Alfred Hitchcocks "Rebecca" is an iconic Gothic romance adapted from Daphne DuMauriers famous novel, and was successful enough with contemporary audiences to win Best Picture in 1940. Constructed through Hitchcocks calculated, deliberate technique, the haunting absence of Rebecca serves as a focal point of mystery and desire in the film, subtly exploring the societal and sexual role of women and questioning the ideal definition of femininity.

Berenstein, Rhona J.  “Adaptation, Censorship, and Audiences of Questionable Type: Lesbian Sightings in ‘Rebecca’ (1940) and ‘The Uninvited’ (1944).”  Cinema Journal, Vol. 37, No. 3 (Spring, 1998), pp. 16-37.

In her article, Bernstein addresses the taboo subject of lesbian desire as it is subtly depicted in Rebecca.  Even up until the modern day, she explains, societal recognition of lesbians is consistently and unfairly suppressed.  Rebecca deWinter serves as an undeniable object of lesbian desire, at a time when female homosexuality was even less societally accepted and understood than it is today.  Even though she is dead and unseen, Rebecca is arguably the most powerful presence of the film, not to mention its namesake. 

The young heroine feels the wrath of Rebecca most acutely, and is constantly reminded of her omnipresence through her physical possessions and the undying loyalty, and possibly sexual desire, of Mrs. Danvers toward Rebecca.  Introducing this subversive suggestion of lesbian desire was risky during the time when Rebecca was made, and it violated specific mandates of the production code.  In the early stages of the film’s production, Joseph Breen, the head of the Production Code Administration (PCA) at the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America (MPPDA) wrote a series of letters to David O. Seiznick indicating his objections to Rebecca.  The most urgent objection, and thus the aspect of the film which was most readily changed, was that Maxim is left unpunished by the law despite murdering his wife – accordingly, in the film version, the incident is depicted as accidental.  Next, Breen objects to the implication of Rebecca as a sexual pervert, and finally to the illicit relationship between Jack Favell and Rebecca, which is suggested to result in an illegitimate child.  The second objection subtly implies but fails to explicitly mention the film’s treatment of lesbian desire, though Breen’s intentions are clear. 

Thus, not only is the depiction of lesbian desire within the film understated, but even the censorship evaluation dances around the issue.  The depiction of lesbian leanings in a mysterious, frightening film like Rebecca is an interesting statement, as the ghostly quality of Rebecca pervading the narrative is echoed by the lesbian’s unseen yet acutely recognized presence within society.

Hingham, Charles.  “Hitchcock’s World.”  Film Quarterly, Vol. 16, No. 2, With a Special Survey: Our Resources for Film Scholarship (Winter, 1962-63), pp. 3-16.

Despite hackneyed declarations of Alfred Hitchcock as one of the premier film directors of all time, Charles Hingham examines the validity of these sweeping claims, particularly in regard to Hitchcock’s ability, or lack thereof, to convincingly portray human passion.  Hingham asserts that, while Hitchcock is a master at fabricating suspense and fear, he proves unable to depict either intellectual or physical passion.  He is the master of exploiting the audience’s empathies, vulnerabilities, and repressed desires, yet often fails to effectively render the depth of human emotion on screen. 

To Hitchcock, actors were merely tools which he could manipulate within the greater sphere of his cinematic vision.  Enjoying total control over the resources available to him and, arguably, his audience, Hingham declares that film was a sort of game for Hitchcock, an arena for his free manipulation.  Hitchcock’s films, he argues, are highly stylized and unrealistic, almost abstract in a way, and while they do not lack calculated, educated technique, the ultimate effect is more theatrical than convincing. 

Rebecca is uncharacteristic of Hitchcock’s style with its neat, feminine storyline, and Hingham declares that the twisted infatuation of Mrs. Danvers with Rebecca is the sole element retaining the characteristically disturbing, ambiguous Hitchcockian quality.  For Hitchcock, the plot of a film was vastly subordinate to the stylistic and visual ways in which this framework could be exploited to affect the audience.

Salt, Barry.  “Film Style and Technology in the Forties.”  Film Quarterly, Vol. 31, No. 1 (Autumn, 1977), pp. 46-57.

Barry’s discussion of film technology includes abundant technical details regarding specific advances made in each category of filmmaking during the 1940’s.  He begins by explaining that the most widely-used 35mm camera in the 1940’s was the Cunningham Combat Camera, but after World War II, 16mm footage was able to be converted to 35mm use.  The first 16mm camera able to record synchronous sound filming was the Berndt-Maurer pro camera, but it was replaced in 1942 by the Auricon single sound system camera which is still used today.  A major trend beginning in 1939 is that toward longer takes, with a measured increase in average shot length among films progressively later in the forties.  The ability to produce longer takes arose partially due to increased camera mobility, as structures such as crab collies allowed for ease and freedom of camera movement.

Modern zoom lenses arose in the late forties, and the use of new coated lenses allowed for increased clarity in “against the light” filming situations such as the projector scene in Rebecca between Maxim and his young wife, their white faces cast starkly against a dense black background.  Also, angle-reverse angle cutting first proliferated in the forties.  Hitchcock in particular is known for using point of view shots, such as the eyeline match, more than other directors, and these make up a large proportion of his angle-reverse angle shots.  This technique was also an effective way of ensuring audience involvement, for it allows the spectator to feel as if he is actually present and viewing the scene through the eyes of a character.  Further, the angle-reverse angle shot is effective because much more emotion can be detected on an actor’s entire face than from his profile alone, so the intricacies of acting are more acutely communicated using angle-reverse angle.  Finally, this filming technique provides the audience with changing views and thus sufficient visual stimulation to maintain their interest. 

A final innovation of the forties was in the area of lighting.  In 1940, small spotlights were introduced with photoflood bulbs.  Interestingly, the most notable increase in costs for studios based on lighting was the higher wages required to pay the additional electricians on staff.  The forties were also a period of increased on-location shooting.  However, there were no major advances in optical effects or sound recording during the forties.  The increased average shot length is the most notable trend in film technique that occurred during that decade, a technique which was used frequently by Hitchcock and contributes to both audience engagement and direct acknowledgement of the feminine perspective in Rebecca.