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."
kh1616
19th Mar 2016
Rebecca (1940)
6th Jun 2014
Rebecca (1940)
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?
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.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
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."
Michael Albert