Vivien Leigh screentest with Laurence Olivier for Rebecca

Joan Fontaine cast as the unnamed second wife of Max DeWinter played by Laurence Olivier. Before she won the role, Selnick auditioned several actresses. Vivien Leigh who was married t Laurence Olivier screen tested for the role as seen here. It's all kinds of ba.

[@Countrygirltori24]

Vivien Leigh is what I think Rebecca would look like.

[@cinnaplid]

I agree completely.

[@nursegrace7492]

Right! Rebecca was supposed to be tasteful and stylish, and in charge of all situations, with a touch of the ruthlessly perverse : ) Sounds like Viv.

[@elinhagglund33]

exactly what i thought!

[@Countrygirltori24]

I don't see her as the 2nd Mrs. DeWinter, but I can easily see her as Rebecca if that character was ever shown in the movie.

[@alef_19]

exactly!! i thought i was the only one that realize that

[@tanyaaa2590]

Joan Fontaine was PERFECT

[@Eurafrican]

I see why it went to Joan Fontaine, she was more naturally timid and came across as insecure as the character. Vivien Leigh was too assured and isn't as convincing as a diffident and insecure girl.

[@heywoodjablome7535]

My thoughts exactly. While Vivien is definitely very good here, I don’t feel any fragility and timidity in this test in the way that Joan Fontaine just radiates the second Mrs. de Winter’s inner feelings in every frame of the film. All I hear in this performance is Scarlett O’Hara.

[@DAVEJJR]

In my opinion, Vivien possesses too much strength of confidence and would have been all wrong, she's trying so hard to come across as vulnerable and weak, while Joan had the innocence and shyness and frailty that was needed to convey the right emotions naturally....

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

Perfect observation!!

[@nl2287]

Dave Jordan you rock. Very pretty thing you've made

[@robinrubendunst869]

Dave Jordan EXACTLY!!

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

Exactly.

[@mauricioexenberger6225]

Vivien could play any character. I think it is absurd for an already established actress, like herself, to have been passed over for a poor reason. Certainly, there were other interests behind the choice of Joan, an actress still inexperienced. Unbelievable!

[@bandicoot5412]

She's too strong for the character, Fontaine was spot on.

[@gulmerton2394]

Yes, I see Scarlet here. Not the shy Mrs DeWinter 2nd. Agree with everybody on that.

[@KL-zj8ru]

Vivien Leigh would have been all wrong. She can play manipulative women very well; here she sounds like she's playing at being a simpering girl in order to get what she wants, whereas Fontaine genuinely comes across as being innocent.

[@lyudmila2882]

True. She MIGHT have been able to write over the world's indelible image of her as Scarlett, done just the year before. But I sure would like to see her tell Mrs. Danvers, "I am Mrs. De Winter now."

[@jennyp4934]

I love Vivien Leigh, but she would have been totally wrong for this part. Joan Fontaine was perfect. She came across as young, naive and very innocent. Totally besotted and swept away with being Maxim's wife.

[@helencampbell4900]

@@jennyp4934 Joan was outstanding as the shy, nervous and inexperienced young wife. You could actually feel how awkward, worried and out of her depth she felt as mistress of Manderley. She was perfect for the part. Joan was so natural in the film.

[@jennyp4934]

@@helencampbell4900 I agree with you. Joan was perfect for the role.

[@maryhunt5171]

Just watched Rebecca two nights ago. Joan did a fantastic job using restraint on her character. Her facial expressions, her body, her voice took the backstage to Oliver's strength of character yet his lack of interest in her because of the unresolved crime hanging over his head. Much as Vivien's strength of projection, Joan's withholding if character was more in tune with the book. Daphne was an incredible writer!

[@waelwael1912]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 she's terrible

[@randywhite3947]

@@waelwael1912who is?

[@jeanniecostello3893]

Vivien was trying too hard to look innocent. Joan was perfect for this role with her natural innocent looks.

[@brunoantony3218]

The role was played by the right actress.

[@helencampbell4900]

Indeed. It was a fine performance by Joan. She was tailor made for the part. Hitchcock made the perfect choice in choosing. Not a good idea husband and wife acting together. They seemed as if they were doing just that. Acting.

