Rebecca - Alfred Hitchcock - 1940

Rebecca is based on the Daphne Du Maurier book of the same name (which happens to be my favorite book). It as a beautifully shot film about a shy self conscious girl (Joan Fontane) who marries a wealthy widower named Maxim De Winter (Laurence Olivier) and moves into his mansion which is still haunted with the memory of his dead wife. To make things worse the estate is run by a sadistic housekeeper (Judith Anderson) who seems hell bent on destroying the second Mrs. De Winter.

Rebecca was not a film that Hitchcock enjoyed making, however, it was an experience that proved to be a key element in shaping the career as Hitchcock. First of all it was Hitchcock's first American film. David O. Selznick, a powerful producer at the time, decided to fly Hitchcock across the Atlantic to direct the film. The relationship between Selznick and Hitchcock was so awful that it helped shape Hitchcock into the filmmaker that he became.

First of all, Hitchcock was not allowed to do anything in post production. His job ended as soon as production stopped. This meant that the way that the film turned out was completely up to the editor. Which was a problem because Hitchcock at the time was shooting a lot of footage. After this film Hitchcock began shooting less footage so that the film could only be constructed the way that he wanted.

Another hurtle that Hitchcock faced was that censorship in the 40's was a lot harsher that it is today which means that Hitchcock had to change key elements of the film so that it could pass the censorship code. This proved to be extremely difficult because the book relied heavily on elements that had to be altered and themes that had to be toned down.

With that being said there are plenty of elements in the film that are pure Hitchcock both artistically and thematically. Artistically the film has a Hitchcock feel with the blocking, lighting, and camera placement all having a purpose. Thematically it balances romanticism with tension in ways that mirror later classic Hitchcock films like Notorious and Vertigo.