Audience Outrage Around Casting A Beloved Character Is Not New

Stop me if this sounds familiar — a beloved book or character is being adapted for the screen, and outrage over casting ensues. This isn’t a narrative that originated with Twitter, or live-action Disney adaptations. It’s also part of the story of casting the 1940 film, Rebecca.

Before it was an Academy Award-nominated film, Rebecca was a popular novel by Daphne du Maurier. The novel’s success essentially guaranteed all eyes would be on the film. And that meant stakes for casting the lead actress were high.

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Joan Fontaine circa 1939.

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Director Alfred Hitchcock and producer David O. Selznick were locked in a contentious battle to cast the film after acquiring the rights. And the question of adaptation and faithfulness to the novel loomed large. As Selznick once wrote to Hitchcock: “We bought Rebecca and we intend to make Rebecca.” The decision really was in their hands — the position of casting director wasn’t a role on productions until the 1960s, so in old Hollywood, casting fell solely to the directors and producers of a film. They eventually settled on the relatively new star, Joan Fontaine. And initially, folks were not happy.

Patricia White — film scholar, historian, and author of the BFI Classics book on Rebecca — recalls finding a note on the film’s casting in her research: “I found in Selznick’s papers. There was also a slip of paper with a letter that just said — Mr. Selznick, I'll paraphrase — ‘I thought you were a great film artist, but how could you have cast such a nincompoop as Joan Fontaine?’” At the time, Fontaine was seen as a relatively inexperienced rising star, and that inspired doubt in audiences who loved the book.

Working on set wasn’t much friendlier for Fontaine.

Actors Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh are photographed together.

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If you’re not familiar with the film, Rebecca is about a young woman haunted by the specter of her new husband’s late wife, Rebecca.

The protagonist is actually only ever referred to as “the second Mrs. De Winter” — she’s never given a first name. Every action she takes in her new home, a massive and wealthy estate, it’s like she’s doing something wrong, or at least, she’s not doing things the way Rebecca would have.

Everything the second Mrs. De Winter does is in constant comparison to Rebecca.

Some of Alfred Hitchcock’s casting memos to David O. Selznick.

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Much like the second Mrs. De Winter can’t escape the lingering presence of Rebecca, Joan Fontaine was haunted by another woman while filming — the woman who almost got the role: Vivien Leigh. Leigh’s husband at the time, Laurence Olivier, was playing the mysterious and handsome Maxim De Winter. Olivier did not warm up to the woman playing his wife’s dream part, and notably called Joan Fontaine “loathsome” on set.

It seems like things worked out though. Fontaine’s performance was nominated for an Academy Award, and 10 years after the film’s release, Olivier and Leigh played their dream roles opposite each other in a radio play adaptation of Rebecca.

You can take a listen to some of the screen tests that earned Joan Fontaine the role in the first episode of The Academy Museum Podcast. And you can see Vivien Leigh’s screen test, and casting memos from Alfred Hitchcock to David O. Selznick on display at the Academy Museum.

Want to see for yourself?

Visit The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures and head upstairs to the “Performance Gallery” which is right next to “The Art of Moviemaking: The Godfather” exhibition (open through January 2025).

How do I find The Academy Museum Podcast?

It's now available from LAist Studios. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts! Or listen to the first episode of season two in the player above.