Thank God for YouTube, girls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As soon as I finished rereading "Rebecca", I was consumed by a burning desire to see the movie. Once I discovered it was on YouTube, I knew I had my chance. And so I watched.
Now, the first thing I want to say, girls, is if you have not yet seen this film, this is NOT the way to do so!!!!!!! Since I had seen it before, and basically just needed a "refresher" viewing, the mini-screen You Tube viewing (the image not much larger than the photos here!!!!!) would suffice. Though I would still like a more quality viewing at a later time. Perhaps Channel 13, some Saturday night soon, could run "Rebecca". I am telling you, every queen the New York side of the Hudson would stay home, and watch!!!!!
The first thing to say for myself, darlings, is that I want to wear my hair that windswept way, like Joan Fontaine!!!!!!!! And she is just perfect in this film! As she has said, she had to take all kinds of crap from everyone (which Hitchcock encouraged, to enhance her performance!!!!), which is why, in her autobiography, "No Bed Of Roses," she pretty much says that while she understands "Rebecca" was an important film for her, and is the one she is, and will be, most recognized for, making it was not for her a happy experience.
The second thing I have to say is while I have always admired Laurence Olivier as an actor (as what theatrically minded person wouldn't, dolls???) he has never "done anything" for me. But this time, when I watched him as Maxim De Winter, I had the HOTS for him in a way that I never have otherwise. That brooding intensity, that mature look, made me want to cling to him, like Joan!!!! And, considering what we know about Joan, (and about Olivier, and Danny Kaye!!!) maybe he would have preferred me to Joan!!!!!!
Only Selznick and Hitchcock seemed to want Joan! Olivier didn't; for selfish reasons, he wanted Vivien Leigh. Which shows Olivier was a great actor, but a lousy casting agent! Vivien Leigh could never have been frumped down; she would have been more believable as Rebecca herself (were she to have been shown!!!) than the sheltered heroine. (Besides, at this time, Vivien herself was embroiled in a little project of her own, called "Gone With The Wind"!!!!!) And I should know, darlings; after all, I am, at heart, just a shy, timid thing, like Joan Fontaine, here!!!!!!
To which I can hear Monsieur replying, as he did this morning, "You haven't a timid bone in your body!!!!! You play second fiddle to anyone???? Mrs. Danvers wouldn't stand a chance with you!"
Actually, darlings, he's right! I guess Joan and I are a lot alike. My favorite Joan story concerns when "Gone With The Wind" was being cast. It seems if you were in Hollywood, of the female gender, and could walk on two legs, you were seen for it!!!! So, Joan Fontaine shows up, all professional, at the Selznick studio, ready to test for what she knows will be an important film. She is handed a script, and immediately begins reading the part of Scarlett O'Hara. Cukor (George Cukor, darlings, the highly touted "Women's Director" of Hollywood in the 1930's!!!) and Selznick stop her, explaining they want her to read for Melanie. Well, that set Joan's teeth on edge!!! (As it would mine, too!!!) Tossing the script aside, with indignation, Joan walked out, saying, "Melanie???? If it's Melanie you want, go try my sister!!!!!" You have to hand it Joan, for her brazen self-confidence!!!!!
As we know, lambs, they did--try Joan's sister, Olivia De Havilland. And the rest, as they say, is history!!!!! Even with their famous feud still going on, I wonder if Olivia realizes how much she owes Joan for her signature role????? Or how much Joan realizes she screwed herself out of the film of a lifetime???????
Apparently, Joan was not the easiest, for some, to work with. There is the famous--and my favorite--story of one of her costars reminiscing on the "Tonight" show, saying how difficult Joan was, ending by stating, "The other night, I turned on the television. 'Rebecca' was on, and I found myself rooting for Mrs. Danvers!!!!"
Which brings us now to Mrs. Danvers!!!!! I am telling you, you just GOTTA love her!!! She may run Manderly with efficiency, but she is one cold fish!!!! And, there is absolutely no question about this, Judith Anderson OWNS the role. For many, she walks off with the film!!!!!!!!!!!
As stated, the implied lesbianism comes from a moment that is not in the novel, and is practically pure camp. When Mrs. Danvers shows Joan Rebecca's room, she very carefully shows the preserved white undergarments, which, so she says in the film, was especially embroidered for Rebecca by blind nuns at the convent!!!!! Honey, what a hoot!!!! I want some convent embroidered undies of my own, darlings!!!! Talk about miraculous!!!!! If those nuns could do such fine work, while blind, they should be canonized. With that kind of skill, to hell with Ralph Lauren!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the novel, Mrs. Danvers is a tad sympathetic. There is a back story, suggesting she had worked for Rebecca's family for years. She came to Manderly when Rebecca was a bride. She saw through her clearly--and admired her. But, in the novel, at least, losing Rebecca was, for Mrs. Danvers, almost like a mother losing her child. Which makes her a degree sympathetic.
