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Program Title
Intro REBECCA/Episode 2/Intro by Russell Baker The second Mrs. DeWinter's marriage is turning into a nightmare. Part of the trouble is she's terribly young. Her husband, Max, is old enough to be her father. And part of it is that she doesn't know how to be rich. Max is extremely rich. Rich enough to own a great house, Manderley -- a house so vast and so elegant it needs an army of servants to keep it running. The housekeeper in charge of this huge operation is Mrs. Danvers. "A bit stiff," is how Max describes her. It is soon clear that Mrs. Danvers is more than "a bit stiff." She is formidable, and to Max's young bride -- terrifying. She is neurotically devoted to the dead mistress of Manderley, the first Mrs. DeWinter. The incredibly beautiful, incredibly clever, and incredibly competent Rebecca. Mrs. Danvers keeps Rebecca's rooms exactly as they were when she was alive. And takes every opportunity to let the new Mrs. DeWinter know that she doesn't belong in Rebecca's Manderley. The new Mrs. DeWinter has begun to feel haunted by Rebecca's ghost, but she also senses something sinister in the air -- something about Rebecca that nobody wants to tell her. Last time she was startled to discover that a man named Jack Favell feels free to drop in at Manderley whenever Max isn't around. Favell is on such friendly terms with Mrs. Danvers that he calls her "Danny." Now, concluding installment, Rebecca. Extro REBECCA/Episode 2/Extro by Russell Baker Daphne Du Maurier has never exactly awed the English professors, but she did create one character who has endured now for sixty years. This, of course, is Mrs. Danvers. It is a great role for an actress -- a haunted, menacing, and finally pathetic woman we never quite forget. It's Mrs. Danvers who stays in the memory long after the DeWinters have faded away. I saw the first movie "Rebecca" fifty years ago and, to this day, whenever I see a sinister, middle-aged, bossy housekeeper -- in soap opera or movies, I immediately think: "Aha! Mrs. Danvers still lives," It was Judith Anderson who played the part in that old Hitchcock movie. Tonight we saw Diana Rigg, and her Mrs. Danvers was a shade more humane than Judith Anderson's. Still murderous, to be sure, but not quite so chillingly murderous. Still insanely loyal to Rebecca, but her insanity tinged with sadness. This was Mrs. Danvers in the modern style -- still a villain to be sure, but a villain who loved too much. By the way, Judith Anderson later scored an immense stage triumph in the classic Greek tragedy "Medea" and was afterward made a Dame of the British Empire. In 1994 Diana Rigg won the Broadway theater's Tony award for her performance in the classic Greek tragedy "Medea", and was afterward made a Dame of the British Empire. Medea was a queen who killed her own children. By that standard of conduct, Mrs. Danvers seems like a Girl Scout. All she did was burn down the house. For Masterpiece Theatre, I'm Russell Baker. Goodnight.  Episode number: 1 2
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