Frozen Charlotte

The Moral of the Story, before the story:

"Vanity is the quicksand of reason." 

"Vanity can easily overtake wisdom. It usually overtakes common sense." 

Diego Velasquez painted  this classic, entitled: “Venus at her Mirror” between 1647 and 1651. In this work, Venus lays comfortably in the nude while starring at her own reflection as a cherub holds the mirror.

The origin of the following story remains a bit controversial, as it was first credited as written by William Lorenzo Carter, a blind poet from Benson, Vermont, sometime around 1834.  Though blind, Carter was a traveling minstrel and sang "Young Charlotte" as a ballad where ever he roamed.  The song was wildly popular during that time.  Later, sometime around 1937, Phillips Barry discovered the poem had been published in 1834 in a Maine newspaper entitled "A Corpse Going to a Ball", (see below for the poem) written by Seba Smith.  Folklorists still remain confused about it's actual origin.

Please note: I have re-written the story from it's original text.

To learn about "Frozen Charlotte" dolls - please scroll the bottom of this post.

c. 1834:

This is the story of Fair Charlotte.  Daughter of a very wealthy business man, who doted on this beautiful young lady when ever possible, as he could afford to do so.  He bought her the prettiest dresses and loveliest jewels in the land, and she wanted it all.

Charlotte was indeed a beauty, who vainly knew it.  Never could she pass a mirror without longingly admiring her own image.   A narcissistic, self-centered beauty, she was.   She wore her golden hair in cascading curls, which framed her milky skin.  Her lips were ripened cherries, with eyes the color of the Caribbean Sea - oh, how they sparkled - against her blushing cheeks.

During this holiday season, Charlotte cast her web upon the town's most eligible bachelor - a striking lad named Charles; affectionately known as "Charlie" - and persuaded him to escort her to most sought after social event of the year, where a nearby prosperous farmer had planned a New Year's ball.  All the while, she was obsessed with the thought of how all would envy her, as she made her grand entrance.

The evening came when Charlotte paraded down the grand staircase to meet her escort, wearing the most stunning gossamer pale blue gown, made of silk and satin and lace.  She twinkled and glowed - positively radiated splendor - as she stepped into the light of the entry to greet Charles, who was standing with Charlotte's parents.  

Charles, dressed in a warm fashionable cape, with a scarf bundled around his neck, he removed his fur hat to receive the resplendent Charlotte.   

And the story goes.... 


"Please, my daughter, wear my warm wool coat and scarf," pleaded Charlotte's mother. "you will catch your death out in this bitter cold."

"Oh, Heavens No! Mother, such an ugly coat will ruin my gown," returned Charlotte. 

Charles and her parents begged Charlotte to be sensible and to wear a coat or take a blanket, she could not be convinced to cover her gown.  

Hesitantly, Charles helped Charlotte into the open sleigh that would be pulled by two fast horses.  The snow had begun to fall and the landscape was white with frost, against the light of the moon.  

As they headed into night with naught but the sound of the metal sleigh runners crunching against the frozen ground, Charlie asked, "Charlotte, Charlotte, are you cold?"

" 'Tis very cold," she replied, shivering.

"There is a blanket that I can wrap around you, under the seat right here.  It is a long, cold ride,"  said Charles.

"Do you want me to smell like a horse blanket when we reach the party? No!" snarled Charlotte. 

At this, Charles whipped the horses to hurry the horses, as he could see that Charlotte was very cold.  Her lips now grew blue with frost that matched her gown, and her hair was sprinkled with snow.

"Charlotte, dear Charlotte, are you cold?" asked Charles again. "The bearskin on which you are seated will warm you."

"What!" replied Charlotte her tone much gentler now,  "And wrinkle this beautiful gown? I have anticipation to keep me warm."

A bit further they traveled, and Charles glanced at the maiden in the light of the ethereal moon.  Her skin glowed with a surreal hue which made him shiver and she seemed to sweetly smile back at him.

