Rebecca 

A British gentleman's innocent bride grapples with intrusive reminders of his deceased wife.

Stars:

Charles Dance, Diana Rigg, Geraldine James

Won 1 Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Charles Dance	...	Maxim de Winter 2 episodes, 1997
Diana Rigg	...	Mrs. Danvers 2 episodes, 1997
Geraldine James	...	Beatrice 2 episodes, 1997
Jonathan Cake	...	Favell 2 episodes, 1997
Emilia Fox	...	The Second Mrs de Winter 2 episodes, 1997
Tom Chadbon	...	Crawley 2 episodes, 1997
Denis Lill	...	Giles 2 episodes, 1997
John Branwell	...	Ben 2 episodes, 1997
Lucy Cohu	...	Rebecca 2 episodes, 1997
John Horsley	...	Frith 2 episodes, 1997
Jonathan Stokes	...	Robert 2 episodes, 1997
Kelly Reilly	...	Clarice 2 episodes, 1997

Storyline

Based on the Gothic romance novel by Daphne Du Maurier, Rebecca is a classic tale of love and hate. Maxim De Winter marries a woman half his age only a year after his first wife, the beautiful and accomplished Rebecca, dies. She finds herself in an aristocratic social world her middle class upbringing did not prepare her for, and housekeeper Mrs Danvers despises her for taking her darling Rebecca's place. But these are not the only problems to face...

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | topless female nudity | woman | housekeeper | gothic | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

PBS [United States]

Country:

UK Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 April 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rebecca

Filming Locations:

Charlestown, Cornwall, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carlton Television, Portman Productions, WGBH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min (1 Episode) 93 min (1 Episode)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jean Anderson's role as Max's grandmother is cut completely from the version aired on PBS and subsequently released to home video in the USA..

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Goofs

Emilia Fox has both ears pierced, twice, in each ear lobe, and this was clearly visible while portraying the character of the second Mrs de Winter, even though she only had one pair of earrings in at a time. In the 1920s piercing the ear multiple times was unheard of, and did not come into fashion until the 1980s.

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Quotes

The Second Mrs. de Winter: I've just been to tea with the Vicar and his lady wife. Did I wear the right hat?
Frank Crawley: Absolutely the right hat.

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Alternate Versions

Version aired on PBS and subsequently released to home video in the USA has 13 minutes cut from episode one. Cut scenes: Max and Mrs de Winter are shown spending another afternoon together, in between Mrs Van Hopper's party and her making plans to leave for New York. (2 min.) Mrs de Winter and Max in the hotel lobby after the proposal. (30 sec.). Max and Mrs de Winter on board a cruise ship before returning to England -- includes a bedroom scene and Mrs de Winter getting a makeover that displeases Max. (4 min.) Various scenes of scenery around Manderley, and Mrs de Winter walking around the house and gardens. (2 min.) Beatrice and Mrs de Winter lunching with Max's senile grandmother (Jean Anderson). (4 min.) While in the garden, Mrs de Winter sees Mrs Danvers and Jack at the window. (30 sec.) Episode two has approx. 10 seconds edited out of the scene when Mrs de Winter and Max are talking while lying in bed. Although all the dialogue still remains, the nudity was censored.

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Connections

Version of Rebecca (1940)

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Soundtracks

Charleston
(uncredited)
Music by James P. Johnson

User Reviews

more romantic, less scary, but very good

I enjoyed this version of Rebecca very much. This one is more focused on the romance than the excellent version from Hitchcock. It must be said that the romance in this version is more realistic than the one with Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. Do not get me wrong, I adore the film. But it was quite obvious that the late, great LO was much younger than his alter ego Maxim the Winter. I found the romance in this mini series more convincing because some scenes where added which are not in the book (the honeymoon for instance). It gives the character of Maxim De Winter more warmth and passion. Charles Dance has the advantage that he is about the same age as Maxim and therefore (in my honest opinion) more convincing than LO. Mr. Dance is an excellent actor and he gives a very good performance as Maxim. I was also quite pleased with the performance of Emillia Fox. I had never heard of her before, but I hope to see more of her work in the future. Her portrayal of a young insecure woman who tries to cope with the memory of her husband's first wife was quite impressive. Faye Dunaway made a very amusing Mrs. Van

Hopper. Diana Rigg portrays Mrs. Danvers rather as a tragic character than as a villain. I found this approach very refreshing.

I would also like to add something to a comment made earlier in another review of this mini-series. Someone mentioned that the second Mrs. De Winter first name is Caroline, because in the party scene she is announced as Lady Caroline De Winter. This is of course completely wrong. Lady Caroline is the name of the lady from the painting. It is not Mrs. De Winter's first name, which isn't mentioned at all. I hope that this clears this matter once and for all.