Rebecca
US (1940): Drama/Romance/Thriller/Mystery
Rebecca is an ageless, timeless adult movie about a woman who marries a widower but fears she lives in the shadow of her predecessor. This was Hitchcock's first American feature, and it garnered the Best Picture statuette at the 1941 Academy Awards®:. In today's films, most twists and surprises are ridiculous or just gratuitous, so it's sobering to look back on this film where every revelation not only shocks, but makes organic sense with the story line. Laurence Olivier is dashing and weak, fierce and cowed. Joan Fontaine is strong yet submissive, defiant yet accommodating. The rest of the cast is top-notch and includes George Sanders, Dame Judith Anderson, Gladys Cooper, Nigel Bruce, Reginald Denny, C. Aubrey Smith, Leonard Carey and Leo G. Carroll. There isn't a false moment or misstep, but the film must have killed the employment outlook of any women named Danvers for about 20 years. Brilliant stuff. (Amazon.com)
11 nominations, 2 Awards
· Best Picture 1940: David O. Selznick, producer (UA)
· Best Cinematography (Black and White) 1940: George Barnes
· Actor 1940: Laurence Olivier
· Actress 1940: Joan Fontaine
· Supporting Actress 1940: Dame Judith Anderson
· Directing 1940: Alfred Hitchcock
· Writing (Screenplay) 1940: Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison
· Interior Decoration (Black and White) 1940: Lyle Wheeler - Art Direction
· Film Editing 1940: Hal C. Kern
· Music Scoring Awards (Original Score) 1940: Franz Waxman
· Special Effects 1940: John R. "Jack" Cosgrove - Photographic, Arthur Johnston - Sound