[@witchingours4432]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Selnick chose the right actress for the role. Even here, Scarlett's spark is obvious. The casting of Joan Fontaine was genius. Somehow she became more attractive the more timid she became. It made it all the more glorious when she is given the chance to stand up for Maxim.

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

On the basis of Olivier alone, you would never know this was a screen test. Even with his back to the camera, he drew a fully realized character. Leigh would have been completely inappropriate as the wife. No one could have played that role as well as Joan Fontaine. It was one of the masterful portrayals of the Forties.

[@jmo5037]

I think Vivien's delicate beauty fit the second Mrs. de Winter more accurately. Vivien looked quite plain here in the dowdy clothes which is how the character was described in the book. Joan's look was too upper class.

[@mariedewitt5506]

Vivian Leigh was really more of the personality to be Rebecca than the mild Mrs. DeWinter. Olivier is giving a very different performance with her

[@mahnoorfatima331]

Yeah, more playful and unreserved. That's too obvious :D Reminisces their screen test for 'England is Burning'

[@nicolelcedergren2938]

@@mahnoorfatima331 I totally agree with you though the film you mean is Fire Over England!

[@AllenMQuinn]

Vivien Leigh and Hitchcock would have been electric together, but Joan Fontaine was so damn good.

[@jorgen4566]

Hitchcock was afraid by Vivien being too strong for him, he said that the Best role for her was Rebecca. I am astonished why they didn t use her beauty to show her as Rebecca.

[@fisherpeace560]

Vivien Leigh is very believable in this test, but as soon as compared to Joan Fountain, the latter is indeed more like the character

[@0pensourcegamer]

I will repeat it again and again: if Vivian Leigh could have a perfect role in "Rebecca", she would play Rebecca herself. It's so obvious! Shy and insecure characters are just not her type. So I wholeheartedly agree that Joan Fontaine was the best choice and I feel sad for her that Laurence Olivier and the whole crew treated her badly.

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

But that rejection may have actually helped her give that superb performance.

[@Samalabear]

Yes, turning lemons into lemonade, for sure. I've watched "Rebecca" twice on YT in the past year. Fontaine is just terrific. I loved her in "The Constant Nymph," as well.

[@belwils2938]

This is exactly what i want to say!!!

[@alef_19]

they treated her badly just because viven didnt get the role? laurence itself? that is so wrong. poor joan

[@jmo5037]

She's a great actress. She played the fading belle Blanche DuBois and Blanche was a different character to Scarlett. Not driven, aggressive but closer to the second Mrs. de Winter. She was able to achieve having this fragility that Blanche possessed which was executed perfectly onscreen. On the other hand, Vivien was not interested in Rebecca which is why this screen test didn't work.

[@MrQbenDanny]

There's a lot of Scarlett left over in this case, but her magic strength still captivating. Joan nailed it.

[@AMentorway4u]

What a Beautiful woman. Hands down. Intelligence extraordinaire.

[@waynem7634]

As much as I love Vivien Leigh as one of the great actresses of the 20th Century, I do think Selznick and Hitchcock were absolutely right in casting Joan Fontaine. Just comparing the two screentests, it is apparent that Vivien has not captured the emotional frailty so necessary to the character. She comes across as too intellectual and confident in her portrayal. Joan's characterization hits all the right notes of naivety and emotional delicacy needed.

[@ShadowWizard123]

You must be watching a different scene than I. 😃

[@debanjalihota4382]

U r absolutely right...loved Joan in the role....she was the v best in portraying the character. Superb casting

[@waelwael1912]

Joan was terrible on this film 😑

[@randywhite3947]

@@waelwael1912nope she was phenomenal

[@greenonions5296]

Yeah Joan Fontaine puts the audience in her shoes, Vivien Leigh is such a distraction she's drowning out Olivier.

[@davidcopson5800]

No pun intended?

[@shelovezcandy2852]

Fascinating. Thanks a lot for posting. I think Viven could have done the role but it would have been a stretch for her. She is a little too smiley in the test. If they had a done a flashback scene, I think she would have been great as the FIRST Mrs De Winter - the dazzling, heartless wife who the 2nd wife never felt she lived up to.

[@HuntingViolets]

Sometimes people smiling is a sign of being nervous, which the character is in this scene.

