History Trivia / Rebecca

!!The 1940 film
* BlackSheepHit: Creator/AlfredHitchcock had two big restraints as he directed the film--he was subject to the ExecutiveMeddling of producer David O. Selznick, and he promised Creator/DaphneDuMaurier that he'd keep the film faithful to the novel, since she'd loathed the major liberties that his adaptation of ''Literature/JamaicaInn'' had taken with her book.[[note]]Though most of that was the fault of Creator/CharlesLaughton, who co-produced ''Jamaica Inn'' as well as starred in it, and refashioned it into a vehicle for himself, essentially [[WagTheDirector taking control of the film]][[/note]] In particular, Hitchcock clashed with Selznick over various aspects of the production (for instance, Selznick often disagreed with Hitchcock's heavily storyboarded vision for the film), and the film has very little of Hitchcock's standard fast pacing and wit. As a result, even though this was the only film Hitchcock directed to win Best Picture and it earned him his first Best Director nomination, he didn't consider it part of his canon, and today many would still agree with that assessment. As one blogger has put it, "It's a classic, but it's not classic Hitchcock," though [[CreepyHousekeeper Mrs. Danvers]] and [[SmugSnake Jack Favell]] definitely fit the familiar Hitchcock villain mold. Still, the Oscar plus being one of the top 5 grossing films of 1940 earned Hitchcock his AuteurLicense.
* CreatorPreferredAdaptation: Daphne Du Maurier considered the film to be the best of all the adaptations of her work.
* EnforcedMethodActing: Creator/LaurenceOlivier treated Creator/JoanFontaine horribly. Realising the potential in this, Creator/AlfredHitchcock told her that everyone on set hated her - resulting in a natural shy and uneasy performance from her.
* ExecutiveMeddling:
** Creator/AlfredHitchcock had a habit of creating "in name only" adaptations and was an unproven talent in the US (this was his first American film) so producer David O. Selznick granted him much less creative freedom than he had been granted in his previous British films. The film is noticeably darker than his previous efforts as a result, as Selznick insisted on keeping to the novel's gothic atmosphere and avoiding many of the touches of humour Hitchcock wanted to include.
** Hitchcock then tried ''counter''-executive meddling by only filming the shots that he wanted to see in the final cut of the film, and even made it impossible to include a flaming letter R visual effect that Selznick had wanted for the finale.
** And of course, UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode created ''Hollywood'' meddling as they were forced to change the cause of Rebecca's death from the novel.
* FakeBrit: Judith Anderson, a native of Australia who moved to America at age 21 and spent the rest of her life there, as Mrs. Danvers.
* FountainOfExpies: Practically every portrayal of the CreepyHousekeeper is either based on Mrs. Danvers, or on [[Film/YoungFrankenstein Frau Blücher]],[[note]]*WHINNY*[[/note]] who Creator/MelBrooks specifically intended as a parody of Danvers.
* HostilityOnTheSet: Creator/LaurenceOlivier treated Creator/JoanFontaine horribly, feeling his wife Creator/VivienLeigh should have had her part instead. Hitchcock told Joan that everyone else hated her too, in order to create an authentic feeling of isolation for her.
* HypotheticalCasting: Creator/LaurenceOlivier lobbied hard for his then-girlfriend Creator/VivienLeigh to be cast as Mrs. de Winter. They did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qU_JnSp7qw screen test]] together, but Creator/AlfredHitchcock and David O Selznick didn't think she was right for the part.[[note]] Some critics have suggested that Leigh would have been perfect for the role of Rebecca if she were not TheGhost.[[/note]] Leigh later played the part alongside Olivier in a 1950 radio adaptation.
* PlayingAgainstType: Mildly for Gladys Cooper. At this point in time, she was usually cast as antagonistic upper class women - most famously in ''Film/NowVoyager''. While Beatrice is still an overbearing upper class woman, she's easily the nicest of Maxim's social circle.
* QueerCharacterQueerActor: Mrs. Danvers was one of the first unambiguously lesbian characters in a major Hollywood film, and Judith Anderson ''may'' count as this, but it's a bit controversial. She was (briefly) married twice, but there's some solid evidence pointing to her being bisexual.
* RealitySubtext:
** The second Mrs de Winter's feelings of inadequacy, that she can't compare to Rebecca, rather eerily parallel Joan Fontaine's rivalry with her older sister Creator/OliviaDeHavilland. In their youth, Olivia was the one who was pushed as an actress while Joan was TheUnfavourite of the family.
** The 2020 film is a remake of a much-loved film about a woman who cannot live up to her predecessor.
* TheRedStapler: Sort of. After the success of the movie in Spain, the jackets Creator/JoanFontaine wears were known as 'rebecas'. They're still called that to this day.
* TheShelfOfMovieLanguishment: After completion, the film sat on the shelf for a month before David O. Selznick could work on the final cut.
* TroubledProduction: Production on the film started five days after World War II broke out, causing lots of problems with the mostly British cast and crew. Alfred Hitchcock's perfectionism slowed production down, to the point where he refused to allow lights to be set up during camera rehearsals - because he found the noise distracting. Within two weeks, the film was behind schedule. Stagehands went on strike during filming and Creator/JoanFontaine suffered a nasty flu. The film ended up going $500,000 over budget.
* WagTheDirector: A weird case in which the director had to Wag the Producer: Creator/AlfredHitchcock had to resort to some tricky measures to get around producer David O. Selznick's creative demands. Among others, he edited "in-camera" -- shooting only the scenes he wanted to include in the final cut so that Selznick couldn't recut the film if he didn't like it. This is why, for example, the film does ''not'' end [[{{Anvilicious}} with a giant "R" appearing out of the smoke]] from the burning Manderley, as Selznick originally envisioned.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** Early drafts of the script [[NamedByTheAdaptation named the heroine Daphne]] (as in Daphne du Maurier). This was the heroine's name in the early drafts of the novel too.
** Creator/JoanFontaine's sister Creator/OliviaDeHavilland was a strong contender for Mrs de Winter, but she dropped out upon learning that Fontaine was also being considered. Creator/MaureenOHara claimed in her autobiography that she was the first choice. Creator/AnneBaxter had the support of Selznick's staff, but he overruled them and chose Fontaine. Creator/SusanHayward was also considered.
** Hitchcock wanted Creator/RobertDonat for Maxim [=DeWinter=], but Donat didn't really care to leave England. Selznick and Hitchcock both offered the role to Creator/RonaldColman, but he turned it down, feeling it would be bad for his image. Creator/DavidNiven was dismissed as being too young. Creator/WilliamPowell expressed interest, but Selznick felt Creator/MetroGoldwynMayer demanded too high a fee to loan him out. Creator/LeslieHoward and Creator/MelvynDouglas were also considered.
** Selznick wanted the smoke from the burning Manderley to spell out a huge "R". Hitchcock thought the touch lacked subtlety. While Selznick was preoccupied by ''Film/GoneWithTheWind'', Hitchcock was able to replace the smoky "R" with the burning of a monogrammed négligée case lying atop a bed pillow.

