"In making a film that was secretly about his distrust of women, Hitchcock must have enjoyed a private chuckle over the women he knew would flood theaters to see it. "

Rebecca - The Big Picture
A shy but attractive young lady (Joan Fontaine) meets the urbane and handsome Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) while both are vacationing on the French Riviera. Following their quick marriage, the couple returns to Manderley, Winter's vast estate in England. There, the young wife is introduced to the estate's army of servants who immediately, though subtly, display hostility towards her as they all adored Rebecca, Maxim's first wife, whose death is shrouded in secrecy. As the servants become more hostile, the young spouse grows more fearful, until she finally learns the truth about what happened to Rebecca.

Plot Thickeners
Especially cold toward Maxim's second wife is the housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), who lurks about in long, dark hallways. At every turn she suddenly appears before a considerably frightened young Mrs. de Winter from dark rooms and shadowy archways, always correcting the new mistress of the manor in her failing ways and reminding her of what a splendid woman her predecessor had been.

In time, the young wife becomes so vexed by the pervasive image of the dead Mrs. de Winter that she begins to believe she is being haunted by the woman and is losing her sanity. Aided by the psychological proddings of Mrs. Danvers, she comes very close to committing suicide. But drastic revelations come about when Rebecca's boat is disgorged by the ocean after a storm and her body discovered.

Far from being the wonderful, beautiful person held so dear by Mrs. Danvers and the other servants, Rebecca was a cruel, vicious and cuckolding creature who drove her husband half mad by insisting she was pregnant with another man's child. Maxim confesses that he struck her, and she accidentally hit her head and was killed; then, to cover the act, he took Rebecca's body to her boat and sank it, claiming she was lost in a storm. Maxim is exonerated, however, when it is learned that Rebecca had known all along that she was soon to die of cancer, and provoked her husband to strike her down, trying to destroy him, as well.

The Final Scene
Before any more secrets about the hideous Rebecca can be learned, Mrs. Danvers sets fire to Manderley, determined to burn with the memory of her mistress, and walks through the cavernous mansion as the flames lick at her skirts. Maxim and his young wife watch as the great building is completely consumed by fire and Mrs. Danvers with it, resolving together to make a new, happy life from that point forward.

Notes and Quotes
Director Alfred Hitchcock's first Hollywood film won the Academy Award® for Best Picture, beating out strong competition from "The Grapes of Wrath," "The Great Dictator," "The Philadelphia Story," and Hitchcock's own "Foreign Correspondent." The film also won the Oscar® for cinematography, and was nominated in nine other categories, including best director.

Producer David O. Selznick, who was still coming off the high of his immortal "Gone With the Wind" of the previous year, tried to duplicate in some ways the same lavish style of production of that landmark film. He went out of his way to make sure, for example, that the Manderley fire appeared equal to the burning of Atlanta in "Gone With the Wind," even though most of the blaze was done in miniature.

For Trivia Experts Only
To find the right leading lady for "Rebecca," Selznick, again trying to mimic the success of his previous film, announced a talent hunt similar to that which resulted in the casting of Vivien Leigh as the unforgettable Scarlett O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind." Many famous actresses were considered for the part of the young Mrs. de Winter--including Margaret Sullivan, Olivia de Havilland, Ann Baxter, and even Vivien Leigh herself, who was suggested by none other than her husband and the star of this film, Laurence Olivier. It is rumored that Leigh turned down the part, after which Selznick, over the objections of both Olivier and Hitchcock, insisted on Fontaine, a 22-year old actress who previously appeared in only a half-dozen small productions.