Just for fun, suppose this story were episodic like a Edna Ferber story and had started 5 or 10 years earlier than we meet the characters in Monte Carlo. Suppose Rebecca herself appeared in the first part of the film depicting her marriage with Maxim. Who, in 1940 would have been cast as Rebecca?
shareAnswering my own question... It just occurred to me this morning when I saw part of the movie "Holiday".... Katherine Hepburn! In 1939 when this was made she is drop dead gorgeous, able to do a haughty upper class accent and has a great figure. Wonder why I couldn't see it before.
shareI love Katharine and she is gorgeous in that film but I don't think she'd be good at playing a promiscuous woman. Well, not 1930s Katharine anyway.
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https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CRZrfuSVEAALhQV.jpg
I always envisioned vivien leigh as Rebecca as she has that icy thing about her.
shareMy vote would be for Gail Patrick http://www.imdb.com/media/rm388608000/nm0665850known for her b*itcy roles and she was the voice of the wicked queen in Snow White) She'd be great to see with Mrs. Danvers!!
shareI imagined her looking like Hedy Lamarr.
shareI like the mentions here, but I think in terms of the performance, Vivien Leigh would be my choice, although Gene Tierney is an excellent second choice.
shareLoretta Young - Too wholesome
Katherine Hepburn - Too Yankee.
Gene Tierney - Close, but too young then
Besides, no American could believably play the role of a Englishwoman of wealth and position. Imagine Hepburn as an British aristocrat, with that New England accent!
Vivien Leigh - Closer, but...
The only actress who embodied du Maurier's description of Rebecca was Merle Oberon. Her extraordinary dark beauty fits Rebecca perfectly, more than Leigh. She'd have had no problem capturing Rebecca's elegance, allure and sexuality - she projected those qualities naturally. Imagine the mousey Fontaine up against the poised, exotic Oberon!
The only actress who embodied du Maurier's description of Rebecca was Merle Oberon.
Because Joan Crawford was so well noted for her versatility and posh poise. She'd have made a magnificent, unforgettable and indelible upper class British b!tch, without a trace of her American roots, working class persona, or her native Texan accent. Yes, and not at all common. Quite right. Nobody in Hollywood at the time could have rivaled her sadly unrealized performance as the hauntingly beautiful Rebecca Hildreth DeWinter, and Hitchcock would have been delighted to know and work with her. Right.
"I'm not afraid, Mother. I'm not afraid."
Besides, no American could believably play the role of a Englishwoman of wealth and position.
i definitely wouldn't have wanted to have seen rebecca, for reasons which i discussed on another thread but if she had been seen, of course my first thought was vivien leigh because everyone mentions her. but someone else suggested hedy lamarr and that is a pretty good alternative
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OCOE - obsessive compulsive olive eater
Despite my conviction that it was definitely for the best that the actual Rebecca is not seen, I have thought more about who would have best been cast in the part were it included. In that connection I of course withdraw an earlier suggstion that Gene Tierney be considered, as she in fact in 1940 would have been even younger than Joan Fontaine!
But... the Vivien Leigh concept does have some issues. She would have only been 27 in 1940. Assuming Rebecca would have been approximately mid thirties, is that not too young?
some other great beauties who might have been considered as of 1940:
Norma Shearer. She would have been 38. She also had a regal bearing suitable for the role.
Constance Bennett. Born in 1904, even closer to mid thirties than Norma. Another great actress and beauty of the period.
Joan Bennett. Constance's sister Joan I think was even more beautiful than Constance, imo, but would have been pushing it at only age 30.
Carole Lombard. Known more as an excellent comic actor by 1940, the exceptionally beautiful Ms. Lombard would have been 32, and not yet met her tragic death. Imo she would have been up to the role.
Joan Crawford. The young Joan was exceptionally beautiful, but imo did not age well. Was she still beautiful enough in 1940 to play Rebecca? She certainly had the bearing, presence and acting ability to do the job. Worthy of consideration.
Greer Garson. Would have been the right age, but as a practical matter did not yet have the presence in Hollywood in 1940 to have gotten this part. Her beauty was also more in her manners and personality, if you will, to be suitable for a role like Rebecca.
Katharine Hepburn. Ms. Hepburn was not really my type, but I recognize she was certainly beautiful in her twenties and thirties, and would have been 33 in 1940. She also had put behind her the box office poison label of the mid thirties. And she was no doubt up to the acting challenge of such a role. A possible choice no doubt.
Heddy Lamarr. Already mentioned here, she was the right age and certainly a great beauty. I frankly am not that familiar with her work to say she would have been right for the part, though.
Greta Garbo. 1940 had not yet seen her famous early retirement from films and the onset of her life as a recluse. At age 35 she would have been perfect in that respect, and had just come off the success of Ninotchka the year before. She may have been a bit too much in the part, though, but she was certainly beautiful and mysterious enough for the part. I personally am not that big a fan of her acting style, but she might have been a success as Rebecca.
