Friday, April 21, 2017

A To Z Challenge-Letter R


Nearing the end of the 3rd week and we are at the letter R. Head on over to see what other themes people have decided to write about over at the A To Z Challenge.


REBECCA-1940


DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock
STARS: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, George Sanders
OSCAR NOMS: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, Best Score
OSCAR WINS: Best Picture, Best Cinematography
PLOT: Young, mousy girl is wooed and weds moody but dashing rich man who takes her to his home, Manderley and introduces her to his staff including one of the most evil characters ever, Mrs. Danvers, who was the maid for Mr. De Winter's first wife...Rebecca. The house, Mrs. Danvers and her new husband all seem possessed by his late wife.....
LOVE: That house! I love those huge fireplaces
TRIVIA: Laurence Olivier wanted his lover/wife, Vivien Leigh to play opposite him but Hitchcock didn't feel she was right for the part. This created much evil stares by Olivier onto Joan Fontaine. Joan was one of very few non brits on this film so she felt very left out which Hitchcock used to his advantage for the mousy character Fontaine played. David O Selznick was a memo nut and often sent memos to Hitchcock who promptly ignored him and even banned him from the set. Hitchcock filmed this movie in such a way that Selznick could not edit anything to his way of liking.


REGINALD DENNY- November 20, 1891-June 16, 1967


OCCUPATION: Actor, Inventor, Businessman
OSCAR NOMS: Nil
OSCAR WINS: Nil
ANECDOTE: He loved model airplanes and had a store in Hollywood selling models. He helped invent radio controlled aircraft...drones...for the U.S. Army and over 15,000 were used during WW2. I think that's pretty cool.

21 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    Yessum, I also saw Rebecca during my Hitchcock binge and have always admired Joan Fontaine as well as her actress sister Olivia de Havilland.

    Remember when Hitchcock was quoted as saying that "All actors are cattle"? The legendary director had a way of getting the most out of the actors in his films. I am sure it included clever behind the scenes plotting and manipulation and inspired casting choices as described in your post. I also remember actor Reginald Denny from the late 30s Bulldog Drummond film series.

    Have a great weekend, dear friend BB!

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  2. Love, love love that film. And the book it is based on.

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  3. Hitchcock was a bit of a jerk, but he knew how to use and manipulate people to make the best film. Or just to get his way, the two often went hand in hand.

    R - JR Robertson, Toronto's First Literary Pirate

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  4. I've never heard of this movie before - thanks for spotlighting it. It doesn't sound like my type of movie, but the trivia was pretty cool. :) And nice about the drones!

    Visiting from the A to Z Challenge. You can see my "R" post here: https://lydiahowe.com/2017/04/21/r-is-for-raquel-atozchallenge/

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  5. Blogger eat my comment?

    Quite the drama fest behind the scenes on that one. Amazing what one can do, all from model airplanes.

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  6. Well you KNOW I've had to watch and read and watch and read and then again Rebecca. haha - good thing I like it.

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  7. Shady Del Knight mentioned above that Hitchcock compared actors to cattle. When interviewed by Dick Cavett, Hitchcock was asked about that. He claimed he'd never said that... exactly. He said that he'd suggested that all actors should be treated like cattle.

    Wikipedia says "Selznick added the 'O' to distinguish himself from an uncle with the same name." But I read somewhere that he added it to make himself sound "less Jewish," by making him sound vaguely Irish! Wonder if there's any truth to that?

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  8. I never did see this version of Rebecca. A few years back, they did a version on Masterpiece Theater on PBS, and I got hooked. Went back and read the book. Great story.

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  9. I had a chance to see this on TCM a few months back and didn't. It sounds like an amazing movie I would have liked. Too bad Fontaine was treated so poorly by Olivier.

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  10. Like Shady, I also remember Reginald Denny from the Bulldog Drummond series. Few people realize he was a pioneer in drone technology, which is becoming more a part of our lives. It also reminds me of the patriotism many Hollywood stars showed during World War II.

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  11. I haven't seen this movie in years but I recall enjoying it.

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  12. Yes, one I've seen! I've also read the book multiple times and love it.

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  13. Never saw the movie, I don't think, but I recently re-read the book. Bob Scotney included Manderley in his A to Z about Houses. He also reminded me of another duMaurier book King's General which I am about to re-read as well.

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  14. This is one of my favourites, Birgit! ☺ Interesting trivia behind the scenes. Joan Fontaine was good. Vivien Leigh seemed too sophisticated to have pulled off that 'mousey' naive wife role. Dame Judith was deliciously sinister as Mrs. Danvers. Have a good weekend!

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  15. "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley..." Great book, great film!

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  16. Hi Birgit - another wonderful book and subsequent films/programmes - I suspect this one by Hitchcock is the best. Fascinating to read about Denny and his involvement with drones ... cheers Hilary

    http://positiveletters.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/s-for-sheep.html

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  17. Hitchcock directing this catches my interest

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  18. I have seen it, but I don't remember much of any of this one. Hitchcock films are always worth rewatching.


    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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  19. Birgit, I haven't seen this Hitchcock flick. Is it on Netflix by chance? I'll have to check it out. Thanks for sharing. I love those old films. I'm playing catch up but thanks for visiting Art Sketching Through the Alphabet "R" (realistic rabbit & rascally road runner).

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  20. I remember this being a great film, I really need to start watching Alfred Hitchcock again. Love this guy!

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  21. I didn't know drones were used in WWII. Here's another movie I want to see now.

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