For younger film buffs like myself, it’s sometimes hard to understand how actors of an earlier era were held in such high esteem. Laurence Olivier is great in Spartacus, but wasn’t very impressive in Rebecca. Now, I have seen Marathon Man, and have witnessed great acting. As Nazi Christian Szell, Olivier is genius. The sheer contempt he has for others, simmering beneath his skin, is chilling. Only Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter and Ben Kingsley as Don Logan are more frightening.
4.5/5
Hitchcock’s only film to win Best Picture (beating out The Grapes of Wrath and The Philadelphia Story, among others) is a thriller that builds with slow tension. The second Mrs. de Winter (Joan Fontaine) arrives at the beautifully dreary estate of her new husband, Maxim (Laurence Olivier), and enters into a world of wealth and class previously unknown to her. The new wife (unnamed in both the film and novel) is totally unsure of herself and a nervous wreck. Compounding her unstable temperament is the fact that Manderley seems haunted by the first Mrs. de Winter: the deceased Rebecca. Rebecca’s shade seems to hold a grip on Maxim and the chief housekeeper. As the new Mrs. de Winter suffers from the lingering presence of Rebecca, the true relationships that the latter had with those around her are slowly revealed.
4/5
Brian's Film Log 