Alfred Hitchcock, Britain's most popular director, wanted to be a big fish in a huge pond known as Hollywood when he accepted studio owner and producer David O. Selznick's offer to work for him. His first American movie was March 1940 "Rebecca," the only Academy Award Best Picture winner the 'master of Suspense' ever directed in his long and storied film career.
Hitchcock enjoyed a quasi-independent free reign directing his British movies and expected the same under Selznick. He quickly learned differently. Assigned Daphne du Maurier's 1938 Gothic novel 'Rebecca,' Hitchcock, in his usual fashion, developed a script that deviated from the best seller Selznick had purchased the movie rights for $50,000. The director upped the suspense and chills of du Maurier's book which Selznick immediately rejected. "I am shocked and disappointed beyond words..." led Selznick's ten-page memo to Hitchcock after reading his script.
As he had in England during filming, Hitchcock minimized his shot selection; he carefully edited "in camera," controlling what clips would be splice together like a jigsaw puzzle in the editing room. Selznick, who was a frequent overseer in the editing process, was frustrated by Hitchcock's lack of multiple shots he could select from. In a rare move, the producer called in his wife to look at Hitchcock's footage, going so far as telling her he was thinking of canceling the production. After viewing a few reels, she thought the director's footage was excellent and he had nothing to worry about.
Hitchcock continued to use psychological tricks on his actors he felt would maximize their performance. In "Rebecca," wealthy George de Winter (Laurence Olivier) brings home his second wife, newlywed Mrs. De Winter (Joan Fontaine), who gets a cool reception from his household staff. Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), the housekeeper, is especially frosty towards her. George's first wife, the late Mrs. Rebecca de Winter, who had died under mysterious circumstances, was a favorite of the staff and notably to Mrs. Danvers. Selznick, impressed by actress Fontaine, 21, in 1939's "The Women," sat next to her during a dinner party one evening and asked her to audition for the highly sought after part of the insecure new bride of George's. She passed with flying colors, displaying a unique fragility on the screen. Competition was fierce, with Margaret Sullivan reportedly the favorite. But Selznick had a different opinion, thinking "Imagine Margaret Sullivan pushed around by Mrs. Danvers!" Loretta Young and Joan's sister Olivia de Havilland were also high on the list. Olivier's soon-to-be wife Vivien Leigh auditioned, but didn't get it, causing a bitter Laurence to belittle Fontaine throughout the shoot, as he did with Merle Oberon in 1939's "Wuhtering Heights." Hitchcock compounded Fontaine's lack of confidence in her biggest role yet by pulling her aside early in the shoot and telling her the largely British cast thought little of the American actress playing an English lady. He added everyone felt her acting was inferior. His ploy worked; in almost every scene Fontaine's anxieties jump out, a performance Hitchcock was looking for and the Academy equally appreciated, awarding her a nomination for Best Actress.
To play the relatively cold Mr. De Winter, Selznick felt Ronald Colman would have been perfect. Once he read the script, Colman realized this was newlywed Mrs. De Winter's picture and he would be second fiddle. On the basis of Olivier's performance in 1939's "Wuthering Heights," whose female fans were left swooning, Selznick casted him. Many critics found actress Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers stealing the show. Film reviewer Ed Howard observed, "Anderson gives a wonderfully fiendish performance as the gaunt, sinister housekeeper, always lurking around and padding quietly through the mansion to surprise the lady of the house at inopportune moments." Hitchcock rarely shows her walking into a scene. Like a ghost, she consistently pops into frame, scaring the wits out of Mrs. De Winter. The Australian Anderson, 43, specialized in stage acting, and was in her only second credited feature film as the evil-eyed Mrs. Danvers, earning her only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She holds the rare distinction of winning two Emmys, a Tony and a nomination for both the Grammys and the Academy Awards.
Even though the director dismissed "Rebecca" as "not a Hitchcock picture," largely because of its lack of dark humor and Selznick's strict rules of sticking to a script which closely followed the book, film critic Chuck Bowen saw the movie as a learning curve in Hitchcock's auteurism. "In his early British thrillers, Hitchcock used German expressionist tricks to conjure notions of evil and dread," Bowen notes. "After Rebecca, Hitchcock would infuse such dread in bourgeoisie comedies of manners, occasionally springing formalist tricks to highlight key emotional shifts."
"Rebecca," the third highest box office movie in 1940, earned eleven Academy Awards nominations. Besides the Best Picture Oscar, George Barnes won for Black and White Cinematography. Hitchcock garnered his first of five Best Director nominations (he never won an earned Oscar), while nominees were Oliver (Best Actor), Fontaine (Best Actress), Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, and Franz Waxman for his Best Original Score. The American Film Institute ranks the drama as the 80th Most Thrilling Movie while Mrs. Danvers earned its #31 Most Villainous Movie Character. The Guardian British newspaper said it was "one of Hitchcock's creepiest, most oppressive films." The motion picture is included as one of the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.'
