Queer Visibility through the Production Code - an analysis of Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca

Created for my Queer Film and TV class last semester :)
The character of Mrs. Danvers in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1950 film, Rebecca, is an excellent example of how queer visibility manifested on-screen during the mid-1900s under the Production Code. While denotative depictions of queerness were prohibited, directors and producers could get away with implying that a side character was queer if they also condemned this part of their identity. One way this was done was by making the villains or antagonists in stories gay.
My goal for this project is to create a simple video essay highlighting one example of queer visibility during the Hayes Code era. While watching The Celluloid Closet during our screening, I took note of both Rebecca and Dracula’s Daughter. Both films feature lesbian villains though this fact is not spelled out explicitly in either film. Vito Russo writes, “gays as predatory, twilight creatures were a matter of style and personal interpretation in the horror films of the 1930s” (The Celluloid Closet p38). Unfortunately, this fed into the common narrative at the time that gay/lesbian people were evil.
Mrs. Danvers is supposed to be an off-putting character- this is alluded to through both her style and manner of speech and her long gazes and close following of Max’s new wife. A rather somber character most of the film, Mrs. Danvers only shows emotion and affection when talking about Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers’ obsession with Rebecca is met with confusion, disgust, and even fear from the other characters in the story. One scene in particular near the end of the film highlights this phenomenon when Mrs. Danvers takes the new girl on a tour of the late Mrs. De Winter’s room. By the end of the scene, the girl is crying in a mixture of fear, discomfort, and jealousy.
I didn’t put this in the video essay but I also believe that Rebecca and Mrs. Danvers had an affair for several reasons. For one, Rebecca visited a doctor near the end of her life under the name Mrs. Danvers- this could be coincidental but I believe it’s because they were in love. Also, Max himself reveals that he and Rebecca were never in love and that “love was a game to her, only a game.” Maybe heterosexual love to her was “only a game” because Rebecca was a lesbian.

[@captainstrangiato961]

Wonderful video! I am working on Queer Horror Cinema Syllabus in one of my film courses, and came across Rebecca being queer coded. I appreciate this video contextualizing and putting my feelings about Rebecca into words! Also, I chatted with a TA about Rebecca and I mentioned to her that Mrs. Danvers has massive "Cunty" energy 😭 I fell in love with her character right away despite her hostility towards Mrs. de Winter.

[@sophiegoricanec1938]

Ahh yay I love finding fellow queer media enthusiasts 🎉🎉 that course sounds so interesting and I totally agree w you about mrs danvers having cunty energy 😭😭 she dgaf I love her I didn’t put it in the video but I added a comment at the end of the description ab how I think Rebecca and danny had an affair bc rebecca uses the code name mrs danvers at some point in the film and also Max described Rebecca as someone who wasn’t super into him or love in general- maybe cause she was queer too?? Sorry for the long reply lol but I just love how even in a time when it was literally illegal to celebrate and uplift queer love, people still found a way to be visible and some of the most iconic gay media ends up being from the Production Code era ☺️

[@maestroclassico5801]

Dame Judith Anderson just happened to be gay in real life.

[@sophiegoricanec1938]

Yes! Many actors who tended to be cast in LGBTQ roles were also queer in real life :) i.e. Marlene Dietrich

[@maestroclassico5801]

@@sophiegoricanec1938 watch WALK ON THE WILD SIDE (1962)..... Featuring 3 Lesbians.....Capucine, Anne Baxter, and Barbara Stanwyk

[@jeannettekim2748]

Greta Garbo?

[@maestroclassico5801]

@@jeannettekim2748 I think her too

[@nelliethursday1812]

​@jeannettekim2748 actually she was bi

[@eddihaskell]

I never picked up the lesbian aspect of Mrs. Danvers. I just thought she was into expensive underwear.

[@Marcia-fg4yb]

😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

[@palmaverdoni2157]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