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Joan Fontaine is far too beautiful for this role.

posted 12 years ago by Bunnymonsterz
29 replies | jump to latest

Joan Fontaine is beautiful, and every time I watch this movie it irks me that no one acknowledges this. And I know that's silly, since she's *supposed* to be plain and mousy. But all this talk of the beautiful Rebecca and I just want to shout to the screen, "Idiots, look at the woman standing right in front of you!"

But while they had a hard time making Fontaine look plain, I think she did a fantastic job of making the 2nd Mrs. DeWinter timid, awkward and painfully self-aware.

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[–] Jessica_Rabbit69 12 years ago

I've said the exact same thing before in another post about Joan Fontaine in Suspicion.

In Hollywood the part of the "ugly/plain" woman can never be played by a really ugly or plain woman. It has to be a gorgeous actress made to look plain. The premise would never work with a really ugly woman. Nobody would watch the movie. The audience knows that the "plain woman" just needs a make-over and she will look beautiful.

Seriously, think of someone you find all around unattractive and envision her in this role. Just not possible.

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"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

[–] Hygrophonic 12 years ago

I don't think it's supposed to be taken that the second Mrs. DeWinter is ugly or plain, just ugly and plain by comparison to the "far more beautiful," first Mrs. Dewinter, Rebecca.

[–] joyfarrah 12 years ago

I think she's meant to be average looking, not 1/100th part as beautiful as Reb, but OK, if she knew how to make the best of herself, which she doesn't.

[–] PatriciaGB 12 years ago

Also she is the narrator herself so we are seeing everything through her point of view, she is very timid and definitely insecure but we cannot be sure of whether she is "objectively" plain or it's just the way she sees herself...

[–] butaneggbert 12 years ago

Exactly. The world, especially the Western world, is teeming with women who have no confidence in how attractive they are.

[–] Doc_Ostrow 12 years ago

Laurence Olivier was in love with Vivian Leigh and wanted her to play the part of "the second Mrs. De Winter". Leigh would have been perfect as a ghostly or flashback Rebecca because she was beautiful, as was Fontaine. Olivier said to Hitchcock: "Fontaine's horrible, ol' boy!". Hitchcock manipulated Fontaine by saying he was on her side, claiming the rest of the cast opposed her. This, of course, made her feel nervous, awkward, and timid- perfect for the part.

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[–] Otter (24464) 4 years ago

Leigh should have been the model for the portrait of Rebecca DeWinter. I mean, Fontaine was beautiful, but Leigh made her look like nothing!

[–] CrowWoman 12 years ago

Who said she was plain and mousy? Remember, "Rebecca" is narrated by the second Mrs de Winter, what means all we get from it is that she herself thought she was plain and unattractive. What doesn't have to be truth. Sure she didn't have that expansive beauty of Rebecca, she was shy and, at the beginning, badly dressed, but not plain.

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[–] kenny-164 12 years ago

Crow,

While you make good points here, there IS something about the film that tends to lend an objective basis to the notion that, at least comparatively, the second Mrs. de Winter was less attractive than the first.

During her first encounter with Frank Crawley, in what I think is the most strained part of the screenwriting for the film (or it may have come from the novel), the second Mrs. de Winter complains that she feels the burden of comparisons to Rebecca, and specifically mentions her appearance. Crawley, rather than minimizing her concern, as I think most gentlemen would do, in effect confirms them by saying more or less that "beauty isn't everything." Well, beauty isn't everything, but in the context of the conversation, his response tends to confirm that the second Mrs. de Winter suffered considerably by comparison. Which, as others hvae noted, is a rather difficult thing to imagine in real life with the beautiful Joan Fontaine as the supposed lesser of the comparitors.

Then Crawley ends the conversation by noting that Rebecca was "perhaps the most beautiful creature I have ever seen." Hm.

[–] Trimac20 12 years ago

No I didn't get the idea she was supposed to be average looking at all, more average in the sense of being of no class or breeding, just a 'showgirl he picked up in the South of France.' Her being good looking would make sense if a rich and handsome man would marry her.

[–] kenny-164 12 years ago

Trimac,

Good point here. The irony is that the clothing and hairstyle of the character seem to us today to show she was unaffected and straightforward, while her contemporaries in the film most likely felt she was showing a lack of class and even breeding. And of course those things were very much expected of people in those days to maintain the image of belonging to one's station and rank in life.

But there was no reason to expect a man like Max de Winter would marry a literally plain or average looking woman.

Having said that, for those somewhat familiar with Joan Fontaine's career might want to see her portrayal of the lead in Jane Eyre. The producers I think attempted to hide her beauty there with some different approaches such as unattractive hair styling, lighting and makeup. How effective that approach was in JE is somewhat debatable, although I do think she acted the role very well. Jane Eyre of course was supposed to be a literally plain looking woman, although I do think that was supposed to reflect her own lack of self image and confidence, which gradually increased as the film went on. But I digress.

[–] sbrady53 12 years ago

Take it as a comment on English class structure. She will never compare with Rebecca in the eyes of those status-conscious dolts, and the fact that Maxim must tolerate this charade is the agony of his life.

Note how she is immediately accused of promiscuity after sudden engagement, while the in crowd must have suspected Rebecca was giving it away left and right. The fact that Fontaine is achingly beautiful can only engender the audience's sympathy for her character.

The movie poster seems to homely her up considerably, in contrast to the ghostly image of Rebecca, who is not even depicted in the film. Do you suppose Hitchcock had approval of the poster?

Having said all that, Rebecca must have been some looker! Is that verified--or contradicted--in the novel?

[–] bron-tay 12 years ago

Filmmakers do this all the time. Have you ever seen the BBC Pride and Prejudice? I'm sorry, but Jennifer Ehle is altogether too gorgeous to be the "plain" sister.

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[–] rrb 11 years ago

Part of what makes Fontaine's performance so effective is that her shyness and gawkiness are so real, her beauty isn't the first thing you react to. And the fact that she is quite lovely makes Maxim's attraction to her that much more believable.

[–] elena-28 11 years ago

There's a not so nice story about Joan Fontaine's sister, the lovely Olivia de Havilland, who, presumably, when very young, composed a mock last will testament. In it, she said that she gifted her beauty to Joan since Joan had none of her own.

So there is some kind of odd perception that Joan was not beautiful (I don't agree); as it turned out, this kind of plays in her favor in roles like the second Mrs. deWynter or Jane Eyre.

Incidentally, regarding the post concerning _Pride and Prejudice_, I'd say that Elizabeth is not considered to be plain, just not as beautiful as sister Jane. The plain one in the Bennet family is Mary, and here is Jane Austen herself on the matter:

"Her [Elizabeth's] performance was pleasing, though by no means capital. After a song or two, and before she could reply to the entreaties of several that she would sing again, she was eagerly succeeded at the instrument by her sister Mary, who having, in consequence of being the only plain one in the family, worked hard for knowledge and accomplishments, was always impatient for display."

[–] brcanson-371-320454 11 years ago

I agree whole-heartedly with you Bunny and felt the same thing while watching the film. Joan Fontaine is very beautiful.

[–] 11 years ago

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