"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again..."

Turner Classic Movies this evening pulled another Hitchcock classic out of the vault. Rebecca, a murder mystery suspense-thriller based off of Daphne du Maurier's novel of the same name. The film is a masterpiece and perhaps one of the greatest romantic thrillers ever made. The film was Hitchcock's first under his stormy partnership with David O. Selznick. It also won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1940, although, in a moment of Oscar history, Selznick snatched up the award before Hitchcock could get to the stage. This is the only film Hitchcock ever won Best Picture for.

The story of Rebecca is a twisted romance which begins with Joan Fontaine's character (known simply as The Second Mrs. de Winter) being the companion to a rich matron on a trip to Monte Carlo. There she meets the wealthy, intriguing, and handsome Maximllion de Winter (Laurence Olivier). The two fall madly in love and everything seems wonderful, but when Maxim brings her home to his estate of Manderly, the honeymoon period is over. The staff are bewildered by the new Mrs. de Winter, and some, such as the frightening housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson) even go so far as to ruin the new marriage. The shadow of Maxim's first wife Rebecca loams large over the naive, ingenue second wife. The climatic end leads the new wife to discovering the truth nature of Rebecca's death and then her love for her husband is the only thing that can save him from Rebecca coming back from beyond the grave to ruin the new couple's happiness.

Hitchcock used black and white in this particular film because he thought it fit the mood better. The suspense built up at the end of the movie is trademark Hitchcock and absolutely frightening. As usual, the end has several twists and turns that even the most astute of moviegoers will have a hard time seeing ahead of time. Perhaps the full embodiment of everything a gothic novel should be, Rebecca is a suspense movie for any occasion.