* TroubledProduction: The now-cancelled Broadway production, as detailed [[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/theater/rebecca-the-musical-and-the-vanishing-act-of-its-investor.html here]] and [[https://youtu.be/roIueOG7_N4?si=3ZO-MWKt8ErbnhgR here]]. After a successful run in continental Europe, producer Ben Sprecher cancelled the London production as, due to an ancient stream found under the theater preventing the creation of a trapdoor for the staircase set piece, it became too costly. Even so, he decided it was ready for ''Broadway''. A mysterious British investor, supposedly named "Paul Abrams", then put $4.5 million into the play... more than 10 times what the biggest-rolling investors usually throw into a Broadway musical, even one that's been wildly successful in London. But no one had ever heard of Abrams, and the producers later claimed they never met him in person. In September 2012, Abrams supposedly died of malaria. Yet there had been no obituaries for a wealthy man who died of malaria in the British newspapers, and no death certificates listed malaria as a cause. A spokesman for the estate refused to take phone calls, and used an email address that had been created a month earlier. Sprecher (who had never been lead producer on a Broadway musical) had already built the sets, so he lost millions when the production was cancelled the following month. The FBI arrested a stockbroker on Long Island for his attempt to defraud the producers by fabricating the foreign investors who were prepared to put the $4.5 million in. Things got worse when ''Rebecca''’s publicist, Marc Thibedeau, was found to have been emailing future investors and advising them not to invest in in the show, having caught on that Abrams wasn’t a real person.