[@theateranonymous5322]

Olivier described Joan Fontaine rather cruelly as that 'silly little amateur', but I think that shy youngish nature was necessary for the role, besides no one who can endure the labours of a Hitchcock production can be regarded as an amateur

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

He was obviously just resentful that his wife was not cast. Great actor, but not always a very nice person. I don't blame Vivien Leigh for sucker-punching him in his sleep. Fontaine, incidentally, acted rings around him in the film.

[@robinrubendunst869]

INDEPENDENT FILM CHANNEL he was a theater snob.

[@alef_19]

i cant believe laurence olivier said those things, i always thought he was a gentelman

[@aquatera3815]

@@alef_19 the more I read about him the more I discover how rude he was towards people that he considered beneath him.

[@aquatera3815]

Fontaine by far did a better job in Rebecca than Olivier, she definitely overshadowed him, he probably felt upstaged and decided to be a prick.

[@pollyjagger4169]

Funny how Joan Fontaine auditioned for Scarlett O'Hara.

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

You sure about that? She's not included in the documentary.

[@pollyjagger4169]

According to wikipedia she is one of the many actresses considered for the main role. Of course that's not a very good source... You have to keep in mind more than a hundred women auditioned so it's not like they can mention them all in a documentary

[@dohaperson1]

She auditioned to play Melanie.

[@AustrianAdrian]

Joan suggested her sister for Melanie as she thought herself rather as Scarlett

[@chrisparkes2179]

@@pollyjagger4169 It would be quicker to list the actresses who *didn't* audition for Scarlett.

[@scattygirl1]

VL played several vulnerable roles, all of them brilliantly and would have done a very good job here too. The fact that she could probably have played Rebecca brilliantly as well is testament to what range she had as an actress. It's not an either/or, it's possible to think that both Fontaine and Leigh were right for the job.

[@randywhite3947]

It’s Mrs. Dewinters not Rebecca

[@HuntingViolets]

Yes, she could have done either Mrs. de Winter well.

[@randywhite3947]

@@HuntingViolets nah she’s too strong minded for the second one

[@mqp2000]

I love Vivien. She is my spirit animal 😆 As much as I would have loved to have seen her in this movie, Joan Fontaine's screen test was spot on. Vivien, as we all know, is a great actress and might have had to work her way to get to feeling inadequate and mousey where it may have been more natural for Joan. Like the 2nd Mrs. DeWinter living under Rebecca's shadow, I'm sure Joan can relate living under the shadow of her more successful older sister.

[@MikeA15206]

This is a master class in acting! It's a shame that actors are put into boxes and can only play the type of role that made them famous. If VL couldn't play timid, how did she manage A Street Car Named Desire.

[@randywhite3947]

I don’t recall her being timid in streetcar

[@1212matt]

I love Vivian Lee so much I could watch her forever

[@beckylink]

I am a huge fan of Vivien's work as well as joan Fontaine's and I agree that the part went to the right actress, but VIvien was indeed capable of playing shy and completely against type as she so poignantly demonstrates in Waterloo Bridge as the beautiful but sad "little defeatist" Myra Lester. She could have pulled it off with more work and direction, but as I said, I'm happy it went to Joan...she was so perfect for it. Vivien would have truly been a magnificent Rebecca in flashback and in paintings!!

[@jmo5037]

Joan was good but sometimes her expressions were too confusing that it looked weird. Vivien didn't do this well because she was uninterested in the part and only did this after Laurence Olivier was cast. So it's fair that the part went to Joan Fontaine. I think instead, that Vivien didn't understand the character but had she played this part, it would have been a treat knowing how layered the narrator was (unlike what others seem to think). And she wouldn't have failed because of her talent and the direction of Alfred Hitchock. Also, her beauty is of the delicate type that she can easily be made to look plain without the false eyelashes and other enhancing makeup.

