Hitchcock Retrospective – Rebecca Review

Hi, this is John Delancey and you are listening

to the GeekCast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to episode 215 of the Cinema Geeks. I am one

of your Cinema Geeks Optimus Solo and joining

me once again is the comic concierge. How you

doing, Dan? Good, how are you? I'm doing well.

We are back at it again in like extra innings

sudden death bonus material I don't know what

you want to call this, but we are in the extra

innings of our Alfred Hitchcock Retrospective

we've covered ten films and now we're going into

some bonus films that we had not planned on originally

But we're having such a good time that we decided

to just keep it going for a little bit longer

So today we are covering the 1940 American romantic

psychological thriller is all the words that

they put against this one. I guess this is Rebecca

one of his more famous ones I'm not sure how

it didn't make it into our first draft, but we're

making up for it now so Rebecca is a film that

is based off of a 1938 novel of the same name

by Daphne de Moria Who is also the person that

did the short story that the birds was based

off of this one's obviously directed by Alfred

Hitchcock and it stars Laurence Olivier Joan

Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders, Gladys

Cooper, and a few other folks. Dan, just to reiterate,

I know we talk about it at the end of every episode,

but for those that are just tuning into this

episode, what is your experience with Rebecca

going into this one? Have no experience with

Rebecca, which is a weird thing to say Because

I have a sister named Rebecca so but now this

is a first time watch for me and I honestly think

unlike a lot of other Hitchcock films Where you

have so many scenes that are just so well -known

in the zeitgeist like that like when you watch

the Oscars or any, you know movie award show

that they always get reference like For Rebecca

like I feel like I'm going in the most blind

out of 39 steps, but you know His first the first

film we did so I was going into this Rather fresh

like I've heard rumblings. I think I've listened

to some reviews way back when but I did not really

know what it was about outside of I knew Rebecca

was a character that was not in the movie, but

about the movie was about her But that was about

it Yeah, I am much the same. I did not know anything

about this one. I Had not had anything spoiled

for me. Really. I didn't know what it was about

I didn't know anything about the characters and

even think about the plot or anything whatsoever

So I was going in completely blind now Part way

through the viewing for this episode. I did obviously

pick up on a character that I have heard of obviously

I think we even talked about it during our top

100 villains of all time. And if I'm not mistaken,

we mentioned one of the characters in this film.

So I was immediately suspicious of her, I guess,

just because of that. But outside of that, I

didn't really have any experience with this one.

And just to keep everybody somewhat clear with

where we're at here, the first 10 we did were

in chronological order starting then. 1935 and

going into the 60s now we're going all the way

back to 1940 so to put that in place of what

else we've watched the 39 steps was 1935 Rebecca

is 1940 and then notorious is I believe Right

after that So this comes out after the 39 steps

and before notorious if we're trying to place

it within his other Work so upon first viewing

Dan of this film that we had to resort to crazy

methods to watch. What was your initial reaction?

Crazy, but legal methods. I think we should point

out. Yes. Yes. Very legal. Yeah, I'll be enough.

This is on YouTube, but like no actual streaming

service at the moment, which is crazy considering,

you know, it's such a notorious film and not

notorious the movie, but you know, well known

and everything like that. But yeah, so going

into this, I'm gonna make a weird comparison.

Maybe it doesn't make sense, but I'll try to

explain it. But to me, after this viewing, Rebecca

is to the Alfred Hitchcock filmography that Jackie

Brown is to Quentin Tarantino's filmography.

And let me explain why. I feel like when you

tell someone Quentin Tarantino made a movie,

they have certain ideas of what that movie is

like. There's a certain style that is associated

with his directing. And Jackie Brown, I think,

is an example of him going a different route

and I think maybe being a bit more reserved and

having a story that is far more driven by a plot

and narrative compared to a lot of what he did

before. And I feel in a lot of ways similar with

Rebecca, where Rebecca is a story that is you

know it it has thrilling moments and it certainly

has some bigger moments in general but it is

not a movie that is spectacle like a north by

northwest or even a psycho or uh you know some

of the other films we did vertigo for example

uh most of it takes place it's almost the inverse

of rear window it's a lot of it just takes place

inside uh in in that regard and it is far more

driven by the narrative by the story where the

other Hitchcock films we've done so far what

I have enjoyed about them at times the narrative

but it was pretty much just the craft of it and

the characters and this was great characters

as well but um but I was enthralled by the narrative

I was actually and it took me a bit to kind of

hook into it but I thought I knew where it was

going and not that I need surprises for a movie

to be good but When it like inverse on itself

i was like oh okay it all started to click i'm

like now and now i see why so well regarded and

it's not that it's not shut well it's beautifully

lit it's. You know that the manner that this

take place takes place in as we share the sound

becomes its own character but i really enjoyed

it i was fascinated with the story progression.

And just the way it went, uh, you know, there

may be some issues we're talking about, but,

or some things that I didn't think fully connected,

but as a film, it's very, it feels very different

from Hitchcock films we did before. So I'm glad

we included it, but despite it being different,

I think that's a lot what I enjoyed about it.

