Rebecca (1940)

I love this movie. Joan Fontaine plays the second Mrs. de Winter, never given a first name in either the book by Daphne Du Maurier or the movie. While working as a companion to an elderly rich woman, the second Mrs. de Winter meets Mr. de Winter at a resort in Monte Carlo. He is moody and mysterious from the moment she meets him, an encounter during which he appears to be about to jump off of a cliff. She is completely unsure of what to make of him or if he even likes her. She is taken by surprise when he proposes marriage to her rather than lose her, when her companion packs up to sail off to New York.

When the second Mrs. de Winter arrives at the luxurious Manderley with her new husband, we find out why it is that she has no name of her own. She is living in the shadow of the first Mrs. de Winter... Rebecca. She is also at the whim of the creepy Mrs. Danvers, who came to Manderley with Rebecca and has remained devoted to her even after her assumed death in a boating accident. Mrs. Danvers is not so happy to see a new Mrs. de Winter taking Rebecca's place. And Mr. de Winter is too moody and busy to notice what is happening to his new wife. Or does he regret having married her at all?

Really the only thing that annoys me in Rebecca is the way Mr. de Winter treats his new wife from the moment he meets her. I know he is supposed to be a damaged, grief-stricken man, but being damaged and grief-stricken are more handy for explaining away intense moodiness than for explaining away why he thinks his new bride is a little child.

(1)"I'm not hungry."

"Eat up like a good little girl."

(2)He hides her tennis racket behind a plant after declaring they should go for a drive.

(3)"Stop biting your nails."

(4)"I'm asking you to marry me you little fool!"

But the future Mrs. deWinter does not seem to mind any of this. It seems to be what she expects. It is only the intense moodiness that seems to get her down. I suppose I should just be happy to be a young woman in the 21st century. Three stars, and I want Joan Fontaine's wardrobe from the movie. I would definitely see this again someday. It also makes me want to reread the book.

The Devil's Disciple (1959)

I have a fascination with Revolutionary American history (especially Thomas Jefferson), so I got very excited when one of the blogs I occasionally read (http://boston1775.blogspot.com/ or http://americanrevolutionblog.blogspot.com/...sadly I can't find the post again) mentioned a movie set in 1777 in New England. Not only did it have a revolutionary theme, but it starred Burt Lancaster (known to me as an acrobatic pirate), Kirk Douglas, and Laurence Olivier. No Thomas Jefferson in this movie, but it seemed like it might be entertaining. It was, but possibly not in the way intended by the director. It contains lines like, "Stop howling woman!"

The movie is actually based on a play by George Bernard Shaw. Burt Lancaster (the man in the center who looks as though he would be comfortable swinging from mast) plays a minister, Anthony Anderson. Kirk Douglas plays Richard Dudgeon, "the devil's disciple," a man who left town long ago because he was tired of the religious ways of his family. Laurence Olivier is a relatively kindly British officer. Who is that woman under Kirk Douglas's arm? Why, it is Judith Anderson, the wife of the minister... This picture seems to hint at the odd love triangle that makes up part of the movie. Anderson and his wife are dragged into rebellion when the Laurence Olivier character hangs Dudgeon's father and leaves the body on display as a warning to all would-be rebels. Dudgeon returns to town to cut down his father's body and bring it to Anderson for a burial. When the British soldiers eventually realize that there is a new gravestone in the graveyard with the name of the man who was supposed to be hanging on display, they went to the Anderson home to arrest Anderson, whom they believed must have been behind cutting the man down.

Side note: I thought that Kirk Douglas's character was reminiscent of Beetlejuice and other Michael Keaton characters. Barbara felt that he reminded her of Matthew McConaughey.

In any case, when the British soldiers arrive at Anderson's house, Anderson is not home. He has gone to talk with a sick neighbor. Who is home? Dudgeon and Judith Anderson. Anderson thought that Dudgeon would be safe in his house, and instructed Judith to serve Dudgeon tea while he was gone, despite the fact that Judith claims to find him slimy and creepy. Dudgeon pretends to be Anderson and is arrested. It remains unclear throughout the rest of the movie whether Dudgeon has done this to get closer to Judith (about whom he makes many remarks throughout the film) or because he cannot help himself from protecting the life of another man. Long story short, Judith of course becomes infatuated with Dudgeon for what he has done, and Anderson goes into hiding and becomes a rebel, finally becoming the pirate Burt Lancaster that I know and love. But will Dudgeon hang? And will Judith ever love her husband again? Since I am only giving this movie one star and am not recommending it for viewing, I'll tell you. No and yes. All ends well in Revolutionary America.

(The star is for the best part of the movie...little paper action figures that act out marching and battles on top of a map during narrated portions between scenes.)

Pride and Prejudice (1940)

As huge fans of P&P, Jessica, my OTHER friend Jess and I all have strong opinions about the movie and TV versions. We all strongly prefer the BBC miniseries to any other version - all five hours of it.

However, Jessica and I had never seen this version, so we'd thought we'd check it out.



The first thing you notice - and how could you not notice? - are the HUGE dresses. Completely out of keeping with the period and not exactly fashionable in 1940 either. It's like they set this in the same era as "Gone with the Wind". We decided when we saw the stripes in the bottom of the bonnets that they just picked the period costumes they thought would be the most fun.

The entire plot is collapsed: the character of Wickham, who doesn't appear until what you might call the second act of the novel, is in the picture right away. He interacts with Darcy, which he never does in the book. And everything from the book happens strikingly quickly.

The score is very perky and ever-present which is odd for a period piece. Also the are all kinds of anachronisms - like the little tinkly bells in the shops and pig-tails on sister Mary.

The movie is so wrong that the few lines that are actually the same as they are in the book jump out at you.

However, and this is a big however, so it bears repeating - HOWEVER - there can be no denying that Laurence Olivier is a good choice for Darcy. The looks he gives Elizabeth, the way he works every moment that he is on camera - instead of just waiting for his next cue - really stands out. He is smoldering with desire, he is struck dumb with embarrassment, he is stiff and awkward with injured pride - I really believe, after seeing this, that Colin Firth studied him before playing Darcy in the miniseries and quite rightly so.

There are other problems with this movie, though, that make it hard to enjoy LO. It was Jessica who quickly observed that Elizabeth is too old. That's true, but it doesn't bother me nearly as much as some of the other things. Like the costumes, and the missing scenes. Most significantly: Elizabeth never goes to Pemberley, and Darcy never happens in on Elizabeth just after she has read the letter telling her about her sister's disgrace.

Will probably not watch twice.
Three stars. One is for LO. One is purely in honor of Jane Austen's great plot.
The other one is for going all out, whether or not it was poorly spent, it's clear that the studio went for it with the budget.