* TroubledProduction: The now-cancelled Broadway production, as detailed [[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/theater/rebecca-the-musical-and-the-vanishing-act-of-its-investor.html here]]. After a successful run in continental Europe, producer Ben Sprecher cancelled the London production as too costly. Even so, he decided it was ready for ''Broadway''. A mysterious British investor, supposedly named "Paul Abrams", then put $4.5 million into the play... more than 10 times what the biggest-rolling investors usually throw into a Broadway musical, even one that's been wildly successful in London. But no one had ever heard of Abrams, and the producers later claimed they never met him in person. In September 2012, Abrams supposedly died of malaria. Yet there had been no obituaries for a wealthy man who died of malaria in the British newspapers, and no death certificates listed malaria as a cause. A spokesman for the estate refused to take phone calls, and used an email address that had been created a month earlier. Sprecher (who had never been lead producer on a Broadway musical) had already built the sets, so he lost millions when the production was cancelled the following month. The FBI arrested a stockbroker on Long Island for his attempt to defraud the producers by fabricating the foreign investors who were prepared to put the $4.5 million in. Things got worse when ''Rebecca''’s publicist, Marc Thibedeau, was found to have been emailing future investors and advising them not to invest in in the show, having caught on that Abrams wasn’t a real person.

** Music/TaylorSwift based "tolerate it", the fifth track off her album ''{{Music/Evermore2020}}'', partially on ''Rebecca'', stating that she could relate to the heroine's efforts to love and be loved by someone who is seemingly ambivalent to her.

* ReferencedBy: The novel plays a key role in Creator/KenFollett's thriller ''The Key to Rebecca'', in which it's used as a code book by a German spy ring operating in Cairo during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* HostilityOnTheSet: Invoked. Creator/LaurenceOlivier treated Creator/JoanFontaine horribly, feeling his wife Creator/VivienLeigh should have had her part instead. Hitchcock told Joan that everyone else hated her too, in order to create an authentic feeling of isolation for her.

* TroubledProduction: The now-cancelled Broadway production, as detailed [[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/theater/rebecca-the-musical-and-the-vanishing-act-of-its-investor.html here]]. After a successful run in continental Europe, producer Ben Sprecher cancelled the London production as too costly. Even so, he decided it was ready for ''Broadway''. A mysterious British investor, supposedly named "Paul Abrams", then put $4.5 million into the play... more than 10 times what the biggest-rolling investors usually throw into a Broadway musical, even one that's been wildly successful in London. But no one had ever heard of Abrams, and the producers later claimed they never met him in person. In September 2012, Abrams supposedly died of malaria. Yet there had been no obituaries for a wealthy man who died of malaria in the British newspapers, and no death certificates listed malaria as a cause. A spokesman for the estate refused to take phone calls, and used an email address that had been created a month earlier. Sprecher (who had never been lead producer on a Broadway musical) had already built the sets, so he lost millions when the production was cancelled the following month. The FBI arrested a stockbroker on Long Island for his attempt to defraud the producers by fabricating the foreign investors who were prepared to put the $4.5 million in. Things got worse when ''Rebecca''’s publicist, Marc Thibedeau, was found to have been emailing future investors and advising them not to invest in in the show.

* TroubledProduction: The now-cancelled Broadway production, as detailed [[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/theater/rebecca-the-musical-and-the-vanishing-act-of-its-investor.html here]]. After a successful run in continental Europe, producer Ben Sprecher cancelled the London production as too costly. Even so, he decided it was ready for ''Broadway''. A mysterious British investor, supposedly named "Paul Abrams", then put $4.5 million into the play... more than 10 times what the biggest-rolling investors usually throw into a Broadway musical, even one that's been wildly successful in London. But no one had ever heard of Abrams, and the producers later claimed they never met him in person. In September 2012, Abrams supposedly died of malaria. Yet there had been no obituaries for a wealthy man who died of malaria in the British newspapers, and no death certificates listed malaria as a cause. A spokesman for the estate refused to take phone calls, and used an email address that had been created a month earlier. Sprecher (who had never been lead producer on a Broadway musical) had already built the sets, so he lost millions when the production was cancelled the following month. The FBI arrested a stockbroker on Long Island for his attempt to defraud the producers by fabricating the foreign investors who were prepared to put the $4.5 million in.

