Title: Rebecca
Year: 1940
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Country: US
Language: English
During the Golden Age of Hollywood the Hays code forbid same sex relationships in American films. This did not deter the most creative, as filmmakers often found subtle and creative ways to inject queerness into their movies. Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940) is a remarkable queer-coded film; winning Best Picture decades before any openly LGBTT movie.
In Rebecca (1940) a self-conscious woman (Joan Fontaine) juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.
Based off the 1938 novel of the same name by noted bisexual Daphne du Maurier, Hitchcock's Rebecca can be viewed as a cautionary tale of patriarchy and heteronormativity. The wife dies shortly after an argument with her husband Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier), who says she told him things that can't be told to any other human being, because it could ruin his life. In addition, he claims their marriage was void of affection. They hated each other.
One person who didn't hate Rebecca was the housemaid Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson). She was infatuated with Rebecca and does everything she can to show Fontaine that she can't compare to Rebecca.
In the film's most famous scene Mrs. Danvers holds Rebeeca's underwear, asking "Did you ever see anything so delicate? Look, you can see my hand through it!” Emphasizing the see-through quality of Rebecca’s lace nightgown, Mrs. Danvers implies the intimacy of her relationship with Rebecca De Winter by suggesting her mesmerization with Rebecca’s naked body.
Similar to how The Shining's Overlook Hotel brings about the worst for out characters, so does the castle-like Manderlay in Rebecca. Mrs. Danver is haunted by the memory of her forbidden love. Maxim De Winter struggles with his masculinity & Fontaine struggles to adapt to her femininity. These are characters who can't survive in a heteronormative world.
Unfortunately the censors were wise to Hitchcock's subtext & had to make Mrs. Danver the villain of the film. As the villain, she was not allowed to live. Dressed like a witch, the scene evokes the Salem Witch Trials of the 1690's wherein many lgbt folk were put on trial.
While Vertigo is still my favorite Hitchock picture, followed by Rear Window & 39 Steps, Rebecca is a great film that is certainly rewatchable especially with a queer context in mind.
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