A classic Gothic romance is the Cinderella story gone terribly wrong. A poor, lower class girl falls in love with and marries a wealthy and handsome older man and is whisked away to live in his mansion. This beautiful young woman initially thinks she is happy in her new life, but gradually comes to realize that something is terribly wrong with her husband and the people around her. In these three movies, the insecure new wife begins to suspect that there is a sinister mystery about her husband’s first wife and that she herself may not be entirely safe in her new home. The home itself becomes a character, darkly oppressing the people who live in it with its secrets and decay.
Rebecca (1940)
Starring Joan Fontaine, Laurence Olivier (Maxim de Winter), Judith Anderson (Mrs. Danvers), George Sanders (Jack Favell)
Based on the 1938 novel by Daphne DuMaurier and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this Academy Award-winning film stars Joan Fontaine as an orphan traveling as a paid companion in Monte Carlo. She meets and falls in love with the charismatic and handsome widower Maxim de Winter, who quickly marries her and takes her back to his English estate Manderley. She loves her husband but feels insecure in his upper class world and believes that he will always love his first wife Rebecca more. As the obsessed housekeeper Mrs. Danvers torments the young bride, the new Mrs. de Winter begins to suspect that there is a sinister mystery surrounding the death of her predecessor. This story was remade as a television miniseries in 1997 starring Emilia Fox, Charles Dance, and Diana Rigg.
Jane Eyre (1944)
Starring Joan Fontaine (Jane Eyre), Orson Wells (Edward Rochester), Margaret O’Brien (Adele Varens), Agnes Moorehead (Mrs. Reed)
Based on the 1847 novel by Charlotte Brontë, this movie stars Joan Fontaine as an orphan who becomes a governess to the young Adele. She is fascinated by and quickly falls in love with Adele’s guardian, the mysterious and unhappy Mr. Rochester. Jane feels plain and inadequate compared to the beautiful society ladies Rochester usually entertains, and is delighted when he falls in love with her and proposes. But Jane soon realizes that all is not right in the house, as dangerous and mysterious events happen that threaten their lives and happiness. This story has been remade many times, with such diverse actors as Timothy Dalton, William Hurt, and Ciaran Hinds playing the enigmatic Mr. Rochester.
Dragonwyck (1946)
Starring Gene Tierney (Miranda Wells), Vincent Price (Nicholas Van Ryn), Walter Huston (Ephraim Wells), Glenn Langan (Dr. Jeff Turner), Vivienne Osborne (Johanna Van Ryn), Jessica Tandy (Peggy O’Malley)
This movie is based on the 1945 Anya Seton novel and directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Set in the 1840s, the story begins when the young and innocent Miranda is asked by her distant cousin, a rich landowner on the Hudson River Valley, to become a companion to his young daughter. After his wife dies, Nicholas quickly woos and marries Miranda. She is initially happy but soon begins to wonder what exactly happened to the first Mrs. Van Rym and suspects that her own life is in danger. As Nicholas Van Rym, Vincent Price is the perfect combination of the dashing leading man he had played up until this point and the creepy horror character he would play so well in his later career.
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