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Jan 17, 2018ba_library rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I don’t think I have ever seen this Hitchcock film! Starring Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier based on a novel by Daphane Du Maurier. A young woman (Fontaine) works as a companion to an older woman on vacation in Monte Carlo. They meet with an English man Mr. De Winter while on vacation. Mr. De Winter and the young woman fall in love, marry and go back to his estate in England. The house, home, grounds and staff all seem to be haunted by Mr. De Winter’s first wife Rebecca who died a year ago in a boating accident. The new Mrs. De Winter (she does not have a first name) is having a hard time blending in as the aura and legacy of Rebecca surrounds, stifles, and subdues the setting. The disappearance of Rebecca becomes increasingly mysterious and the remaining characters in Mr. De Winter’s life are very mysterious and occasionally frightening, threatening, scary or just plain creepy. The film won the Oscar in 1940 for best picture. I was wondering, did Hitchcock make his cameo in this film? I did not see him – he usually walks by, plays the bus driver, etc. in his films. I had to look it up, he does make his cameo near the end when the cousin is talking to the police. Classic Hitchcock film!