[@randywhite3947]

@@jmo5037nah Joan was perfectly fine

[@akwock]

Wow, it's cool to see the screen tests side by side. I don't think it's as much a question of ability as much as understanding the character. Even in the way Leigh looks at him and her tone of voice, she is asking him to buy into her charm, and for him to confirm their happiness and disprove her insecurities. What Leigh asks of him, Fontaine asks of herself - to believe in the happiness and fulfillment so much that she wills it into existence and she lays all of the blame of her perceived shortcomings at her own feet. And I think this difference in interpretation was key to the whole story - their marriage, her dynamics with Mrs Danvers/ Rebecca's ghost, her reaction to the truth and her rapid maturation in the face of danger. Her self-effacing nature makes her fight for Maxim more than another woman would and it says a lot more about him than he ever says about himself. It's not exactly female empowerment, but I'd say it's a very genuine take on many women's experiences, and Fontaine understood it in a way that can't be communicated through a script or director.

[@ginnylorenz5265]

Thank you. a very interesting analysis. I enjoyed it very much.

[@todddrow6831]

Beautifully said, AGK! Fontaine possessed the intuitiveness to inhabit this character and make the role "her own". It's always special when a performance takes flight like this!

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

I'm a huge Vivien Leigh fan, but I can see why Fontaine got the role. If you imagine her paired opposite Judith Anderson you wouldn't have that contrast you get between Anderson and the softer, vulnerable Fontaine. They were right in selecting Fontaine.

[@scottweaverphotovideo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fJKwin2FYsaKprc

[@user-et5ng4wy2i]

Vivien is a great actress and she played this scene well but I think she needed to pause more before responding to Laurence. This conversation between her and Laurence was between an emotionally troubled woman feeling insecure and doubtful about herself and her lover/husband. So when Vivien responds too quick to Laurence in the scene it makes her come across as assure of herself, confident. But by making it look like she’s not that sure of herself, wondering why she does the things she does and says the things she says it comes across as someone who is a bit more insecure of herself, childish and afraid. In this scene Vivien tried to act unsure of herself and insecure but no one is buying it. She comes off as too confident because she is a confident actress and performer. I think she is aware of how talented she is and it comes across in her performance to an audience. That’s why she did so well in Gone With the Wind. She was perfect for that role because Scarlette needed to be played by someone who could steal a man’s heart with just one look at her or steal your man’s heart with one look at her. She needed to be confident and independent. We needed to believe her to be ruthless if need be and unfeeling of the others around her. To make sure she was never in “want again”. Vivian was perfect for that role because she can be all those things as an actress. However when it came to the second Mrs. De Winter, she needed to be the total opposite. Shy, insecure, timid, childish, even a bit eccentric. The way Joan portrayed her was perfect. She is the girl next door in appearance and exuded all of those things, she dressed plain and modest with her hair, and makeup. Joan is very pretty person but she is not devastatingly beautiful (think Debbie Reynolds and Elizabeth Taylor) so it’s not hard for the audience to believe her as the second Mrs. De Winter. To believe how a man like Maxim, rich and handsome could ever look at a girl like her, want her? That’s why no matter how good Vivien tried to play this part it would never work because she is too beautiful for the part. No one would believe that Maxim wouldn’t be crazy in love with her and still thinking about his former spouse. But the audience could believe he was still hung up on his first spouse when his spouse looked and acted like Joan did. So when she becomes the next wife and hears about the first wife, her confidence in herself and Maxim continues to deteriorate in her mind and she starts to go a bit mad, jealous over Maxims love for his first dead spouse. She becomes anxious over not knowing enough of what happened between Maxim and Rebecca and frustrated over what she did know about it. Not being able to ask the questions and get the answers she is dying to know from Maxim and those closest to him. She begins to doubt her own worth and her marriage. and Joan was able to play a woman desperately in love, yet also terribly afraid of her husband. Afraid of the truth, afraid to face it, afraid that Maxim never really loved her, afraid she wasn’t pretty enough, clever enough and that he was still very much in love with Rebecca. When I watch this movie and hear of Rebecca I imagine someone devastatingly beautiful, cruel and even depraved. Vivien is a Rebecca type not a second Mrs. De Winter type. I think Joan also brought a sweetness to the character and a childlike innocence that the character needed. The role of the second Mrs. De Winter might not have been as gorgeous as Rebecca. But the second wife had qualities that Maxim learned to treasure more; human kindness, decency, sweetness of character, innocence, loyalty, trust, faithfulness, caring for the feelings of others. Having more on her mind then how she looked. But when she learns the truth from Maxim she changes a bit in character. She still holds to her characters true nature but she slightly adds in a bit of confidence into her character which needed to happen once she knew the whole truth. Joan did this role perfectly. I know Laurence wanted Vivien but it would have been a mistake.