And I was a big fan of watching this. How about

yourself? Um, I interestingly enough was finding

it. kind of a fascinating journey to go all the

way through two and a half or three however many

decades I guess 1935 to what 1963 What was bird's

19? Yeah, so like we we covered like three decades

of films right and we we saw a progression and

what Hitchcock was doing and things that he was

the way he was making films though the what his

focus was and what he was trying to do in different

aspects kind of traveling through time with him

and I found it very interesting to then go back

now and watch what we're gonna be doing I guess

for the most part is like now Filling in some

gaps along the way and it's kind of interesting

how they fit in and if they remind you of the

films From that time period that we were watching

or if they connect to films that come later I

think that's gonna be something interesting to

kind of keep track of and this is about smack

dab in the middle of the 39 steps in notorious

right so it's five years after the one i think

it's like six years before the other so it's

in the middle of that and i one thing i appreciated

was something that i felt like we were somewhat

veering away from towards the end which was these

great sides supporting characters And so I really

appreciated that we kind of got back into that

there's a lot of characters to enjoy whether

you Enjoy them from the entertainment standpoint

of just like what they're doing and how they're

portraying the character and how the actors portraying

them or What they if you know if they had a bigger

part in the story or different things like I

found drawn to a number of different characters

in this one outside of just the main two Leads

which was something that I enjoyed The another

thing that I think separates this and you're

basically alluding to it with your opening commentary

is a lot of the Hitchcock films that we talked

about were very Regardless of film length were

very quickly paced I guess is the way I would

say it like there never seemed to be a lot of

like lulls there never seemed to be a lot of

Really digesting like a scene and taking it all

in. Like a lot of his is somewhat fast paced

where it's like you get that and then you're

onto the next thing and then you're onto the

next thing. And this is definitely a departure

from that. Like he definitely is taking his time

in the way that he is telling this story. And

I'm not sure how I land on that because I'm so

used to the other thing that he had been doing.

I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Like

I like taking my time. I like taking being able

to like Think through and kind of like really

mull on the stuff as it's happening It threw

me off a little bit though that it was happening

in a Hitchcock film, which I had not seen yet

So like there was a little bit of like pacing

Questions, I guess in my head as I was going

through here. There was a few moments where I

was wondering If this really felt like a Hitchcock

film where we were going I will say that the

the final or the first act is Fantastic, like

I really enjoy the first act. I think it's very

humorous It is quick paced in the beginning and

I like the way it sets the stage. And then I

think the film in the last, we'll call it the

last act. I don't know what the timestamp was.

I don't know if it's the last third or the last

quarter or whatever the case may be. Really ramps

up there at the end and is kind of firing on

all cylinders during that last, we'll call it,

I don't know, 30 minutes. There was some moments

in Between that or in the middle that I felt

it was dragging even a little bit But I don't

know if that's just because I've become used

to how fast he's been moving in all the other

films Versus if I was watching this next to watching

like a whole bunch of non -hitchcock films Like

I don't know how that would would come across,

but you're definitely right. It's definitely

Hitchcock going down a different route with this

one, which I appreciated I just I think there's

a couple things that in the middle and a couple

times where it felt like we were doing the same

thing over and over again, like a little bit

of repetitiveness. But I think the beginning

of it's fantastic. I think the end of it for

me saves it. So I ultimately come down favorably

on this film as far as like liking it. I am wrestling

with myself as far as where it like stacks up

against all of the other films that we've seen.

I think it's probably top half for me, but I'm

still kind of wrestling with that and hoping

that, you know, talking it through with you a

little bit here may may help me even more. Before

we get into some more about the story, though,

I'm curious if you have any experience with some

of the actors or actresses in this film. Like,

obviously, Laurence Olivier is like, everybody

knows his name, right? In the film world. I had

never seen a film with him in it. I'd never seen

a film with Joan Fontaine in it, I don't believe,

or just about anybody involved with this. Did

you have any experience with any of the actors

or actresses in this one? No, not that I know

of I yeah like Laurence Olivier it is like that

name it is like you synonymous with Hollywood

old Hollywood, but I Don't the only thing I think

ice movies. I've seen any actor. I think I've

seen movies with was George Sanders like he Trying

to think of what I've seen him and all about

Eve He was all about Eve, which is one of my

favorite films. So he's he's in that so I was

a familiar with him and that film but Or to believe

hey as you know has Horrible as it might sound

wasn't really familiar with it. This was Joan

Fontaine's first first major film I think But

I can't think of much else. I have seen her in

Outside of this, I know she's done some other

of course some other Hitchcock films as well.