Not so, in the film. In fact, while Judith Anderson plays the role with full malevolence and pathology, she is unique, in that, while she just about chews up the scenery, she does so in the most understated way I have seen. (In this way, she and Joan balance each other out as a sort of Yin and Yang, Good and Evil. Both are difficult roles in that they are tremendously non-histrionic. They are both highly internalized performances, just like Jennifer Jones as Bernadette.) And this kind of acting is much more difficult than straight on histrionics. So, you have to hand it to both Joan and Judith!!!!!!!!!!!
I know what you all want to know, darlings!!!!!!!!! Why is she called "Mrs. Danvers," because who the hell would want to marry her???? I mean, let's face it, even without that mole beneath the right side of her lip, she is plum ugly!!!!! That severe look and wardrobe, that ghostly walk???? Notice how she never seems to walk, but float????? Hitchcock planned it that way; he directed Judith Anderson to do that, and to look when on camera without blinking her eyes, to give Mrs. Danvers, coupled with her wardrobe, the appearance of a ghost--perhaps of even demonic possession by Rebecca.
Well, according to what I discovered, when British female servants reached a high stature, it was common then to give them the designation of "Mrs." It was an honor bestowed upon them of rank above all others, and for having risen to this lofty post.
Judith Anderson acts up a storm as Mrs. Danvers, who is probably the character most people think of first, when it comes to "Rebecca." Now, while I, as an actress, darlings, could certainly play the shy timidity of Joan Fontaine, I would just love to sink my teeth into playing Mrs. Danvers!!!!!!! A repressed bitch????????? No problem!!!!!!!!!
But, what goes around comes around, especially when it comes to the Hays Production Code. Which is why, in the film, Rebecca's death results from an accidental fall, rather than being shot by her husband, because, then, Maxim would have to be punished. (They were SO silly, back then!!!) And because Mrs. Danvers is such a malevolent monster in the film, she does not escape, but perishes, insane and suicidal, in the flames of Manderly. Which I actually prefer, not for moral reasons, but because it is a kind of poetic justice!!!!!!!
As I said earlier, I think the movie's ending is better than the book. In the movie, it is not Joan Maxim drives back with, but Frank Crawley (played by Reginald Denny, who I was also hot for!!! And with the two of them in the car, you just have to wonder, darlings!!!!!) Meanwhile, back at Manderly, Joan is asleep, and Mrs. Danvers is walking about spookily, flaming candle in stick, in hand. She looks at the sleeping Joan, then off into space, as the image dissolves...and we know what is coming. It is Frank and Maxim who spot the burning lights, they who find Joan, and the servants, out and about, and Joan and Max who watch with horror as the clearly deranged Mrs. Danvers dies in the fire, before them!!!!!!! Burn, baby burn!!!!!!!!!!
However, the last thing seen is the pillowcase in Rebecca's bedroom, with the embroidered "R" on it, dissolving into flames before one's eyes, as the movie ends!!!!!!!
Now, if this seems just a bit "Citizen Kane," darlings, the plain and simple fact is....it IS!!!!!!!!! Notice how similarly the two films open. Indeed, Orson Welles has said how, to some extent, he was influenced by "Rebecca"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You want to hear a REAL horror???? Would you believe this classic is being turned into a Broadway musical, next season????????? It was supposed to arrive this one, but the producers had to scrape together five more million, so they could burn down Manderly onstage!!!! (This I have GOT to see!) That fine singing actress, Karen Mason, is playing Mrs. Danvers; I can't wait to hear her songs!!!! Hang on to your hats, darlings, this could be the biggest, and most enjoyable, flop, since the original "Carrie!"
When it comes to "Rebecca," I will stick with the Du Maurier novel, and the Selznick-Hitchcock film. And for camp value alone, you can't beat Florence Bates as Mrs. Van Hopper! When she extinguishes the cigarette in the facial cream, it is priceless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But, I hope this will all serve as a warning, girls!!!! When searching for prospective, live-in help, watch out for those prune faced scolds!!!!! You don't want them TOO pretty, like Rebecca De Mornay, in "The Hand That Rocks The Cradle," but somewhere in between!!!!!!!!!
Maybe one of those nice, blind nuns, from the convent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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