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Good evening. Welcome to the Golden Years of Hollywood.
Just three, not two, but three great films.
Although the third one will not be shown in Adelaide.
And here are our three films tonight.
First Rebecca, then comes our Academy Award winner, Grand Hotel.
And later after Grand Hotel, a very short but wonderful picture.
Roxy Hart with Ginger Rogers set in the 20s based on the play that was the inspiration for the musical Chicago
in which Geraldine Turner, Nancy Hayes starred to great effect in Australia on the stage.
Also another special item tonight for you.
Thanks to Annie Purvis and Warner Home Video, I have a delightful surprise for everyone who is a movie fan.
You'll be asked two questions tonight. Let me tell you something.
A lot of people said to me, make the questions harder.
Well they are a little harder tonight and I think you'll enjoy the questions and finding the answers.
Right, here is the main prize.
A copy of the videocassette of the movie Batman that's coming out for Easter.
A copy of the CD of Prince for Batman.
And you might see there, it's very tiny, but it's the Batman watch which I believe is worth more than $100.
Also involved in our prize, we have a jacket with the Bat insignia on it and also a shirt.
I won't show you the jacket or the shirt. I think you'll enjoy them.
The shirt has a picture on it that I don't quite approve of so I'm not going to show it.
Now, we'll give you two questions. At the end of Rebecca, you will have the address to which you must send your entries.
And furthermore, you will have one question about Rebecca and one question about Grand Hotel.
And now, let's have a look at some of the salient points of Rebecca.
Alfred Hitchcock always said this is more a Selznick film than it is an Alfred Hitchcock film.
It's both. The leading players, Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine.
An interesting story for you right now. Some of you may not like this story but I'll tell it anyway.
Laurence Olivier was hoping that Vivian Lee would play the second Mrs De Winter.
David O'Sullnick and some of his associates, including George Cukor, found Vivian Lee most unsuitable for the part.
And I think they were right. In her place came Joan Fontaine who gives a perfect performance.
It appears that Laurence Olivier was so upset that he was quite rude to Joan Fontaine.
And even worse in behaviour was Alfred Hitchcock who kept telling Joan Fontaine that nobody wanted her in the picture except him.
That Laurence Olivier didn't think much of her as an actress. How cruel.
And Joan Fontaine had a birthday party in her early twenties during production and Laurence Olivier didn't even bother to attend. How rude.
So she was ill at ease, edgy and feeling very insecure when she made Rebecca.
It shows in her performance which of course is perversely great for her performance as the second Mrs De Winter. She's perfect.
And just about perfect too is Judith Anderson, our own Judith Anderson, now in her eighties and appearing in Santa Barbara.
Judith Anderson as Mrs Danvers. Originally they did think of Gayle Sondergaard but Judith Anderson was just right.
And also in the cast as Rebecca's cousin, Vivelle, is George Sanders.
The kind of part that made him very popular in the late thirties and right through the forties, fifties and into the sixties.
The cast also includes several other great character players who give the film a lot of its English ambience.
Reginald Denny for example on the left hand side of the screen and to the right there we have Cecile Brishmiss.
By the way another point about Laurence Olivier. Would you believe that originally Selznick thought of casting William Powell as Max De Winter?
What a strange notion.
Now here are a couple of other people I'd like to draw your attention to. Two favourites of mine and possibly of yours too. Nigel Bruce and Gladys Cooper.
The cast, the music of Franz Waxman, the magic of the opening, everything about this film attests the genius of two people.
Producer David O. Selznick who insisted on this film being close to the original, the book by Daphne du Maurier and also the wonderful Alfred Hitchcock.
I believe that Hitchcock and Selznick working together set up a series of tension and tension getting situations which were for the good of this most remarkable movie.
If ever a movie could be called a classic of the golden years Rebecca is it. And now your favourite.