 "Charlotte, Charlotte! Are you cold?" he pleaded "Come. Sit closer to me, and I will share my cloak! My body will warm you."

"That would not be proper. Besides, I am warmer now." 

Charles whipped the horses furiously to move as fast as they could, and in the distance he could see the soft glow of light from the farm's windows, and smoke from the chimney billowing softly into the sky.  Closer still, he could make out the roaring fire glowing in the hearth, within.

Charles reined in the horses as they drove through the wrought iron gates.  He jumped from the sleigh, taking her cold hand, he cried, "Charlotte!  Charlotte!  We are here!  Let us get inside and warm ourselves by the fire!"

But, Charlotte said not a word, nor did she stir, for her vanity was her demise.

 

"Frozen Charlotte"  by Natalie Merchant

Blue like the winter snow in this full moon
Black like the silhouettes of the trees
Late blooming flowers lye frozen underneath the stars
I want you to remember me that way 

Far away
I'll be gone
Will you wait for me here? 
How long? 
I don't know
But wait for me here 

Still as the river grows in December
Silent and perfect blinding ice
Spring keeps her promises
No cold can keep her back
I want you to remember me that way 

Far away
I'll be gone
Will you wait for me here? 
How long? 
I don't know
But wait for me here
Follow
Don't follow me to where I'll go 

Far away
I'll be gone
Will you wait for me here? 
How long? 
I don't know
But wait for me here
Follow
Don't follow me to where I've gone
Someday you'll take my place
And I'll wait for you here

FROZEN CHARLOTTE DOLLS

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:  Interestingly enough, in Gloucester, MA, I lived at the end of an industrial plaza, known as "The Fort" (not to be confused with Stage Fort Park).  

The beach in front of the apartment building I lived in was the "Pavilion Beach", and people frequently (and some of us, daily) would populate the beach in search of sea-glass.  

As we searched, we would occasionally discover small, very antiquated china doll parts.  An arm, a hand, a partial head, a leg and so on.  (I still have some!) We always wondered why they were washing up on the beach, and it was the only beach that they were found, to my knowledge.  Now, after reading about the dolls, I can't help but wonder if there was a ship wreck whose cargo was Frozen Charlotte's or perhaps the dolls were used as ballast?

To forever immortalize this story, "Frozen Charlotte" is also a name used to describe a naked china doll that was manufactured, all in once piece, from approximately 1850 to around 1920. The name comes from the fore-mentioned folk ballad.  Wiki describes the dolls as "pillar dolls, solid chinas or bathing babies" ranging in size from under an inch all the way up to or over 18 inches!  

"The smallest dolls were sometimes used as charms in Christmas puddings. Smaller sizes were very popular for putting in doll's houses. Occasionally versions are seen with a glazed china front and an unglazed stoneware back. This enabled the doll to float on its back when placed in a bath.

Frozen Charlotte dolls were popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States. Smaller versions of the dolls were also known as penny dolls, because they were often sold for a cent.  Most were made in Germany.

They are also made in bisque, and can come in white, pink-tinted, or, more rarely, painted black. Some rare examples have molded chemises. Male dolls (identified by their boyish hairstyles) are called Frozen Charlies." - wiki

“A Corpse Going to a Ball.”

1.
Young Charlotte lived by the mountainside,
In a lonely, dreary spot;
No other dwelling for three miles round,
Except her father’s cot.
And yet on many a winter’s eve,
Young swains would gather there,
For her father kept a social abode,
And she was very fair

2.
Her father liked to see her dressed,
Just like some city belle;
She was the only child he had,
He loved his daughter well.
Her hair was black as raven’s wings,
Her skin was lily fair,
And her teeth were like the pearls of white,
None with her could compare

3.
At a village just sixteen miles off,
There’s a merry ball tonight,
Although the air is freezing cold,
Her heart is warm and light.
And there she watched with an anxious look,
‘Til a well-known voice she heard,
And driving up to the cottage door,
Young Charles in his sleigh appeared.