[@suyoun2713]

I can not believe it is an only screen test. It is already a master piece by Vivian.

[@djr6876]

I think she would have been good in the role, really. Maybe because it was so soon after GWTW, audiences might not have accepted her as a character so vastly different from Scarlet. Joan Fontaine ,however, played the role even more timid and nervous, ultimately a better choice.

[@louisejoles4339]

Yeah, Viv is much too smooth and sophisticated to play I.

[@barcalonga]

Maybe Viv wasn’t right for that role, but she’s certainly good! The expression in her eyes and angle at which she addresses Olivier is spot-on

[@pozitiv2979]

Thank God Joan Fontaine Got it...Vivien Leigh is a great actress, but this role is not for her.Ava Gardner or Jane Russell could be the first wife (Rebecca)

[@randywhite3947]

Absolutely not neither have the acting chops to do Rebecca (it pains me to say that since I love them both but it’s the truth).

[@nunienadal3920]

Omg, he DID make a huge mistake by not casting her instead of Joan! Just wow!

[@belwils2938]

And Joan Fontaine was a perfect Mrs. second de Winter

[@cesarzpontu8886]

Vivien Leigh would be great.

[@robinrubendunst869]

It's wonderful but she's still too self-possessed. Joan brings the true desperation of a terribly insecure girl who knows she's in over her head... the character is so insignificant that du Maurier never even gave her a first name!

[@quackslikeaduck]

Robin Rubendunst - I think Daphne du Maurier did give her a name -- she simply never told the reader what it was. Remember when Maxim says to her that she has a lovely and unusual name?

[@LaurenceDay-d2p]

Leigh was originally offered WUTHERING HEIGHTS with Olivier, but she turned it down to do GWTW. Good choice.

[@viviengiannacaple-chuley4408]

Poor vivien..I'd say perhaps she was just too in love with him at this point, and couldn't avoid sparkling when she gazes at him. (Nothing of the dowdy girl who is only ever named "the second Mrs Dewinter", in Daphne Du Maurier novel. She does,however,grow into the role when she has to appear jealous of Rebecca or worried that she has upset, "Maxim". I think she would have been alright IF, (she'd certainly a girlish enough build in 39-41,) she had stern directing and admonishment to "keep those dimples at bay". I suspect one sees a great deal more of Larry and vivien in this test, than "Maxim and his wife"

[@terrihilder8217]

vivien Gianna caple-chuley Good observation with the comment that in this screentest we are seeing more of 'viv and larry' than 'Maxim and his wife.' I read that VL gave two screentests for Rebecca. Don't know which this particular one is. VL had given one test the next day after GWTW filming had been completed. She herself said she knew it wasn't that good. She was given an opportunity to do another screentest a week later. Of course she still didn't get the role. I think she wanted to do the role because of Olivier. To be close to him. I am not sure she took the time to really understand the character. She had a little too much Scarlett going on. And seems too comfortable with Maxim. lol

[@quitequiet1]

Vivien’s first test was not with Olivier and it was worse than this one. This should be the second test.

[@PaminaStormborn]

There was another role at Larry's side which was denied her - the role of Cathy in "Wuthering Heights" went to the boring Merle Oberon because she was the bigger star at that time. Each time I watch this movie I imagine what a glorious Cathy Vivien Leigh would have been.

[@moonlightfitz]

Legendary.

[@nanahdaniel]

According legend Olivier treated Fontaine (the final choice for the role) very bad for that... and Hichcock used this against Fontaine told her that every member of the crew hated her too because of Mrs. Olivier ... lol genius, he was "mirroring" a situation and Fontaine was so perfect for the part.

[@belwils2938]

Joan was so poor. I feel sad.