* PlayingAgainstType:
** Mildly for Gladys Cooper. At this point in time, she was usually cast as antagonistic upper class women - most famously in ''Film/NowVoyager''. While Beatrice is still an overbearing upper class woman, she's easily the nicest of Maxim's social circle.
** ''Big time'' in the [[DuelingDubs 2019 New Era Movies]] Japanese dub: Mrs. Danvers is voiced by Creator/YukoMiyamura, aka [[Franchise/NeonGenesisEvangelion Asuka Langley Soryu (or Shikinami in Rebuild)]]. This is especially relevant here as Miyamura is normally typecasted on voicing younger girls or young adults. [[https://twitter.com/NEMofficial3/status/1253658882053820416 Voicing an creepy-sounding elderly woman like Mrs. Danvers]] is definitively outside of her modus operandi.

** The 2019 film is a remake of a much-loved film about a woman who cannot live up to her predecessor.

* RelationshipVoiceActor:
** In the [[DuelingDubs 2019 New Era Movies Japanese dub]], [[Creator/SaoriHayami Ms. de Winter]] and [[Creator/ShinichiroMiki Maxim]] are [[Manga/HeavensLostProperty Ikaros and Minos]] respectively.
** In the DVD Japanese dub, [[Creator/TakakoHonda Ms. de Winter]] and [[Creator/RikiyaKoyama Maxim]] are [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Anko Mitarashi and Yamato]] respectively.

** David O. Selznick originally wanted Nova Pilbeam, who turned in memorable performances in two of Creator/AlfredHitchcock's British films (the original ''Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch'' and ''Young and Innocent''), as the female lead, but her agent balked at his contract offer, and Hitchcock wanted an American actress in the role. Creator/LaurenceOlivier lobbied hard for his then-girlfriend Creator/VivienLeigh, and they did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qU_JnSp7qw screen test]] together, but Hitchcock and Selznick didn't think she was right for the part.[[note]] Some critics have suggested that Leigh would have been perfect for the role of Rebecca if she were not TheGhost.[[/note]] Leigh later played the part alongside Olivier in a 1950 radio adaptation. Creator/JoanFontaine's sister Creator/OliviaDeHavilland was a strong contender too, but dropped out upon learning that Fontaine was also being considered. Creator/MaureenOHara claimed in her autobiography that she was the first choice. Creator/AnneBaxter had the support of Selznick's staff, but he overruled them and chose Fontaine. Creator/SusanHayward was also considered.

* UsefulNotes/AFIS100YearsSeries:
** AFIS100Years100Thrills: #80
** AFIS100Years100HeroesAndVillains:
*** #31 Villain, Mrs. Danvers

* AFIS100YearsSeries:

** David O. Selznick originally wanted Nova Pilbeam, who turned in memorable performances in two of Creator/AlfredHitchcock's British films (the original ''Film/TheManWhoKnewTooMuch'' and ''Young and Innocent''), as the female lead, but her agent balked at his contract offer, and Hitchcock wanted an American actress in the role. Creator/LaurenceOlivier lobbied hard for his then-girlfriend Creator/VivienLeigh, and they did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qU_JnSp7qw screen test]] together, but Hitchcock and Selznick didn't think she was right for the part.[[note]] Some critics have suggested that Leigh would have been perfect for the role of Rebecca if she were not TheGhost.[[/note]] Leigh later played the part alongside Olivier in a 1950 radio adaptation. Creator/JoanFontaine's sister Creator/OliviaDeHavilland was a strong contender too, but dropped out upon learning that Fontaine was also being considered. Creator/MaureenOHara claimed in her autobiography that she was the first choice. Creator/AnneBaxter had the support of Selznick's staff, but he overruled them and chose Fontaine.

* BlackSheepHit: Creator/AlfredHitchcock had two big restraints as he directed the film--he was subject to the ExecutiveMeddling of producer David O. Selznick, and he promised Creator/DaphneDuMaurier that he'd keep the film faithful to the novel, since she'd loathed the major liberties that his adaptation of ''Literature/JamaicaInn'' had taken with her book.[[note]]Though most of that was the fault of Creator/CharlesLaughton, who co-produced ''Jamaica Inn'' as well as starred in it, and refashioned it into a vehicle for himself, essentially [[WagTheDirector taking control of the film]][[/note]] In particular, Hitchcock clashed with Selznick over various aspects of the production (for instance, Selznick often disagreed with Hitchcock's heavily storyboarded vision for the film), and the film has very little of Hitchcock's standard fast pacing and wit. As a result, even though this was the only film Hitchcock directed to win Best Picture and it earned him his first Best Director nomination, he didn't consider it part of his canon, and today many would still agree with that assessment. As one blogger has put it, "It's a classic, but it's not classic Hitchcock," though [[CreepyHousekeeper Mrs. Danvers]] and [[SmugSnake Jack Favell]] definitely fit the familiar Hitchcock villain mold. Still, the film's success earned Hitchcock his AuteurLicense.