4.
The mother to her daughter said,
“These blankets round you fold;
For it is a dreadful night, you know,
You’ll catch your death of cold.”
“Oh, no! Oh, no!” the darling cried,
She laughed like a gypsy queen,
“For to ride in blankets muffled up,
I never could be seen.”

5.
“My silken cloak, it’s quite enough –
You know it’s lined throughout.
Besides I have a silk mantle,
To tie my face about.”
The gloves and bonnet being on,
They jumped into the sleigh,
And away they did ride o’er the mountainside
And the hills so far away.

6.
There is music in the sounds of bells,
As over the hills they go;
What a creaking wake the runners make,
As they bite the frozen snow.
And away they then go silently,
‘Til five cold miles were passed,
And Charles with these few frozen words,
The silence broke at last.

7.
“Such a night as this I never knew,
My lines I scarce can hold.”
With a trembling voice young Charlotte cried,
“I am exceeding cold.”
He cracked the whip, he urged his steed
Much faster than before,
Until at last five other cold miles,
In silence they rode o’er.

8.
“How very fast the freezing air
Is gathering on my brow.”
With a trembling voice young Charlotte cried,
“I’m growing warmer now.”
And away they did ride o’er the mountainside,
And through the pale star light,
Until the village inn they reached,
And the ballroom hove in sight.

9.
When they reached the inn, young Charles jumped out,
And gave his hand to her,
“Why sit you there like a monument,
And have no power to stir?”
He called her once, he called her twice,
She answered not a word;
He called all for her hand again,
But still she never stirred.

10.
He stripped the mantle off her brow,
And the pale stars on her shone,
And quickly into the lighted hall,
Her helpless form was born.
They tried all within their power,
Her life for to restore,
But Charlotte was a frozen corpse,
And is never to speak more.

11.
He threw himself down by her side,
And the bitter tears did flow,
He said, “My dear and intended bride,
You never more shall know.”
He threw his arms around her neck,
He kissed her marble brow,
And his thoughts went back to the place where she said,
“I am growing warmer now.”

12.
They bore her out into the sleigh,
And Charles with her rode home,
And when they reached the cottage door,
Oh, how her parents mourned!
They mourned the loss of their daughter dear,
And Charles mourned o’er her doom,
Until at last his heart did break,
Now they both slumber in one tomb.

A variation of the ending:

"Why you sit there like a monument
That has no power to stir?
He asked her once, he asked her twice,
But received no answer from her,
He asked her once, he asked her twice,
But she answered not a word,
He asked her again for her hand again, 

And still she never stirred."

Deliciously Dark Films

Following are 5 unbelievably great films that you may have never seen.  Take a break from the fast, exhausting pace of today's movies and check out some true, often obscure, classics.

I also highly recommend these books on which some of these movies were based:

Henry James' "Turn of the Screw" on which the movie "The Innocents" was based. James' careful structuring and very emotional writing is actually a difficult read, but I still highly recommend it.

"Jane Eyre", by Charlotte Bronte = Meet the misunderstood orphan, Jane Eyre, being raised by cruel relatives; and watch her evolve from a shy shrinking-violet type into a glowing and passionate woman.  Her love for Edward Rochester is the fuel for this story, but the sub-plots are equally enchanting.

If you have never read Daphne Du Maurier's novel, "Rebecca", then you are certainly in for a treat.  Take yourself back into time and empathize with the second Mrs. DeWinter, who actually is never named! Intense, emotional - complete with an evil 'step-mother type'.  A classic you must read. 

WARNING:  ALL PLOTS ARE SPOILERS!!!!

The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds

Paul Newman produced and directed a film adaptation of the play from a screenplay by Alvin Sargent. Newman cast his wife, Joanne Woodward, and one of their daughters, Nell Potts [as Matlida a.k.a. "Tillie"], in two of the lead roles.

