Rebecca | reviewed by: William O'Donnell | February 10, 2012
| plot |  |
|
|
|
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| acting | |
|
|
|
|
| sound | |
|
|
|
|
| visuals | |
|
|
|
|
| entertainment value | |
|
|
|
|
| verdict |  |
|
|
|
|
A true Hitcock classic that film students should take note of if they wish to study "gaze" (look it up kids, there's your essay thesis done)
| genre | Thriller |
|---|---|
| synopsis | Rebecca is a 1940 psychological/dramatic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock as his first American project. It stars Laurence Olivier as Maxim de Winter, Joan Fontaine as his second wife, and Judith Anderson as his late wife's housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. The film is a gothic tale about the lingering memory of the title character, which still affects Maxim, his new bride, and Mrs. Danvers long after her death. The film won two Academy Awards, including Best Picture out of a total 11 nominations. Olivier, Fontaine and Anderson were all Oscar nominated for their respective roles. Since the introduction of awards for actors in supporting roles, this is the only film named Best Picture that won no other Academy Award for acting, directing or writing. It was the opening film at the 1st Berlin International Film Festival. With excellently played rolls and a story that never seems wrong this film is a true classic. |
| lead actors | Laurence Olivier | Joan Fontaine | George Sanders | Judith Anderson | Nigel Bruce | Reginald Denny | Gladys Cooper | Florence Bates | Leo G. Carroll | Leonard Carey | Lumsden Hare | Edward Fielding | Forrester Harvey | Philip Winter | Alfred Hitchcock | C. Aubrey Smith |
| director | Alfred Hitchcock |