** Hitchcock wanted Creator/RobertDonat for Maxim [=DeWinter=]. Selznick and Hitchcock both offered the role to Creator/RonaldColman, but he turned it down, feeling it would be bad for his image. Creator/DavidNiven was dismissed as being too young. Creator/WilliamPowell expressed interest. Creator/LeslieHoward and Creator/MelvynDouglas were also considered.

* AuteurLicense: This was essentially Hitchcock's final film before obtaining one. He and producer David O. Selznick clashed over various aspects of the production (for instance, Selznick often disagreed with Hitchcock's heavily storyboarded vision for the film). As a result, even though this was the only film Hitchcock directed to win Best Picture and it earned him his first Best Director nomination, he didn't consider it part of his canon.

** Creator/LaurenceOlivier lobbied hard for his then-girlfriend Creator/VivienLeigh to be cast as the lead, and they did a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qU_JnSp7qw screen test]] together, but Creator/AlfredHitchcock and David O. Selznick thought she was too glamorous for the part.[[note]] Some critics have suggested that Leigh would have been perfect for the role of Rebecca if she were not TheGhost.[[/note]] Leigh later played the part alongside Olivier in a 1950 radio adaptation. Fontaine's sister Creator/OliviaDeHavilland was a strong contender too. Creator/MaureenOHara claimed in her autobiography that she was the first choice. Creator/AnneBaxter was also considered.
** Hitchcock wanted Creator/RobertDonat for Maxim [=DeWinter=]. Creator/DavidNiven was dismissed as too young and Creator/WilliamPowell wanted it.

* SelfAdaptation: The book's uthor, Daphne [=DuMaurier=] wrote this play.

* RealitySubtext: The second Mrs de Winter's feelings of inadequacy, that she can't compare to Rebecca, rather eerily parallel Joan Fontaine's rivalry with her older sister Creator/OliviaDeHavilland. In their youth, Olivia was the one who was pushed as an actress while Joan was TheUnfavourite of the family.

* PlayingAgainstType: ''Big time'' in the [[DuelingDubs 2019 New Era Movies]] Japanese dub: Mrs. Danvers is voiced by Creator/YukoMiyamura, aka [[Franchise/NeonGenesisEvangelion Asuka Langley Soryu (or Shikinami in Rebuild)]]. This is especially relevant here as Miyamura is normally typecasted on voicing younger girls or young adults. [[https://twitter.com/NEMofficial3/status/1253658882053820416 Voicing an creepy-sounding elderly woman like Mrs. Danvers]] is definitively outside of her modus operandi.

* TroubledProduction:
** Production on the film started five days after World War II broke out, causing lots of problems with the mostly British cast and crew. Alfred Hitchcock's perfectionism slowed production down, to the point where he refused to allow lights to be set up during camera rehearsals - because he found the noise distracting. Within two weeks, the film was behind schedule. Stagehands went on strike during filming and Creator/JoanFontaine suffered a nasty flu. The film ended up going $500,000 over budget.
** The now-cancelled Broadway production of the musical adaptation, as detailed [[http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/theater/rebecca-the-musical-and-the-vanishing-act-of-its-investor.html here]]. After a successful run in continental Europe, producer Ben Sprecher canceled the London production as too costly. Even so, he decided it was ready for ''Broadway''. A mysterious British investor, supposedly named "Paul Abrams", then put $4.5 million into the play... more than 10 times what the biggest-rolling investors usually throw into a Broadway musical, even one that's been wildly successful in London. But no one had ever heard of Abrams, and the producers later claimed they never met him in person. In September 2012, Abrams supposedly died of malaria. Yet there had been no obituaries for a wealthy man who died of malaria in the British newspapers, and no death certificates listed malaria as a cause. A spokesman for the estate refused to take phone calls, and used an email address that had been created a month earlier. Sprecher (who had never been lead producer on a Broadway musical) had already built the sets, so he lost millions when the production was canceled the following month. The FBI arrested a stockbroker on Long Island for his attempt to defraud the producers by fabricating the foreign investors who were prepared to put the $4.5 million in.