Rebecca (miniseries)
| Rebecca | |
|---|---|
Cover of the UK DVD release
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| Written by |
Arthur Hopcraft Based on the novel by Daphne du Maurier |
| Directed by | Jim O'Brien |
| Starring |
Charles Dance Emilia Fox Diana Rigg |
| Composer(s) | Christopher Gunning |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom Germany |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 2 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Tim Buxton Jonathan Powell Rebecca Eaton Rikolt von Gagern |
| Producer(s) | Hilary Heath |
| Cinematography | Rex Maidment |
| Editor(s) | Michael Parker |
| Running time | 178 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Carlton Television Portman Productions in association with WGBH Tele München |
| Distributor | ITV Studios |
| Release | |
| Original network |
ITV (UK) PBS (U.S.) |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Audio format | Stereo |
| Original release | 5 January – 6 January 1997 (UK) 13 April 1997 (U.S.) |
Rebecca is a 1997 British/German television serial directed by Jim O'Brien. The teleplay by Arthur Hopcraft is based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier.
The serial was filmed for Carlton Television by Portman Productions in association with WGBH and Tele München. It was broadcast in the United States as a presentation of Masterpiece Theatre on PBS.
While vacationing in Monte Carlo in 1927, Maxim de Winter meets the young and somewhat naive British companion of Mrs. Van Hopper, a typical Ugly American whose bout of influenza frees the girl – who, as in the original novel, is never identified by name – to spend time with the wealthy widower. When Mrs. Van Hopper announces plans to return to New York City, Max proposes to the girl and brings her to his Cornwall coast estate known as Manderley. There a large household staff is supervised by Mrs. Danvers, who was devoted to Max's first wife Rebecca, the victim of a sailing accident some ten months before, whose battered body was discovered forty miles up the coast and identified by her distraught husband.
The new Mrs. de Winter feels overwhelmed by the vast manor, and Mrs. Danvers does nothing to put her at ease, although she finds a friend in Frank Crawley, who oversees the estate. The young bride's discomfort with her new lifestyle isn't helped by the fact the memory of Rebecca has a strong hold on Manderley and all of its inhabitants and visitors. Lacking self-confidence, she commits one faux pas after another until she is convinced Max is still deeply in love with his seemingly perfect first wife and regrets his impetuous decision to marry his second one. She is also curious about a cottage on the beach and Ben, a dimwitted scavenger who constantly assures her he has said nothing and begs her not to commit him to the asylum, references the girl doesn't understand.
Max's sister Beatrice and brother-in-law Giles convince him to revive his custom of hosting an annual costume ball at the estate. Mrs. Danvers suggests Mrs. de Winter replicate a dress worn by a family ancestor in a portrait hanging in the gallery. The girl complies, unaware the same costume was worn by Rebecca to much acclaim shortly before her death the previous year. When Max sees her descend the staircase just before the arrival of their guests, he furiously demands she change into a different dress.
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