Factual error: Crawley tells the girl that Rebecca's body was in the sea for two months and Maxim had to identify her, which is totally ridiculous: A body in the sea for two months would have been eaten and nibbled on by everything that eats meat and is passing by; there would be hardly anything left.
Rebecca (1940)
1 factual error - chronological order
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Laurence Olivier, George Sanders, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson
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.
Maxim de Winter: Please promise me never to wear black satin or pearls... or to be 36 years old.
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."
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?
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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 ★