Hitchcock enjoyed a quasi-independent free reign directing his British movies and expected the same under Selznick. He quickly learned differently. Assigned Daphne du Maurier's 1938 Gothic novel 'Rebecca,' Hitchcock, in his usual fashion, developed a script that deviated from the best seller Selznick had purchased the movie rights for $50,000. The director upped the suspense and chills of du Maurier's book which Selznick immediately rejected. "I am shocked and disappointed beyond words..." led Selznick's ten-page memo to Hitchcock after reading his script.
As he had in England during filming, Hitchcock minimized his shot selection; he carefully edited "in camera," controlling what clips would be splice together like a jigsaw puzzle in the editing room. Selznick, who was a frequent overseer in the editing process, was frustrated by Hitchcock's lack of multiple shots he could select from. In a rare move, the producer called in his wife to look at Hitchcock's footage, going so far as telling her he was thinking of canceling the production. After viewing a few reels, she thought the director's footage was excellent and he had nothing to worry about.
Hitchcock continued to use psychological tricks on his actors he felt would maximize their performance. In "Rebecca," wealthy George de Winter (Laurence Olivier) brings home his second wife, newlywed Mrs. De Winter (Joan Fontaine), who gets a cool reception from his household staff. Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), the housekeeper, is especially frosty towards her. George's first wife, the late Mrs. Rebecca de Winter, who had died under mysterious circumstances, was a favorite of the staff and notably to Mrs. Danvers. Selznick, impressed by actress Fontaine, 21, in 1939's "The Women," sat next to her during a dinner party one evening and asked her to audition for the highly sought after part of the insecure new bride of George's. She passed with flying colors, displaying a unique fragility on the screen. Competition was fierce, with Margaret Sullivan reportedly the favorite. But Selznick had a different opinion, thinking "Imagine Margaret Sullivan pushed around by Mrs. Danvers!" Loretta Young and Joan's sister Olivia de Havilland were also high on the list. Olivier's soon-to-be wife Vivien Leigh auditioned, but didn't get it, causing a bitter Laurence to belittle Fontaine throughout the shoot, as he did with Merle Oberon in 1939's "Wuhtering Heights." Hitchcock compounded Fontaine's lack of confidence in her biggest role yet by pulling her aside early in the shoot and telling her the largely British cast thought little of the American actress playing an English lady. He added everyone felt her acting was inferior. His ploy worked; in almost every scene Fontaine's anxieties jump out, a performance Hitchcock was looking for and the Academy equally appreciated, awarding her a nomination for Best Actress.
To play the relatively cold Mr. De Winter, Selznick felt Ronald Colman would have been perfect. Once he read the script, Colman realized this was newlywed Mrs. De Winter's picture and he would be second fiddle. On the basis of Olivier's performance in 1939's "Wuthering Heights," whose female fans were left swooning, Selznick casted him. Many critics found actress Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers stealing the show. Film reviewer Ed Howard observed, "Anderson gives a wonderfully fiendish performance as the gaunt, sinister housekeeper, always lurking around and padding quietly through the mansion to surprise the lady of the house at inopportune moments." Hitchcock rarely shows her walking into a scene. Like a ghost, she consistently pops into frame, scaring the wits out of Mrs. De Winter. The Australian Anderson, 43, specialized in stage acting, and was in her only second credited feature film as the evil-eyed Mrs. Danvers, earning her only Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She holds the rare distinction of winning two Emmys, a Tony and a nomination for both the Grammys and the Academy Awards.
Even though the director dismissed "Rebecca" as "not a Hitchcock picture," largely because of its lack of dark humor and Selznick's strict rules of sticking to a script which closely followed the book, film critic Chuck Bowen saw the movie as a learning curve in Hitchcock's auteurism. "In his early British thrillers, Hitchcock used German expressionist tricks to conjure notions of evil and dread," Bowen notes. "After Rebecca, Hitchcock would infuse such dread in bourgeoisie comedies of manners, occasionally springing formalist tricks to highlight key emotional shifts."
"Rebecca," the third highest box office movie in 1940, earned eleven Academy Awards nominations. Besides the Best Picture Oscar, George Barnes won for Black and White Cinematography. Hitchcock garnered his first of five Best Director nominations (he never won an earned Oscar), while nominees were Oliver (Best Actor), Fontaine (Best Actress), Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, and Franz Waxman for his Best Original Score. The American Film Institute ranks the drama as the 80th Most Thrilling Movie while Mrs. Danvers earned its #31 Most Villainous Movie Character. The Guardian British newspaper said it was "one of Hitchcock's creepiest, most oppressive films." The motion picture is included as one of the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.'