Rebecca Daphne Du Maurier

Film

The best known of the theatrical film adaptations is the Academy Award–winning 1940 Alfred Hitchcock film version Rebecca,[26] the first film Hitchcock made under his contract with David O. Selznick. The film, which starred Laurence Olivier as Maxim, Joan Fontaine as his wife, and Dame Judith Anderson as Mrs Danvers, was based on the novel. However, the Hollywood Production Code required that if Maxim had murdered his wife, he would have to be punished for his crime. Therefore, the key turning point of the novel—the revelation that Maxim, in fact, murdered Rebecca—was altered so that Rebecca's death was accidental. This change had not been made in Orson Welles' previous radio play which included a promotion of the film. At the end of the film version, Mrs Danvers perishes in the fire, which she had started. The film quickly became a classic, and at the time, was a major technical achievement in film-making.

1966 Turkish adaptation of the novel starring Cüneyt Arkın, Hülya Koçyiğit, Çolpan İlhan. The Turkish adaptation film is "Kıskanç Kadın".[27][28]

In 2020, there was a Netflix adaptation, directed by Ben Wheatley and written by Jane Goldman, starring Lily James as the second Mrs de Winter, Armie Hammer as Maxim, and Kristin Scott Thomas as Mrs Danvers.[29][30][31]

Television

Rebecca was adapted for The Philco Television Playhouse (10 October 1948), with Mary Anderson and Bramwell Fletcher;[32] Robert Montgomery Presents (22 May 1950), with Barbara Bel Geddes and Peter Cookson;[33] and Broadway Television Theatre (1 September 1952), with Patricia Breslin and Scott Forbes.[34]

Theatre '62 presented an NBC-TV adaptation starring James Mason as Maxim, Joan Hackett as the second Mrs de Winter, and Nina Foch as Mrs Danvers.[35]

Rebecca, a 1979 BBC adaptation, was directed by Simon Langton and starred Jeremy Brett as Maxim, Joanna David as the second Mrs de Winter, and Anna Massey (Jeremy Brett's former wife) as Mrs Danvers. It ran for four 55-minute episodes. It was broadcast in the United States on PBS as part of its Mystery! series.

Rebecca, a 1997 Carlton Television drama serial, starred Emilia Fox (Joanna David's daughter, in the same role played by her mother in 1979), Charles Dance as de Winter, and Dame Diana Rigg as Mrs Danvers. It was directed by Jim O'Brien, with a screenplay by Arthur Hopcraft. It was broadcast in the United States by PBS as part of Masterpiece Theatre. This adaptation is noteworthy for featuring an appearance by Rebecca, played by Lucy Cohu. It also shows Maxim saving Mrs Danvers from the fire, ending with an epilogue showing Maxim and the second Mrs de Winter relaxing abroad, as she explains what she and Maxim do with their days now they are unlikely ever to return to Manderley.

In 2008, a two-part Italian TV adaption, loosely based on the novel and named Rebecca, la prima moglie, aired on the national public broadcaster RAI. The episodes feature Alessio Boni as Maxim de Winter, Cristiana Capotondi as Jennifer de Winter and Mariangela Melato as Mrs Danvers.[36] The mini-series was filmed in Trieste.[37]

Noor Pur Ki Rani, an Urdu language Pakistani drama television series adaptation directed by Haissam Hussain and dramatized by Pakistani writer and author Samira Fazal, was broadcast on Hum TV in 2009. The main role was played by Sanam Baloch.[38]

Radio

The first adaptation of Rebecca for any medium was presented 9 December 1938, by Orson Welles, as the debut program of his live CBS Radio series The Campbell Playhouse (the sponsored continuation of The Mercury Theatre on the Air). Introducing the story, Welles refers to the forthcoming motion picture adaptation by David O. Selznick; at the conclusion of the show he interviews Daphne du Maurier in London via shortwave radio. The novel was adapted by Howard E. Koch.[39]: 348  Welles and Margaret Sullavan starred as Max de Winter and the second Mrs de Winter. Other cast included Mildred Natwick (Mrs Danvers), Ray Collins (Frank Crawley), George Coulouris (Captain Searle), Frank Readick (as Ben), Alfred Shirley (Frith), Eustace Wyatt (Coroner) and Agnes Moorehead (Mrs Van Hopper).[40][41] Bernard Herrmann composed and conducted the score, which later formed the basis of his score for the 1943 film Jane Eyre.[42]: 67 

The Screen Guild Theater presented half-hour adaptions with Joan Fontaine, her husband at the time Brian Aherne, and Agnes Moorehead (31 May 1943), and with Loretta Young, John Lund and Agnes Moorehead (18 November 1948).[43][44] Joan Fontaine and Joseph Cotten performed a half-hour adaptation 1 October 1946 on The Cresta Blanca Hollywood Players.[45]

The Lux Radio Theatre presented hour-long adaptations with Ronald Colman, Ida Lupino and Judith Anderson (3 February 1941), and with Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh and Betty Blythe (6 November 1950).[46][47] These were tie-ins to the Hitchcock film, and perpetuated the censorship of the novel which the Hays Office had imposed on that film, although Orson Welles' radio version which predated the film (and including a promotion for the film) was faithful to the original, asserting that Max de Winter had deliberately murdered Rebecca.[48]

Theatre

Du Maurier herself adapted Rebecca as a stage play in 1939; it had a successful London run in 1940 of over 350 performances.[49][50] The Talking Books for the blind edition read by Barbara Caruso borrows heavily from this stage adaptation which differs materially from the novel in many respects including changing the iconic ending of the novel.[51]

A Broadway stage adaptation starring Diana Barrymore, Bramwell Fletcher and Florence Reed ran 18 January – 3 February 1945, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.[52]

The book has also been adapted into a German-language musical, Rebecca, which opened in Vienna on 28 September 2006 and ran for three years. The musical was made by beloved duo Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay. The musical has been done all over the world.[53]

Opera

Rebecca was adapted as an opera with music by Wilfred Josephs, premiered by Opera North in Leeds, England, 15 October 1983.[54]