Same thing was like you just finished Judith

Anderson Not that I'm aware of that. I've seen

her before. I know this was kind of a huge role

for her like her first Oscar nomination But oh

she wasn't cat in a hot tin roof, which I have

seen but I don't remember her in that per se

so but I Guess he was in Star Trek 3 2, but I

don't know her in that as well. Wow. Okay. I

don't remember that at all I'm gonna have to

like do some research after this about the Vulcan

high priestess. So Crazy Learn something new

every day. So yeah, so fairly new to most of

these folks I remember a few of the names like

I sounded familiar Whether they've been in Leo

Carroll who plays the doctor was in Strangers

on a train and North by Northwest But I'd have

to like try to figure out who he was in those

films right off the top of my head But it was

interesting. It was fun to see Laurence Olivier

and in like the first my first experience like

I haven't seen Spartacus I don't know Like that's

probably a crime against humanity when it comes

to film review that you haven't seen I own but

I have seen Spartan but I was I was I was not

one of my dad's favorite film so I was like super

young like Ten so it's okay a long time since

I've seen that So it was fun seeing some of these

folks for what was me for me the first first

time seeing it What did you think about the beginning?

So the beginning we have basically we're in a

hotel and we are introduced to The what who would

become the second mrs. De Winter played by Joan

Fontaine were introduced to the mister, you know

max de winter played by Laurence Olivier and

then Joan Fontaine's What kind I don't know what

name you would give her the employer of? Her

yeah player. Those are employer. Yeah. Yeah,

so played by Florence Bates and it kind of sets

the stage to how The the main two characters

are introduced to each other and kind of how

they fall for each other and things of that nature

So everything that's happening in that hotel,

which I'll just call it like the first act. What

was your take on that? I Liked it. There's probably

honestly you said the middle part was your least

favorite it I don't say it was my least favorite.

I guess out of the three acts But exactly talked

about how it was a bit repetitive and I could

see some of it there But I think it was important

to kind of build that relationship between Who

would become Mrs. Fontaine? It had a bit of a

it almost had like a whimsy to it like I almost

felt like a classic Like romantic comedy in a

way like the way it was portraying. Yeah Not

knowing what this movie was. I'm like, oh does

this become more of a romantic comedy because

the way it was, you know going about it, of course,

you have the employer who's like you lose overweight

person that just trying to Hit on someone that

was a get with someone who's like half her age,

maybe not half her age But I don't know but yeah,

it was it was I think a good introduction into

these characters It really gave mrs. DeWinter

like a sense of innocence Which was I think really

important as the movie went into its second act

to see that innocence kind of be Taking advantage

of in some ways, but yeah, so I thought it was

it served its purpose. Of course the fifth going

to be interested in her for whatever reason is

kind of crazy. And then, of course, she's treating

the what is I got to find out what the second

Mrs. Winter's name is. Do they give her a name?

She's got to have a first name, right? No, she

doesn't. That's the whole thing. She doesn't

have a name. Oh, that's a weird name. OK, I feel

weird. She's just the whole time. That's her.

Yeah, that's her actual name in the script. She's

never given a full first name. And Same thing

with the book as well. That's based on okay given

a full first name So I think it's obviously a

purposeful person purposeful choice with a movie

called Rebecca that the main antagonist protagonist

is not given an actual first name to just it's

just a It's a little right. Yeah, you know It

does know too like it definitely adds something

to it because of the and we'll jump ahead this

in a minute when they get to the mandrelay but

what i was going to say is just you get to see

how how poorly the employer is treating the employee

in that situation uh and like you said it really

does add to the innocence and whatnot and then

i think it is clever that they don't give her

a name because she's constantly you know being

compared to this other individual the first mrs

de winter who does have a name so it definitely

sets those two apart in a lot of the aspects

whether subconsciously, consciously or whatever.

So I do agree. There is a little bit of repetitiveness

as far as like the, the courting of between the

two of them. And I'm not sure how well all of

that is executed in general. It's almost like,

I don't know, it's a sequence that you almost

feel like today when you get like a montage,

right? You just get, you just get like the, the

real quick version, or you would get something

that's much more. Clever and romantic and like

you're buying into all of the the different things

and we don't get either of those here So it's

like half like a montage and half like we're

sort of like learning about them But a little

bit on the execution there was was not the greatest

for me I just like the the dynamic that they

were shown between these three individuals as

they kind of navigated that and I thought it

was a clever way to introduce us to those three

and then of course we transition into them moving

into his mansion the Mandalay and introduced

to all of the different people that work there

whether it be the housekeeper the I don't know

what all of their titles are because some of

them are Doing different things, but there's

maids. There's butlers. There's housekeepers

There's somebody that apparently takes care of

the finances or something They all have different

roles and then obviously introduced to the fact

that there was a former Mrs. DeWinter and that's

gonna play a crucial part in the middle section

of this film obviously It's gonna play a crucial

part in the whole film, but in the middle part,

we're really navigating this water of the two

Mrs. DeWinters and this new one trying to come

to terms with it, trying to become comfortable

in this estate and things of that nature. So

you said you liked that part of the film. And

I shouldn't say I disliked the middle. I think

there's a lot of clever stuff that happens in

the middle and a lot of very important stuff.

