REBECCA (1940) - ♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Alfred Hitchcock

Written by - Robert E. Sherwood, Joan Harrison, Philip MacDonald, Michael Hogan (based on a novel by Daphne du Maurier)

Starring - Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine

"First Hitchcock American production, it was an instant success, with the involving noir plot of the second wife of a wealthy man who finds a cold reception on her arrival to her new home. This cold reception is all due to the memory of the previous wife, the apparently wonderful and missed by all Rebecca. A great psychological thriller with a fiery climax, and a production that is testimony to the grandeur of Hollywood productions of the time. While it is rather surprising to think that this was the only film directed by the master of suspense to win the Oscar for best picture – an honor he more bafflingly never achieved for directing either – it’s easy to see why such an intense noir would have compelled the audience of the time, as its emotional weight and dark situations are still effective to this day."

Noir, USA