[@lauramarcus2063]

Wow! What a find. Thanks

[@valkyriesardo278]

Perhaps I cannot look at Vivian without seeing Scarlet, Lady Hamilton, or Cleopatra. None of them were wall flowers. Larry wanted his wife to play Rebecca, but here Vivian seems just too coy and kittenish. Her efforts at self doubt look contrived because this woman has all the self-assurance of the exceptionally pretty. In this scene she is making too much eye contact. She looks Max straight in the eye. In the animal kingdom a direct stare is a challenge for combat. The averted glance signals submission and introspection. Olivier was less than cordial toward Fontaine during filming because he'd wanted Vivian instead. But the frost in his attitude only helped Fontaine's performance even while it detracted from his own. He never convinced me that Max felt any love at all for his second wife.

[@jennyp4934]

You've hit the nail on the head - it's the eye contact. Joan Fontaine's eye contact or lack of is what makes her look so vulnerable and insecure.

[@joansmith3296]

Leigh doesn't project the vulnerability Fontaine did. She seems too strong. Fontaine projected such shyness and timidity and fear. Joan Fontaine was a much better choice, I have to agree with Hitchcock.

[@princejohn6560]

In an autobiography of Vivien Leigh it was stated that the producers considered Leigh as too pretty for the part.

[@romanclay1913]

Watch WATERLOO BRIDGE, Leigh's favorite performance.

[@jorgen4566]

Vivien could play it, but in my opinion, she could be Rebecca herself being so beautiful and strong.

[@zero_bs_tolerance8646]

She would have been miscast. The second Mrs. DeWinter is described as a mousy lady's companion. Vivien was much too beautiful for this role. However, I've heard the radio version of this with Leigh and Olivier and it was superb.

[@HuntingViolets]

There's a radio version with Leigh and Olivier?!?!

[@zero_bs_tolerance8646]

@@HuntingViolets There's a channel called "Suspense & ESCAPE". You'll find it there.

[@nancysullas553]

the gorgeous Vivien Leigh saying the line 'I must have been a slap in the eye" is so absurd

[@smurfette_blues7922]

I honestly think vivienne would have been a good choice. She plays mrs dewinter demurely, but theres complexity. I can see a delicateness in her innocence, i can see the beginnings of it souring the longer she interacts with her husband. Its subtle like a ghost whispering. Sure, fontaine did the role just fine. But i think leigh was a better actor.

[@brendaannedufaur6244]

yeah, this is a good audition but leigh was not right for the part

[@AnnaMaria-oy1fp]

Gone with the Wind hadn't even premiered when this was being shot.

[@cwbrooks5329]

well, apart from the fact that she's so obviously more "Rebecca" than the "Second Mrs. DeWinter," the chemistry between these two is palpable, even when his back is to the camera. Not a chance in the world that he is missing any other woman, the one he's with is all that he desires.

[@AustrianAdrian]

Vivien Leigh proved she could play a shy caracter in Waterloo Bridge, but she never could play a plain one. She´s my favorite actress but in no way suited to the part of the 2nd Mrs de Winter. She anyhow would have been far better than Greer Garson in "Pride and Prejudice" and than Merle Oberon in "Wuthering Heights" (though both very good performances) just to mention two movies of the period with Olivier in a male lead

[@VTMCompany]

Wouldn't Viv have been simply wonderful as "Cathy!" Director Wyler offered her supporting "Isabella," and told Viv she'd never get a better role for her American film debut. Now what was that little picture she starred in about the South?

[@HuntingViolets]

Anybody can be made plain with makeup and lighting--although most of the time the "plain" character in a movie is the prettier one. Joan Fontaine was not even plain in Rebecca.

[@princessalexandra1613]

Vivien would have scared off Mrs Danvers at the first meeting!

[@arnesahlen2704]

Olivier is 'slumming' here relative to his screen persona; and the brilliant Leigh is totally wrong. Joan Fontaine could look beautiful, yes - but also plain and mousey in ways impossible for the stunning Vivien. Also, Joan's character-acting in the film aches with helpless, crushed hopelessness: Vivien here looks inconvenienced, a bit petulant, and rather on a par with Oliver's Maxim. Casting of leads worked very much in this film's favour.

[@flaggerify]

Scarlett wouldn't be afraid of Mrs Danvers. Joan was ideal.

[@timothyyhtomit]

True

[@HuntingViolets]

She's not Scarlett in every role. For pity's sake.

