1940 Hit Film Based on a Famous Book Ranked Among 'Best Movies of All Time'

Alfred Hitchcock's 1940 masterpiece, Rebecca, is still recognized as being an influential, beautifully crafted film. Rotten Tomatoes ranked the gothic romance, which was an adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's popular 1938 novel, as the 114th "best movie of all time."

The film has a score of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Joan Fontaine Opened up About Filming 'Rebecca' in a 1980 Interview

Joan Fontaine, who played Maxim de Winter's (Laurence Olivier) second wife in Rebecca, discussed the role in a 1980 interview with NBC Tomorrow. Fontaine, who died in 2013 at the age of 93, said she appreciated having the chance to star in the movie, which focuses on her character feeling minimized by the presence of Maxim's deceased first wife, Rebecca.

"It was a marvelous thing. I was 21 when I got it," recalled the British actress.

She said that she had Hitchcock, whom she described as "darling," and producer David O. Selznick's support throughout the filming of Rebecca. According to Fontaine, however, Olivier had been vocal about not wanting her to be his co-star. Instead, he wanted his first wife, Vivien Leigh, to be his on-screen love interest.

"He wanted Vivien Leigh. Indeed he did and said so," said Fontaine in the 1980 interview.

According to Fontaine, Hitchcock would give her both words of support and warning when it came to Olivier.

"Hitchcock used to say, 'Come on kid, I'm rooting for you but be on your best behavior. You know, you may get replaced.' It was an awful feeling," said Fontaine

In the NBC Tomorrow interview, Fontaine shared that she had difficulty watching herself in her earlier works, like Rebecca, Suspicion (1941), and The Constant Nymph (1943). She also suggested that she wished she could tell her past self to not pursue acting.

"It's very painful. First of all you feel like you're your own daughter in a sense, watching yourself. I remember I had to see The Constant Nymph at the Museum of Modern Art, I'm in the museum already. And I kept trying to say, 'Don't do it, get off that screen, go home, have babies, live in the country, go on a farm, don't do it,'" said Fontaine, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for playing her Suspicion character, Lina McLaidlaw Aysgarth.

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This story was originally published April 23, 2026 at 3:07 PM.