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Rebecca
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Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson in Rebecca Joan Fontaine and Laurence Olivier stand close together, looking concerned, in a black-and-white scene from the film Rebecca (1940), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Alfred Hitchcock stands in a coat and hat next to George Sanders, who is using a phone in a booth, with a police officer in the background in a scene from the film Rebecca.
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Rebecca

film by Hitchcock [1940]
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Quick Summary

Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson in Rebecca
Joan Fontaine and Judith Anderson in Rebecca Joan Fontaine (left) and Judith Anderson in Rebecca.

Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 film Rebecca is a psychological thriller based on Daphne du Maurier's novel. The story follows a young, unnamed narrator who marries the wealthy widower Maxim de Winter and moves into his grand estate, Manderley.1

The new Mrs. de Winter feels overshadowed by the memory of Maxim's first wife, Rebecca, who died in a sailing accident. The sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers, constantly reminds the narrator of Rebecca's perfection, fueling her insecurity.1

The suspense builds until a discovery reveals that Rebecca was not the paragon everyone believed. Maxim confesses he killed her in a fit of rage after she revealed she was pregnant by another man. The film culminates with Manderley burning down. The film was a critical and commercial success, winning the Academy Award for best picture.12

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2 Britannica Sources
  1. Rebecca
  2. Alfred Hitchcock - The Hollywood years: Rebecca to Dial M for Murder

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