I just felt like sometimes the pacing in the

middle section was a little like stop and start.

But what were some of the things you liked the

most about this kind of middle section as she

gets introduced to this estate? I just thought

Joan Fontaine, who I think you could argue maybe

gives a performance that's very much of the time

for a lot of it, especially in that first act

where you have that love story. And it's very

much like, you know, fairy tale. They meet each

other and they're in love and it's, you know,

melodramatic. And there are some of those moments,

but I feel like in the second act, that's where

she gets her. ability to opportunity I should

say to give some more subdued and nuanced performance

beats like just seeing her because being in that

house alone and Just her reaction to everything

just there's you could see her becoming overwhelmed

with like the weld she's kind of thrown into

and this like ultimate competition she's playing

against in the back -and -forth with her and

Mrs. Danvers who like Tudors Anderson to me makes

this movie I get it she like I know you talked

about one of the best villains list we did I

you know if I were you to do that list I would

have ranked her much higher of all the Hitchcock

films we've done thus far. I think to me even

like looking at psycho I think she is my favorite

villain out of all of it and largely because

of the performance of Judith Anderson She just

has this bleakness this coldness to her that

you know, the one scene where she's like showing

like just the Delicacy of the the garment and

the mind game. She's playing I just I found fascinating

like in very much Doesn't almost even seem of

that time in a way, right? The way that she's

approaching the character and I that's what I

liked about that second act was there back and

forth, but then like you get those moments where

this is the winter kind of takes charge of it

where She, you know, she gets to the point where

she has a breaking point and moves through it

but then that's when the third act kicks in and

the Well near I shouldn't say that's what they're

like she kind of that final piece is played with

her Putting on that costume and things like that.

Um, so I like that back and forth and seeing

just like, you know, I felt for her because of

just, you know, she's always going to play second

fiddle and which is why I think I ended up liking

the third act more when we get the twist and

I don't think we can spoil this movie. It's been

out forever, but if you have not seen it, uh,

where in fact it wasn't that Maxim loved Rebecca

is that he hated her and I get the So like, feeling

like I knew where this was going or had an idea

of what was happening, it just recontextualized

everything that happened beforehand. And I really

liked that. I just thought that was kind of,

you know, I wasn't, I guess I wasn't expecting

a twist because I didn't, I don't hear many people

talk about this being a twist and maybe it's

not necessarily like a, you know, M Night Shyamalan

type of twist, but it it completely changes kind

of the direction of what was happening and the

relationship and even the impact it has on Joan

Fontaine's character and if anything you could

it's kind of odd that she is so just nonchalant

about the fact that her husband may be murdered

or at least committed manslaughter to her previous

to her his previous wife but and i also kind

of get it because she hated she was becoming

to hate rebecca so much that i think she Relief

me it kind of made it all feel okay, but that's

why I like like it I just liked how those acts

connected and the importance it was to the growth

of that character So that's why I worked for

me. Yeah. No, I agree And I think a lot of the

things that you're mentioning did work for me

as well I don't want to try to like downplay

what I said in the beginning I probably was a

little bit too harsh from in the way I categorized

it I just thought that there was a couple times

where there was a little bit of that same type

of repetitiveness that we got with like when

their first meeting or maybe just a few slow

moments or something like that. But I agree like

the introduction of Mrs. Danvers like completely

changes this film. And you could argue that like

from a plot standpoint, you don't necessarily

need her as far as like it doesn't advance any

of the main plot lines, right? Like all the other

stuff can still happen whether she's there or

not. Which is crazy because she adds so much

though in the actual like whether she's important

or not to to like some of the Superficial elements

of the plot. She's so important to all of the

other things that go into this and like I agree

like she Has a presence about her like just immediately

like as soon as she's on screen Whether it's

how it was shot whether it's the performance.

There's just like a cold Calculating presence

of her like it to me the only thing that I can

connect this to and I know it's a much different

character but from Old like Hollywood is the

Wicked Witch of the West Like in Wizard of Oz

and she has a lot Helping her on that side because

she's got the whole Which look right? Like she's

got all that going for it. Mrs Danvers is pulling

that off with none of the makeup with none of

the costuming but still that same presence of

like when she's on screen you're like, oh like

Something's gonna happen here and I think that's

part of what there's a couple things that really

helped that twist number one, it's almost set

up like where we're basically going down a path

to an ultimate Like showdown between these two

individuals, right? Yeah, like the new mrs. De

Winters and mrs. Danvers and we get some of that

along the way but it like it feels like that's

where the movie's going right like we're gonna

keep hinting at the fact that she doesn't like

her and that she's you know, doesn't like that

she's taken the old Mrs. Rebecca spot, things

of that nature. And it seems like it's going

to be keep going down that road and culminate

with something like where those two specific,

they hint at it like at that window scene where

you're contemplating with yourself whether she's

actually going to like toss her out the window

right there. That scene was diabolical. She's

like, yeah, just do it. The way she was playing

that because like before that she was, you know,

Had a little bit of a light touch, but then she

went all -in like trying to get you to jump up

Like this lady didn't do anything to you. It's

right so mean. Well cuz that person's much more

at first is much more passive, right? It's much

more. Yeah You could interpret it one way or

you could interpret it that way. So you're trying

to like put yourself in John Fontaine's shoes

and like how you would take that and You can

see yourself debating like oh she She's just

uncomfortable with, you know, they're a new person

here. And there's, you know, that's, that comes

with a human nature, right? A new person in charge

or a new person in there is going to do things

different. You're not used to that. You're used

to the, whatever your habits and routines were

before. So you're kind of like finding yourself

excusing a lot of what she's doing at the beginning.