[@flaggerify]

@@HuntingViolets Yeah, I know that.

[@suelyfernandes4555]

Rebeca é um dos meus filmes favoritos. Brasil 2019

[@europeanamerican7658]

Vivien looks at him with a glance which brims with seduction and lust, in a scene which requires her to be insecure and afraid.

[@jenameagher5712]

Thanks! Joan was the better choice, even if it made Larry angry.

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Yet I do believe Joan Fontaine was the better choice. She had an awkward innocence Vivian, though consummate actress, would not felr comfortable to reveal.

[@mmjhcb]

This is a screen test. The Fontaine performance everyone alludes to -- i.e. the full movie -- was rehearsed, directed, filmed and distributed. Of course, Vivien Leigh could've done the role. And well.

[@HuntingViolets]

Thank you.

[@voyaristika5673]

I love Vivien, but Joan was perfect. Hitchcock was adamant about casting Joan, Selznick not so much. Apparently this was the role that put Joan on the map, so to speak. A great movie.

[@mtlicq]

I 💗Vivien Leigh 🌹

[@noshulal]

Joan Fontain was the Best Choice

[@gulmerton2394]

Vivien Leigh was the opposite of shy and frail. She just wasn’t the character. It is strange to see her in someone else than Scarlet...

[@fionamaddock3984]

G Ulmerton You need to watch Waterloo Bridge and St Martin's Lane. Vivien fantastic in these and very different characters to Scarlett!

[@HuntingViolets]

@@fionamaddock3984 Yes, you generally don't have to have the same personality as a character you play.

[@rococo9342]

風と共に去りぬスカーレットとは違ったまた魅力があります ヴィヴィアンは 愛情深くて親切で 周りを虜にしたって

[@secretariatgirl4249]

"Dull and quiet..." Nope!

[@robinrubendunst869]

She’s way too self-assured here. With direction she’d probably have found the timidity in the 2nd Mrs. DeWinter. She’s also missing the fearful desperation and denial.

[@herillness6280]

Oh so awfully fond of you dear Viv.

[@Vic1206]

Viv was far too charming for the role of the second Mrs. De Winter!!!

[@jmo5037]

She would have been great in Rebecca and as Isabella Linton in Wuthering Heights but she wasn't interested in both. She had the fire to be Rebecca but her delicate beauty also fit to be Maxim de Winter's second wife. Without makeup, she fits the look but her acting ruins it. If she acted the subdued and underconfident part that Joan Fontaine did, she would have been awesome. After all, Hitchcock was directing it.

[@Twentythousandlps]

We always have to remember that the second Mrs. DeWinter mistakenly believes (with the audience) that her husband cherishes the memory of Rebecca.

[@nicolelcedergren2938]

Mark Cogley Agreed! It's one of the key elements to the novel & the movie.

[@mojtabafarjam7702]

Vivien Leigh Was the Best

[@eezee5744]

She'd be terrible in this role, but I think she would have been great in Wuthering Heights.

[@gingerhaydon4693]

Joan Fontaine was the right choice.

[@hisnewlife3543]

She seems very Scarlett-like. Even has that southern belle simple accent. Joan Fontaine was so much better.

[@childofthestones2820]

Surely it was Hitchcock who directed Rebecca, not Selznick (who directed Gone with the Wind)?

[@independentfilmchannel1476]

Selznick did not direct GWTW either. He was an extremely controlling producer. The director was officially Victor Fleming, but George Cukor and Sam Wood also participated.

[@childofthestones2820]

Thanks for the info - I love these historical film facts!

[@jennyp4934]

I read somewhere that Selznick was controlling in Rebecca as well and that Hitchcock was upset with the control he had. And that he would have changed some of it if he could have.

[@HuntingViolets]

@@jennyp4934 Hitchcock would have made it less like the book and more his own, as he usually did. It would be interesting to see these alternate versions-maybe in some Valhalla in the sky-

[@jennyp4934]

@@HuntingViolets yes you're right. Haven't had a chance to watch them yet and hope I can do it soon.

[@mauricioexenberger6225]

The two were beautiful actresses and were the right age to play the character. The producer chose Joan because he wanted to. He must have had a reason, which was not just artistic. His claim to refuse Vivien is ridiculous.

