, & George Sanders.
A young woman falls in love with the ostentatiously wealthy widow Maxim de Winter and becomes his wife after a very short courtship. When they return to his estate, Manderley she realizes how overwhelming her new lifestyle will be, lacking the sophistication to properly live in her new social class and becoming the head of a house that is out of her depth. On top of that, Maxim’s first wife has such an overwhelming presence that it begins to suffocate the new Mrs. de Winter. Rebecca was not only beautiful but extremely well loved and the house is just as it was when she left. It begins to torture her to the point of jeopardizing her relationship and new life.
My Thoughts:
This is the first Best Picture winner I’ve written about in this series that also happens to be one of my favorite movies. It’s actually my mother’s favorite movie of all time and so I used to watch it with her growing up. The affection passed down to me. As a winner I know many have gripes because it’s Hitchcock’s only Best Picture winner though most rank other films above Rebecca. It’s also the only winner to not have another win in directing, writing, or acting. When you look at the list of nominees you can tell this was a rich year with plenty in the running. Maybe it comes at a surprise that this won out over the others, but maybe it’s just how the votes fell when spread among so many options.
No matter how it went down, it feels like a little personal victory that my favorite just so happened to be the only Best Picture winner in Hitchcock’s amazing career. Now I can objectively say other films of his may show a higher level of craft, more involved story telling, and a better overall package. I know that favorite doesn’t always mean best. At the same time, I feel a bit defensive when I hear knocks against it. This is a great film, with fantastic performances, a dark story, and Hitchcock’s expert direction as usual.
I find the story in Rebecca to be quite haunting, with the presence of Maxim de Winter’s first wife felt not just by his new love but by the viewer. Rebecca is such a mysterious figure that you feel like she is everywhere in the film. In the eyes of the workers on the estate, Maxim’s tormented face, her possessions that are still in place, and her room in the west wing that hasn’t changed since she’s passed. It’s almost as if we’re experiencing this shadow of a person just as Joan Fontaine’s unnamed heroine does. Rebecca is such an important force in both Manderley and the narrative that our main character doesn’t even get a damn name.
This is where Hitchcock’s talent kicks into high gear. The way the camera moves, what we focus on in the room, and how he fixates on character’s faces at their most expressive are what make the tension and eerie mood of this movie work so well. With lesser filmmaking Rebecca would not nearly have the presence in the film that is necessary to be effective.
Fontaine does a wonderful job wearing every emotion on her face, and transforms from meek to grown up over the course of events. Laurence Olivier plays a handsome and dark widow who’s still not mentally able to move on from his wife’s death. He’s also funny and kind of a dick so the part requires a somewhat dual personality. He has a lot of heavy lifting to do but Olivier’s a pro obviously.
And somehow I’ve gone this whole piece without mentioning what is perhaps the best known thing about this film, Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers. One of the creepiest villains Hitchcock (or any movie, in my estimation) put to screen. She is the head housekeeper at Manderley, but also obsessively devoted to her former mistress Rebecca. She cannot stand that Maxim has remarried and finds his new wife to be completely inferior. Mrs. Danvers is as scary a presence as Rebecca is haunting. I can’t imagine what the pair was like when they were together.
I find a lot to love in this film, granted it has a sentimental factor that I won’t downplay. It won in a year of strong classics because it is a great movie. Sure it’s Hitchcock’s only Best Picture win, but that doesn’t mean that other movies he made down the road didn’t also deserve that honor. Can’t we all just be thankful he got one?
Academy Award nominations and wins:
Won:
Best Picture
Best Cinematography, Black and White
Nominated:
Best Director – Alfred Hitchcock
Best Actor – Laurence Olivier
Best Actress – Joan Fontaine
Best Supporting Actress – Judith Anderson
Best Writing, Screenplay
Best Film Editing
Best Art Direction, Black and White
Best Original Score
Best Special Effects
The Other Guys:
- The Philadelphia Story – Won Best Lead Actor (James Stewart), Screenplay, & nominated in 4 other categories
- The Grapes of Wrath – Won Best Director (John Ford), Supporting Actress (Jane Darwell), & nominated in 5 other categories
- Kitty Foyle – Won Best Actress (Ginger Rogers) & nominated in 4 other categories
- Foreign Correspondent – Nominated in 6 categories
- All This, and Heaven Too – Nominated in 3 categories
- The Great Director – Nominated in 5 categories
- The Letter – Nominated in 7 categories
- The Long Voyage Home – Nominated in 7 categories
- Our Town – Nominated in 4 categories