And then it just keeps getting like worse and

worse. And then that obviously that sequence

you're like, well, there's no gray. There's no

gray area anymore. Like this, this lady. wants

her to kill herself. So I think that's one twist

is that we don't go down that road a hundred

percent. We kind of do in different ways, but

that's not where the movie is kind of culminating.

I know the last sequence or the last scene would

say yes it is, but obviously there's a whole

nother sequence with the court or police and

like... the Jack fable character and all that

other stuff, which is kind of like the main culmination,

right? And so it's going to completely different

direction. And the other thing I think that really

keeps you from guessing where this is going is

you're never going to guess that this, that max

despises Rebecca because of how much of Rebecca's

stuff is still here. Right? Like he still has

all of, like not only does she have like a room

that has all of this You know her bed area and

all those embroidered things and her clothing

and stuff like that But then we find out, you

know, you you have this whole other like cabin

that's full of her stuff as well and it's like

You wouldn't that doesn't correlate to somebody

that you know can't stand somebody you would

think Gets rid of her and gets rid of all of

her stuff immediately because he doesn't want

anything to remind him of her so like that really

kind of throws you off to when when you find

out that he he actually doesn't love her because

it's like all the signs are is that he not only

Loved her but that he's not over it Based on

everything we see in this house everything we

see in this cabin and things like that So it's

it's very clever the way they kind of completely

are throwing you into different directions before

you see what the real Kind of substance is behind

their relationship, which they kind of keep Hidden

for a good chunk of the film. Well, you think

it's good You think it's you think it's like

pain you think it's like right agony, but it's

really guilt I guess maybe not even guilt the

more fear or anger which is it you know, he got

angry because of but Not it wasn't because of

the way or the how you assumed it was, you know

since he lost the one he loved and yeah, I thought

it played with that really well, which is why

I think like even like rewatching this would

be interesting because it Would make scenes read

so much differently knowing what you know once

the movie ends, right? and then obviously we

get into this sequence with the Jack fable character

who is implying that Max Killed Rebecca Rebecca

would never commit suicide after they find her

body Which is not the body that he originally

claimed, you know identified as hers so we have

a two different body situation her body is still

in the boat at the bottom of the Water and you

know, he's saying that it's not a suicide that

he killed her which is kind of true And then

he's going about this whole thing where he's

trying to which is just a clever sequence where

he's gonna Jump in the car. I guess when the

courts out for lunch while they're eating a picnic

inside the car, which I've never thought of doing

but I guess that's one I guess you do it during

road trips. It just is it's an interesting setup

They're like, yeah, they brought us lunch and

we're gonna have picnic in this car real quick

before the court continues And he jumps in there

and obviously is blackmailing them. And you don't

expect Max to just immediately go straight to

the officials and be like, Hey, this guy's trying

to blackmail me right now, which I thought was

fantastic. And I'm like, Oh, how is this going

to work out? And then of course, you know, he

shares the note. They're going to, uh, there

was a doctor involved, a potential pregnancy.

They're going to drive to the doctor to figure

all that out. And that does not go how this Jack

character thinks it's going to go. What was your

take kind of on this whole like. twist and turn

like fast pace conclusion of his Trial so to

speak or the trial of trying to figure out like

what happened to Rebecca First like it has to

be like the worst police officer ever who's like,

oh, I guess I have to bring you along like no

you don't you don't Like that's not how that

works But whatever it makes for a better story

again looking into it. Like I thought the way

it was gonna play out was that that one guy who

that older gentleman that was acting strange

that it was going to be played on him like there

was going to be a thing where they have to like

have him take the fall for what he did so i wasn't

expecting as it as as many different twists and

turns also weird that this also delves into incest

and no one seemed to question it like no like

that much like it was like why are they like

They're not they're just gonna go with it like

they you know He doesn't say it like but he heavily

hints at what they were doing but I was just

waiting for someone to react to be like Wait,

what are you cousins? And nope that we're all

gonna be okay with that. We're so okay. I guess

you are her favorite cousin weird And then when

the scene breaks out and we learned that there

was another body there. I thought it was going

to be that Rebecca was like cheating on him.