"Tillie"

"Beatrice"

"Ruth"

PLOT

The play revolves around the dysfunctional family consisting of single mother Beatrice [Joanne Woodward] and her two daughters, Ruth [Roberta Wallach]  and Tillie, who try to cope with their abysmal status in life. The play is a lyrical drama, reminiscent of Tennessee Williams' style.
Shy Matilda "Tillie" Hunsdorfer prepares her experiment, involving marigolds raised from seeds exposed to radioactivity, for the science fair. She is, however, constantly thwarted by her mother Beatrice, who is self-centered and abusive, and by her extroverted and unstable sister Ruth, who submits to her mother's will.

Over the course of the play, Beatrice constantly tries to stamp out any opportunities Tillie has of succeeding, due to her own lack of success in life. As the play progresses, the paths of the three characters diverge: Tillie wins the science fair through perseverance; Ruth attempts to stand up to her mother but has a nervous collapse at the end of the play, and Beatrice—driven to the verge of insanity by her deep-seated enmity towards everyone—kills the girls' pet rabbit Peter and ends up wallowing in her own perceived insignificance. Despite this, Tillie (who is much like her project's deformed but beautiful and hardy marigolds) secretly continues to believe that everyone is valuable.

You can watch the original movie by clicking this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLlGZQkU3ak

Séance on a Wet Afternoon

Séance on a Wet Afternoon is a 1964 British film directed by Bryan Forbes, based on the novel by Mark McShane, in which an unstable medium convinces her husband to kidnap a child so she can help the police solve the crime and achieve renown for her abilities. The film stars Richard Attenborough (who was also the film's co-producer), Kim Stanley, Nanette Newman, Mark Eden and Patrick Magee.

PLOT

Myra Savage (Kim Stanley) is a medium who holds séances in her home. Her husband Billy (Richard Attenborough), unable to work because of asthma and cowed by Myra's domineering personality, assists in her séances. Myra's life and psychic work are dominated by her relationship with the spirit of her son Arthur, who died at birth.

At Myra’s insistence, Billy kidnaps the young daughter (Judith Donner) of a wealthy couple (Mark Eden and Nanette Newman), confining her in a room in the Savage home dressed as a hospital ward. Myra impersonates a nurse to deceive the girl into believing she is hospitalised. Myra insists she is "borrowing" the girl to demonstrate her psychic abilities to the police in helping them find her. Although they ask for a £25,000 ransom, they plan to return the money with the girl after Myra has become famous for helping find her.

Myra's plan goes awry as her unsteady mental health begins to fray.  She tells Billy to kill the girl, and he takes her into the woods and leaves her body under a tree.

When the police ask Myra to conduct a séance to help them find the missing girl – as she had hoped they would – she breaks down during the séance and reveals, as if in a psychic trance, what she and Billy have done. Billy tells the police where he hid the ransom money and reveals that he did not kill the girl, but left her unconscious where she would be found by scouts camping nearby.

1964 Original Trailer:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6dbk6RXALI

The Innocents

The Innocents is a 1961 British supernatural gothic horror film directed and produced by Jack Clayton, and starring Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave and Megs Jenkins. Based on the novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, the plot follows a governess who watches over two children and discovers that the house is haunted by ghosts and that the two children are being possessed. The title of the film was taken from William Archibald's stage adaptation of James' novella. Falling within the sub-genre of psychological horror, the film achieves its effects through lighting, music and direction rather than conventional shocks. Its atmosphere was created by cinematographer Freddie Francis, who employed deep focus in many scenes, as well as bold, minimal lighting. It was partly shot on location at the Gothic mansion of Sheffield Park in Sussex.  The Innocents pioneered the use of synthesised electronic sound, generated by Daphne Oram.

A frightening scene from the movie:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDYtZUj2sMk

PLOT

Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) applies for a job as a governess. It is to be her first position, but the wealthy bachelor interviewing her (Michael Redgrave) is unconcerned with her lack of experience. He values his freedom to travel and socialise and unabashedly confesses that he has "no room, mentally or emotionally" for his niece and nephew, who were orphaned and left in his care as infants, and whom he keeps at Bly, his country estate. The previous governess, Miss Jessel, died suddenly less than a year ago. All he cares about is that Miss Giddens accept full responsibility for the children, never troubling him with whatever problems may arise.