Barbara Stanwyck and Merle Oberon are some other possibilities. On the other hand a great actress who would have been thirty, Claire Trevor, despite being very attractive imo did not have the regal sort of beauty required for this part. Neither did Joan Blondell or Mary Astor, imo (although I think both were great, as was Claire).
who would have been the best, assuming Vivien Leigh was really too young?
how did i forget norma shearer? of course she would be great for the face of rebecca. i'm a big fan of greta garbo and i think she could have also been rebecca in a flashback or in a picture, even if rebecca never actually speaks in it
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OCOE - obsessive compulsive olive eater
magilune,
Interesting you referred to Garbo and Norma Shearer from that list. I don't think either would have been my top choice!
Before saying more about this subject, which I obviously enjoy considering, I should say that there is a logic to the Vivien Leigh notion which is undeniable, and it flows from the relative consideration of Rebecca compared to Joan Fontaine playing the second Mrs. de Winter. While I consider Vivien Leigh to be one of the very greatest beauties of the twentieth century, and arguably the most beautiful film actress of the last hundred years, I say that in terms of considering her static form, meaning from a picture. But when one instead considers in addition movement, expression and at least my own take on sexuality and attraction, Joan narrows and I would argue eliminates the gap. In the film it is all well and good to accept the conceptual possibility, taking into account the second Mrs. de Winter's lack of confidence, plain clothing, makeup and hair, and the at least initial skepticism of the denizens of Manderlay, that Rebecca was more beautiful. But in real world terms it is difficult to think who would meet that standard. Not to digress but I have been aware of the criticism that Joan was too beautiful to be cast in this part. And by that is precisely meant that the notion that there could have been a character such as Rebecca who was clearly more beautiful is rather hard to swallow (I will not further digress by here defending the casting choice of Joan Fontaine in this role - it was the choice made for purposes of this discussion). Ergo it follows as a sort of process of elimination that Vivien Leigh is perhaps the only one who even arguably could be considered more beautiful if you will than Joan Fontaine, in the sense in which Rebecca was compared to teh second Mrs. de Winter. (I also recognize that is not the only reason why proponents of the concept argue for her in the casting choice of the role of Rebecca, ftr, but it is I think critical.)
In short I don't personally think ANY of hte women I listed yesterday meet Vivien Leigh's standard in regard to beauty. But we are left with the problematic consideration that Vivien was really too young to be cast as Rebecca.
Returning to your mentions, I certainly think Norma Shearer had the acting ability, presence and overall image to play Rebecca. But in 1940 was she really beautiful still enough to compare to Joan Fontaine, or was more so than others of the candidates I mentioned? I think not.
Greta Garbo would have been problematic for a different reason. While i recognize her great beauty, my own take on her was that much of her popularity was to be blunt not really based on her ability to play diverse roles. She tended to play the tragic ice beauty, and that was not who Rebecca was.
If one instead looks for a candidate who combines great beauty with performances in films that were close to what we know of Rebecca's character, I think it comes down to the Bennett sisters or Carole Lombard. Carole is as I mentioned known for being an exceptional comic actress, but in fact she was more than capable of playing dramatic roles. But how would she do as a dark haired beauty, a seeming requirement for Rebecca? (Or is it?) Ninety percent of the pics of Ms. Lombard out there are blonde, and the remaining ones are sort of reddish brown. I simply can't say how she would have looked with dark hair. Similarly Constance Bennett was blonde to light brown most of her career (there are a couple of dark haired pics of her here and there, I suppose).
Joan Bennett on the other hand specifically switched from blonde to nearly black, and changed her career, in the late thirties, and not coincidentally became a queen of film noir, playing roles rather similar I would think to what would be expected of Rebecca's character. As I mentioned yesterday, it would still have been problematic that Joan Bennett would have been only 30 in 1940, and Vivien Leigh proponents might well have argued the three year age difference between them was not significant. But I do think that is significant, since Joan B might already have been too young for the part.
Back to Constance Bennett, she probably could have looked great with dark hair, anyway, so I would not rule her out. But when one considers the look, the track record of what kind of parts were similar to what would be required to play Rebecca, I think Joan Bennett ends up being my first choice, with her sister Constance and Carole Lombard as runners up.
This link to a pic of Joan Bennett is further evidence in support of that argument:
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_megoxdaMwW1qi8jcb.png
I think that shows her as we might expect Rebecca would have looked in her partying mode, if you will, while this next one shows how she would have looked entering a room:
http://vickielester.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/joan-bennett-scarlet-street.jpg
Yep, I like Joan Bennett as the best candidate.