That was where I was going. Oh, there were so

many else that She was actually cheating on him

and that's not where it went I it does play out

pretty quickly. Like I did like how he went directly

to to the I don't know if it was a judge or what

role basically saying like hey I could do this

and how it played out and the resolution of it

I think was pretty satisfying in the sense of

Knowing that in the in the end Rebecca really

ended up winning because She was going to die

and clearly baited baited him into doing it beforehand

just to win their statistic game, but right making

Making here such a kind of really fascinating

figure even though we don't actually ever see

Rebecca in any meaningful way outside of some

photos But it did it did go rather quickly. You

know, you mentioned the pacing piece I think

clearly they knew where they wanted to go and

then it's like, okay, let's let's get there I'm

guessing in the novel. It's probably maybe prolonged

a bit more, but I was okay with it I was okay

just get move it along, you know get to what

you need to get to Maybe tied things up a little

bit And it is all kind of Dependent upon happenstance

as well, which I didn't have a problem with because

I think it led to a better story but uh, but

yeah, it I think I could see having issues with

the way it went down, but I I found the end end

result worth Made it worth it. Yeah, I actually

quite enjoyed that that whole segment because

I think my favorite part is we're led to believe

that I mean, the setup here is that this Jack

character is right. Like in our minds at that

point, he's right. Like he's right. Max did kill

Rebecca. It wasn't a suicide. We know that as

the audience and this guy's onto it. And it's

like that suspense of. How are you going to try

to prove this? But in reality, he's right. So

he should. So it all sets that kind of up where

you're like, well, how are you going to get out

of this? Because he's on to you. He knows what

happened. That is what happened. And like. we're

expecting different things to happen as opposed

to, you know, especially when that doctor reveals

what she was there for as far as, you know, the

terminal illness and all of that type of stuff.

Like that's completely out of the blue. Like

you're not expecting that. Um, and, and that

whole doctor sequence is kind of clever because

they started with, I didn't see anybody by that

name. So we have to go through that part. Cause

it's like, We think we think this jack guy is

gonna have them like hook line and sinker basically

and then the first piece of information we get

from the doctor is I never treated somebody named

Rebecca and So we have to figure out that she

was under it, you know, mrs Danvers name and

then we're like Well now you're still gonna get

screwed because now they have the right person

and then we find out it's you know, completely

different diagnosis so like it was just clever

the way they did that because in from the audience

standpoint they gave us enough to for us to be

like well he's right and This max guy's gonna

be screwed And then I also think what I really

liked about that whole sequence from beginning

to end is it really gave Laurence Olivier a chance

to kind of strut his stuff a little bit. I felt

like for different times in the movie that he

was a little underwhelming. Maybe not at the

very beginning when we're introduced to him,

but there's this like back and forth where he's...

About her and not about her and very cryptic

about this Rebecca not and like all this other

stuff so there was like some points in the middle

which I get why but like he doesn't really get

to like just come out and and Do everything that

he needs to do from an acting standpoint? It's

like it's a very subdued performance and kind

of a very hem hall like in and out of this like

how much are you really into? the second Mrs.

DeWinter Yeah, we believe it. Can we not believe

it and But then when we get to this last sequence,

he's really just like he's not Cary Grant in

North by Northwest necessarily, but he is having

fun with. Playing off of this Jack Fable character

and kind of going through this different route,

which I did appreciate because up to that point,

I was like, I was expecting more out of this

famous actor that I've always heard of. Yeah,

it hit a tough role because he had, like you

said, he. I guess I can understand like. Well

for the second half he is not there for a lot

of it right, but I Don't think he ever came off

as super charming But I think that's also purposeful

because of considering everything like he always

had a bit of There was always something like

darker underneath and it all made sense and I

think like you said in that final act it all

kind of came out and then everything kind of

starts to make even more sense regarding some

of the choices early on so I I do think he gets

outshined by You know, oh you want Fontaine and

Judith Anderson, but I think he plays the part

he needs to Yeah, and and that does obviously

lead us to a point where as an audience, especially

an audience in 2025 We're knowing immediately

when he sends her back to like the the house

that that's like a bad idea Yeah, and especially

then when you see Jack call Mrs Danvers to tell

her how things went and that you know the real

story behind Rebecca and then obviously there's

a race by Max and his I still don't know what

that guy's role is but his right -hand man at

the at the mansion to go back and then obviously

they see the the mansion on fire and we get our

final sequence where we See that the second mrs.

DeWinter is gonna survive and then we get to

see mrs. Danvers in the what was it the West

Wing? I don't know if that's where yeah the West

Room As the as the house comes down. So what

did you think about that final conclusion? I

really like I felt the the final act was really

strong and as I mentioned previously You know

the spectacle was something that this film didn't

have a lot of but we got it with that Mass of

fire and it does you know is it is that cleansing

that was needed of you know for this For them

all to move on and then obviously mrs. Danvers

who couldn't do that having to deal with the

ultimate fate Of what happened so I thought it

all kind of came together really nicely in the

end Yeah, I agree. I think that was a clever

way to end it Some definitely some harrowing

last sequences that we see mrs. Danvers in which

is interesting because you don't always see like

the villain so to speak of You know classic stories

like that take themselves out I guess but that's

definitely what happens like she starts that

fire herself and Is the only one that's gonna

go down in it? So I thought that was interesting

too before we kind of get into some final thoughts.

