Revealing mistake: The first morning the new Mrs De Winter is at Manderley, she goes to have breakfast, but when she attempts to pour milk into her coffee, there's no milk in the jug; she's just pretending to pour it.
Rebecca (1940)
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: George Sanders, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson, Laurence Olivier
Revealing mistake: After Maxim leaves a note, saying he'll be gone for the day and having him gone should be a welcome relief for her, the girl sits in the morning room, crying. As the camera moves away from the girl, some flowers on the right jiggle from being hit by the camera.
Other mistake: On the first morning at Manderlay, as the girl is leaving the dining room, she slips and nearly falls but Frith is there to catch her, but Frith was way into the dining room; there is no way he could have been close enough to catch her.
Trivia: Hitchcock's cameo appearance, a signature feature of his films, takes place near the end. He is seen outside a phone box when Jack is making a call.
Trivia: When George Sanders pokes his head in the car window where the girl is, alone, he says "Marriage with Maxim is not exactly a bed of roses." Joan Fontaine, who played the girl, called her autobiography "No Bed of Roses."
Maxim de Winter: Please promise me never to wear black satin or pearls... or to be 36 years old.
The Second Mrs. De Winter: I've been thinking.
Maxim de Winter: Now why would you want to go and do that for?
Maxim de Winter: She was incapable of love or tenderness or decency.
Question: While the De Winters are watching their honeymoon photos, the girl says "I suppose that's why you married me, because you knew I was dull and gauche and inexperienced, and there would never be any gossip about me." Maxim stops the film and, looking like death, says "Gossip! What do you mean?" She says "I don't know. Don't look at me like that. What's the matter? What have I said?" Maxim says "It wasn't a very attractive thing to say, was it?" She says "No. It was rude, hateful." Now, why did she say that? And why did Maxim say what he said? All she said was "There won't be any gossip about me." What's the problem with that?
Question: In the back seat of De Winter's car, at lunch from the inquest, I can't get all of what Favell says: As he throws a chicken bone out of the car window, he says, "By the way, what do you do with old bones..." and then I lose it. At the end, he says, "however, for the time being."
Chosen answer: From the screenplay of "Rebecca" which I found on-line, and verified by looking at two different versions, the entirety of the line is: "By the way, what do you do with old bones? Bury them, eh what? However, for the time being - you know, Max, I'm getting awfully fed up with my job as a motor-car salesman."
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Chosen answer: Maxim was previously married (unhappily) to Rebecca, who died tragically and under rather mysterious (and suspicious) circumstances, sparking rumors. Maxim thinks his new wife is referring to that, but she knows nothing about it and was only making an innocent remark, unaware of the rumors. The "rude, hateful" part probably refers to the "dull and gauche and inexperienced" comment - she probably thinks that is what caused his reaction, rather than the "gossip" comment, given she doesn't know the rumors. She is very young and naive and feels inadequate as the wife of a wealthy man. Maxim is older, intimidating her somewhat, and she was confused by his angry outburst.
raywest