Rebecca (1940)

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Maxim de Winter	Laurence Olivier
Mrs. de Winter	Joan Fontaine
Jack Favell	George Sanders	½
Mrs. Danvers	Judith Anderson
Maj. Giles Lacy	Nigel Bruce
Col. Julyan	C. Aubrey Smith
Frank Crawley	Reginald Denny
Beatrice Lacy	Gladys Cooper
Dr. Baker	Leo G. Carroll

Review

Hitchcock's first American production shows clear signs of being the collaboration of three very headstrong, individual egos that not always pull in the same direction. Selznick's lavish production and Hitch's largely delicate direction should make for a grandiose result when taken into account Laurence Olivier's potential and the power of du Maurier's story. But even though Rebecca is a potent, smart and diverse picture, it is also somewhat stilted, segmentary and uneven. The acting is impressive - albeit not in a classical sense. Fontaine's shyness and submissiveness is unorthodoxly sexy, Judith Anderson delivers one of the most classic and compelling of one-dimensional performances, whereas Olivier - for all his magnetism and brilliant line-delivery - looks off in some crucial scenes. And that is incidentally many of the same scenes in which the film isn't at its very best. Hitchcock upholds and unfolds his mystery delightfully, but the twists aren't always equally well accounted for.