Was there anything? Hitchcockian that we saw

along the way. I know we talked about it's a

little bit different with the way it's telling

the story and kind of the the pacing and some

of that type of stuff. There really isn't a.

Mother figure, although I will say that from

what I read, Mrs Danvers in the book is a mother

figure to Max or more of a mother figure that

is basically very protective of him. Doesn't

want any, you know, doesn't want to share. Her

affection of him with you know, any of the the

girls or the ladies that he's interested in things

like that So the kind of interesting that for

once I know it was still early on but Hitchcock

had a story that did have a mother figure and

he changes it or maybe the screenwriter changes

it but Alfred Hitchcock obviously puts his okay

on it stamp of approval that removes the mother

from the story altogether, which I thought was

interesting, but it was there Any thoughts on

that or anything else that you picked up that

we've talked about along the way that we you

noticed in this one? Well, we mentioned how like

a lot of his films his cox films there are There

is like hints at homosexuality like obviously

with rope and some others were certain characters

And you mentioned that you brought up with mrs.

Danvers how she is more of a mother figure like

I like in this I don't know if i'm just because

of the history we've talked about in the past,

but like I maybe wonder about what the relationship

was between mrs. Hanzer's and Rebecca because

it felt like there was an infatuation there that

was You know, she loved her and I think it was

more so than just a friendly love That's what

I got from it. I don't know if that was intentional,

but it seemed I got the same theme that way Yeah,

yeah, I got the same thing. I even read a Somebody

had put out like a I don't know if it's a research

paper or like an article or a review or something

Where they kind of outlined all the different?

Moments that you that you could like support

that with you know, especially like when she

still has her You know her Dress like her. What

do you I'm totally blanking? What do you call

that? I can Yeah when she has her nightgown and

things like that and the way she's handling it

and how Careful she is with it the fact that

she knows exactly where it is how she presents

it to the new mrs. Dan de winter Like, I think

there's multiple times in here where you can

see that there was a infatuation slash obsession

slash some type of relationship or a desire for

a relationship between those two characters.

I agree. Yeah. And you mentioned Hollywood Blondes,

of course, like Joan Fontaine. And usually we've

had the situation where someone was wrongfully

accused. And this was kind of the flip of that,

where someone was Did it and wasn't accused because

people misunderstood it. I missed the hitchcock,

uh cameo I completely missed it. Uh, but I guess

it's near the end when you mentioned the picnic

scene around that time I completely mentioned

hitchcock cameo and this was the first time I

didn't see it without having to go back And you

know seeing where it was and and in catching

him this time Uh, but I'm not sure for the record.

Yeah Yeah, anything else that you had that regarding?

No, I didn't I didn't see necessarily anything

like I think that there is definitely that play

on The audience knowing what happened or thinking

they know what happened and whether it's somebody

that's falsely accused or somebody that's rightfully

accused It's getting away with it. Like that

seems to be a there's different takes on that

for sure And no, I think I think most of what

we talked about was was pretty on the nose I

did read that there was some potential problems

with the with the movie back in this time period,

because in 1940, there was some different standards

and things of that nature, as far as the fact

that we have somebody that murders somebody and

that's going to get away with it and is portrayed

as a hero, I think caused a few sideways reactions

from people that were involved in whether they're

approving it or whether they're just reviewing

it in the time period or trying to censor it

after the fact. I think there was a little bit

of that going on as well. Overall, I mean, I

think you can connect enough dots to Hitchcock

that is still you can still tell it's a Hitchcock

film, even though it has a different feel than

a lot of the other ones we've talked about. I

do think it's interesting, like I said in the

beginning, though, like going back now and trying

to connect it to some of the earlier work. And

I definitely think there is that attention or

focus on some of the side characters and making

them enjoyable characters that you almost want

to know more about. Like not that I necessarily

want to know more about the employer of Mrs.

