Rebecca (1940), and The Birds (1963). Hitchcock's adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel Rebecca won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1940. The cast included Laurence Olivier as
as Maxim, Joan Fontaine as the Nameless Mrs. de Winter, and Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers.
Rebecca also won an Oscar for Cinematography for George Barnes.
Alfred Hitchcock was nominated for Best Director but the Oscar went to John Ford for The
Grapes of Wrath. There were 9 other Oscar nominations including performance for Best
Actor for Lawrence Olivier, Best Actress nomination for Joan Fontaine and Best Supporting
Actress Nomination for Judith Anderson.
Tidbits:
* Rebecca has received a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
* Producer David O. Selznick wanted the smoke from the burning Manderley to spell
out the iconic R but Hitchcock opposed this idea. When Selznick was involved with preparing
Gone with the Wind for its 1939 premiere, Hitchcock replaced the smoky R with the burning
of the monogrammed R in the bedroom.
* In 2018, the film was chosen for preservation by the US National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
* The novel takes place in Cornwall, England but was filmed along the California coastline.
Manderley was created in miniature, rather than using a real house. Hitchcock created
interior rooms, using furniture and flowers in an over sized way to dwarf our heroine, making
her appear more child like, more Alice in Wonderland like in this grown up environment.
* The original movie script referred to our heroine as "Daphne" but Producer David O.
Selznick objected and thus she became nameless once again.
We discussed the book Rebecca last week and this week at the library, we view the movie
and compare the two mediums.
"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."
Come to the library this Thursday, Valentines Day, and watch this romantic psychological
thriller, this classic great movie of jealousy and obsession.....a short discussion will follow
the film.