I also must mention in comparing Joan Bennett to Vivien Leigh that Joan was much admired by David Selznick, and was one of the final choices to play Scarlett in Gone With the Wind, losing out to Vivien in the end. Here is a remarkable pic of Joan in a screen test, playing the role of Scarlett. Amazing:
http://www.freewebs.com/hginpa/wind001.jpg
although i am showing my bias for garbo (i know she wasn't marketed as versatile at all and you're right on that point), I am just thinking of if they just showed her face for a split second. who would be that face? i don't know of joan bennet but that picture you showed me is beautiful. she could have played the face of rebecca hypothetically but she does perhaps look a little young? again, i know of carole lombard but not seen any films she was in just yet so i can't have an opinion on her just yet
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OCOE - obsessive compulsive olive eater
regarding Joan Bennett, she was older than Vivien Leigh. Many say she resembled (in addition to her sister) Heddy Lamarr, which she did, but I also see a resemblance, if not quite as strong, to Vivien Leigh.
kenny-164: The thread has most interesting suggestions, but I think the casting of Joan Fontaine was perfect. The rest of the actresses mentioned had too much backbone to be convincing. Better at playing at 'bitches' then the vulnerability that Ms. Fontaine showed in the role. Though believe Merle Oberon could have pulled it off.
The one that I think would have been the worst selection would have been her Sister, Olivia. She had a ramrod of steel in her spine, or as Jack Warner stated (paraphrased) from his biography 'behind those soft eyes was the mind of a computer'. I always remember the scene from HUSH...HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE 20th Century Fox (1964). Charlotte Harris (Bette Davis) and Miriam Deering (de Havilland) driving back home. Charlotte is babbling on, Miriam gets fed up slaps her and tells her to SHUT UP! There was more than acting in that scene. Davis was really afraid and de Havilland bent her to her acting will. Davis may have been able to intimidate Joan Crawford, but not Olivia. The difference between a bully and one who is not.
Xerses,
Oh I completely agree the casting of Joan Fontaine as the second Mrs. de Winter was not only right but perfect. One of the greatest casting choices I can think of, including such strokes of brilliance as Peter O'Toole as Lawrence and Marlon Brando as the Godfather.
The discussion I was instead following in my previous post concerned the possible casting of the character of Rebecca herself, were such a character to have been written into the story. Ftr I do not think it would at all have worked to have so written Rebecca herself into the story. But the point was if that had been done...
I still think if so Joan Bennett would have been the right choice in terms of age, beauty and acting talent. I think few people today are familiar with Joan Bennett, but google her image or even better see a great film she was in like Scarlett Street.
Ftr I could also see Linda Darnell in the role of Rebecca, but still think Joan Bennett is the better choice.
kenny-164: JOAN BENNETT, interesting choice. An underrated actress who really got going when she became a brunette. LINDA DARNELL, later on when she had more experience, but still believe JOAN FONTAINE had the right stuff.
shareDefinitely Vivian Leigh.
Again, in 1940 Vivien Leigh would have been only 26, turning 27 late in the year. Rebecca would have had to be in her mid thirties at the youngest. Leigh was too young for the part. Joan Bennett at least would have been 30. Check her out in Scarlett Street with Edward G. Robinson if you want to see what a hottie she was.
Joan Crawford would have been the right age, but unfortunately she was one who I think did not age as well as some others, and by 1940 she already was not near the beauty she was ten years earlier (check her out in 1930's Grand Hotel - absolutely stunning).
Ftr I also want to retract my earlier mention of Linda Darnell. she was not even 20 when Rebecca was made.
A brief mention I previously made of Joan Bennett's sister Constance perhaps deserved more consideration in hindsight. Born in 1904, six years older than Joan, Constance would have been the perfect age to play Rebecca. She also maintained her looks better than Joan Crawford. Constance mostly was a blonde, though, although earlier in her career she had dark hair (reversing the approach of her sister, who transformed her career by going brunette for the film noir roles she really succeed in). but she could have gone dark hair for this role.
In the late thirties Constance Bennett was best known for her comedy roles in the Topper series with Cary Grant as the male lead. Here's a pic I think from 1938 showing Constance as still a great beauty at age 34:
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/1/19/1326989578299/Topper-1937-008.jpg
And of course I recommend googling her image. Judge for yourself.
As for Joan Bennett, here is a link to a pic of her at age 31, which was 1941:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9hsL77AXh5w/TaaP8BOdhoI/AAAAAAAAB78/vlQ6xD6KSKY/s640/JBennettWorkin.jpg
So, I would go with either of the Bennett sisters.
Vivien Leigh or Margaret Lockwood. Apparently Vivien was supposed to play the 2nd Mrs DeWinter, I'm glad that was scrapped because I can't see her as the shy/fragile young bride, plus she'd be too beautiful to play someone who is supposed to be average looking.
It is my business to protect your majesty.... against all things.
Joan Fontaine was horrible in this movie! Very theatrical and untruthful performance.
I can't understand how she was nominated for an Oscar, but then again the Academy have made plenty of ridiculous nominations happen in its early days.
Joan Fontaine was horrible in this movie! Very theatrical and untruthful performance.Yes, too simpering, much as I otherwise love the film.
As Rebecca, Vivien Leigh!
She was only 27 in 1940 but she had the acting chops to suggest a more mature woman.
Second choice is Paulette Godard.
Paulette Goddard. Yes, we can just imagine the all-American good gal Goddard as an ultra-sophisticated member of the English upper class.
What were you smoking when you posted that?
only one person would havperfectly Rebecca, Ava Gardner. She would fit the physical psychological and emotional role perfectly.
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