Edith Van Hopper, but it's still it's still somebody

that you're like, you know, she obviously disappears

for the rest of the movie and you're like Well,

what's going on with her and then the estate

manager? I think his name is crawly like he has

an interesting you're wondering what else is

there because there's a few interesting interactions

between him and Joan Fontaine's character as

well, you know, they have that the beach hermit

like you're wondering what what's going on with

him like Well, how did he get here and stuff

like that? So there's enough of that where I

feel like that's very reminiscent of some of

the earlier Hitchcock films we watched as well

But how do you think it fit in kind of in the

timeline and it when you connect it to like in

the realm of 39 steps notorious and kind of that

time period I Think if it's well, like I mentioned,

I do feel like the acting is of that times, especially

You know, Mrs. Fontaine, where it can be a bit,

you know, they're playing for the back of the

room. You know, movies are still a relatively

new phenomenon. I mean, guess what? They're probably

around for 20, 30 years at this point, which

isn't a huge amount of time when you think about

it. So where you compare it to some of the, like

when we did some of the films that in the sixties

and things like that, where I think have a different

approach. And when you think of like what Notorious,

I don't think even in that, I feel like the relationship

in there had a bit more chemistry. I guess chemistry

would be the right word. But it does feel very

much of its time, but also dealing with the taboo

in ways that are, like you mentioned, having

a character that is morally questionable be the

hero or not have to feel like They need to have

some Moral lesson, you know where they kind of

get away with everything which is not not that

I'll comment like they're these are some broken

bad people and it doesn't necessarily paint them

in that light, which so totally like so there

are aspects that very very much of that time

but also just the approach it takes with some

of the narrative choices are They're pretty Advanced

for that era No, I agree as well as far as some

accolades for the film It's got a 98 % approval

rating and rotten tomatoes AFI and a couple that

are different lists. One of them was a hundred

years a hundred thrills It came in at number

80 as a film and then also it's a hundred years

a hundred heroes and villains. Mrs Danvers was

the number 31 villain as far as Academy Awards.

I got nominated for 11 including Outstanding

production, best director, best actor, best actress,

best supporting actress, screenplay, art direction,

cinematography, film editing, original score,

and special effects. It won for cinematography

and it won for outstanding production. Alfred

Hitchcock loses one more time for best director,

this time John Ford, and the Grapes of Wrath

took it over him. But obviously it has, I don't

know if this is the most Academy Awards of any

of his films, but it's got to be up there towards

the top. Any final thoughts on any of that or

just final thoughts on the film in general? It

wasn't the best picture too, right? Like I remember

I think that's outstanding production at that

time period was a picture. So yeah, it beat out

the Grapes of Wrath foreign correspondence. What

other ones? The Philadelphia story. So yeah,

it did win the quote unquote best picture. Just

called it something different back then. It's

a good year for movies then, huh? But yeah, I

really like this. It was high on my list of what

we've seen thus far And I was really glad I watched

it I'm glad we continued it because I think this

is a huge important staple in his filmography

like I mentioned I I it might be a random comparison,

but I do feel like it it does fit as that movie

that uh It shows that he has multiple speeds

as the director which I guess is much more you

could say much more because he's made like a

thousand movies, but Of that high quality like

if you think all he can do is really good horror

films or thrillers Rebecca is the answer to that

claim Yeah, absolutely. I agree It's gonna be

interesting for me to try to find where this

one ranks amongst all the other ones the more

films we're covering the harder It's getting

to slot those into the spots. Yeah as we for

sure We'll do a final episode after we go through

all the films with some of our own awards and

things of that nature I've been I did a little

work this last week to try to make sure I'm not

gonna get lost in the number of films recovering.

So I had to go back through before I forgot anything

and be like, oh yeah, I like this character,

I like that actress, whatever the case may be.

So for our next film, it's gonna be interesting.

We're gonna be going to 1941's Suspicion, which

does in fact star Joan Fontaine, who wins an

Academy Award for Best Actress for the film.

We're gonna also see her play with Cary Grant.

So this is one of the, I believe, the two Cary

Grant films we haven't seen yet of his appearances

in Hitchcock films. And we're also going to get

Leo G. Carroll, who was in this one, and Strangers

on a Train. He's going to show up again in Suspicion,

I don't know, assuming a smaller role, but we

will see that as well. So any thoughts or experience

with the film Suspicion from 1941, just a year

after Rebecca? Have not no no no experience whatsoever

like similar that I know nothing about it have

never seen it so Going in completely blind again

this time Yeah, so I'm interested to see that

it got nominated for three Academy Awards including

best picture best actress and best score And

has a 97 % on Rotten Tomatoes, so it feels like

it should be another Interesting watch that I'm

sure will be good on different levels. So I'm

interested to see Cary Grant again And now that

I've seen Joan Fontaine, I'm interested to see

those two interact with each other have no experience

on the film. So I'm Intrigued on where we go

next So if you want to give us any comments or

feedback on our plot through the Alfred Hitchcock

filmography You can do that in a number of different

ways You can search out on social media the cinema

geeks and leave us comments directly for the

show Or you can go to geekcastradio .com and

comment on any of the web posts as far as the

site goes. You can also get in touch with us

directly. Dan, you can search out at the Comic

Concierge and just about every social media platform

that exists, or at least more than I'm on. I'm

still trying to learn how some of those work.

And you can reach me on some of the main ones

at Optimus Solo. Dan, anything else that you

want to let anybody know about before we close

this one out? No, I nothing I wasn't mentioned

we're recording this by the time it's out free

comic book days already happened So but if you

missed it, maybe go to your local comic book

store and I have some leftover free comics if

you wanted to check that out Awesome. Awesome.

So that does it for this episode tune in next

time for another chance to listen to more of

the cinema geeks