[@jennyp4934]

I think Joan Fontaine was a beautiful woman, but they could make her look plain by the way she was dressed. The role needed to show an innocent, niave young woman. Vivien Leigh as brilliant an actress as she was wouldn't have been able to convey that. Even in Waterloo Bridge, the character knew who she was but was caught in terrible circumstances. And nothing could have made her look plain.

[@douglassimpson5932]

Vivian Leigh is not dull or plain to have her play Rebecca is a waste! I would have loved her to play Mesalina in 'I Claudius' just imagine!!

[@GuruRasaVonWerder]

It doesn't work. I saw another screen test with them that didn't work. Amazing how two people who love each other, are both great actors, but as a performing couple they don't blend. I don't know why. Also he recommended her for Wuthering Heights, & I'm glad they didn't use her, Merle Oberon was perfect.

[@cesarzpontu8886]

I disagree. They have a great chemistry.

[@loefly]

Why she dont worked in Rebecca?

[@jmo5037]

No. Rebecca was described as tall and sculpted features, sometimes delicately as a Botticelli angel. Whereas Vivien was thoroughly a delicate beauty. However, I think her marriage to Laurence Olivier eerily unfolded like Max de Winter's marriage with Rebecca and after their divorce, Olivier's young, plain wife, young enough to be his daughter was compared with Vivien.

[@duang3972]

I liked this comment and I also think Olivia is Maxim, Vivienne Lee is rebeca, she looks like a hot flirtatious woman like Rebecca

[@44032]

All i know is that Vivien Leigh was 10X the actress Joan Fontaine was. You've got to have someone who can hold her own with Olivier otherwise they disappear into the woodwork and you lose any emotional connection with the character.

[@anchitaroy9126]

I fully agree. The woman who played Scarlett O' hara and Blanche Dubois could sure play any character!

[@jaengen]

Disagree 10x. No actress did vulnerability better than Joan.

[@44032]

@@jaengen But that's all she did. You want a character to show some internal strength even when frightened.

[@waelwael1912]

@@jaengen you mean no actress could be stupid like her she turned my favorite novel to ####

[@petegabler9528]

Ooh! How pink. Well, B + W.

[@indhuskitchenandvlogs]

Can't imagine Scarlett in this meek part😀

[@newtjorden1957]

As amazing as Vivien Leigh was, Joan was better for the role.

[@VTMCompany]

As Joan Fontaine said, Larry wanted Darling Viv for the role. What about Janet Gaynor in the role?

[@babiegirl526]

vivien is too strong for this especially while she was filming GWTW even the wig couldn't do it. joan fontaine was 10 years younger than larry and is more meek and naive!

[@pmajudge]

AAAHHH! YES I NOW WHY IT WENT TO THE LATE JOAN FONTAINE!!!!! SORRY, FOLKS!! "TIMID" IS THE OPERATIVE WORD HERE!!! VIVEN IS GORGEOUS INDEED!! I KEEP SEEING "SCARLETT O' HARA!!!!!!!!!!! OOOP'S!!! FROM(U.K.).

[@jennyhulme1942]

Vivien is Rebeca

[@duang3972]

Vivien is suitable for the role of Rebecca, a fiery, flirtatious woman who likes to make herself the highlight.

[@vetere0599]

тнaтѕ wнy joan goт тнe parт and ĸιlled ιт!

[@gowkstorm]

Never seen anyone more wrong for a role (and I mean that as a compliment to her).

[@eamonndeane587]

I could have seen Vivian being a good fit as Maxim's Sister Beatrice.

[@michaelgaudet2841]

Your totally missing Rebecca's character ( joancrawford a good Rebecca). She wielded beauty as a weapon over men for Sex. She was cruel and wielded sex for power) She even went after poor Frank. She had contempt for men. Barbara Stanwyk maybe. She was beautiful , but cold, aloof, and chillingly used to getting what she wanted. Vivien Leigh Blanche Dubois was not equipped!Think about it...the dark macrbr Mrs. Danvers lusted after Rebecca. Beyond Love, are Tenderness, are Decency.The China Cupid delicate and fragile...Rebecca liked delicate things around her to hide the hardness of her character...