At Bly, Miss Giddens is instantly taken with Flora. She also forges a friendship with Mrs. Grose (Megs Jenkins), the kindly housekeeper. The boy, Miles, is away at boarding school, though Flora delightedly insists that her brother is coming home. Sure enough, Miss Giddens receives a letter saying that Miles has been expelled from school because of his bad influence on the other boys. Mrs. Grose says she can't imagine Miles being a bad influence, and when Miss Giddens meets the boy herself, she too thinks his teachers must have exaggerated. He seems charming and mature – though perhaps too mature, with flirtatious flattery toward his governess.

The children are friendly and polite, but Miss Giddens is disturbed by their occasional odd behaviours. They seem to be sharing secrets. She is upset by unexplained voices and by several visions of a woman and man, whom Mrs. Grose identifies, from their descriptions, as Miss Jessel and Peter Quint – the uncle's valet until his death. Eventually, Mrs. Grose reveals that Quint was abusive to Miss Jessel, and that they were indiscreet, performing sexual acts in plain sight of the other servants and even, perhaps, the children. After Quint's death, Miss Jessel went into a deep depression and drowned herself.

When Miles recites a poem invoking a "lost lord" to rise from the grave, Miss Giddens concludes that the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel inhabit the bodies of the children so they can continue their relationship. She is determined to rescue them from this possession.

One night Miss Giddens finds Flora at a window, watching Miles, who is walking in the garden. When Miss Giddens escorts him to bed, he kisses her goodnight, in a disturbingly adult manner.
The next day Miss Giddens finds Flora dancing alone by the lake – and again sees the figure of Miss Jessel staring at them from across the water. Convinced that the children will be freed from the possession if they will confess what is happening, Miss Giddens begs Flora to admit that Miss Jessel is there. Flora begins to scream and cry, calling Miss Giddens wicked and insane. Hours later, Flora is still hysterical, and when Mrs. Grose finally leaves her bedside, she says she can't imagine where Flora learned such obscenities. Miss Giddens orders her to take Flora away from Bly. She is certain that Miles is on the brink of confessing his ordeal to her and that she must be left alone with him.

That night, alone with Miles, Miss Giddens presses him to talk about the ghosts, and then about why he was expelled from school. Initially, and as usual, Miles is glib and evasive, but he eventually admits that he frightened the other boys with violence and vulgar language. Miss Giddens enjoins him to say who taught him this language and behaviour. Miles suddenly begins yelling obscene insults and laughing maniacally, and Peter Quint's face appears in the window behind him, joining in the boy's laughter. Miles then runs outside; Miss Giddens follows, calling that all he has to do is "say his name" and it will all be over. Quint appears on the hedge nearby, but Miles does not seem to see him and screams that she is insane. He finally shouts Quint's name, then the hand of Quint appears. Miles grows still and falls to the ground. Miss Giddens cradles him and assures him that he is free. She then realises that Miles is dead. Sobbing in horror, she leans over him and kisses him on the lips.

Jane Eyre

Jane Eyre is an American film adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's 1847 novel of the same name, released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Robert Stevenson and produced by William Goetz, Kenneth Macgowan, and Orson Welles (uncredited). The film stars Welles and Joan Fontaine. Elizabeth Taylor made an early, uncredited appearance.

The screenplay was written by John Houseman, Aldous Huxley, Henry Koster, and Robert Stevenson, based on a radio adaptation of the novel presented on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, on which John Houseman collaborated. The music score was by Bernard Herrmann and the cinematography by George Barnes.

PLOT

Orphaned, unloved, and unwanted ten-year old Jane Eyre (Peggy Ann Garner) lives with her cruel and selfish, uncaring paternal aunt, Mrs. Reed (Agnes Moorehead) of Gateshead Hall. Both Jane and her aunt are glad when Mrs. Reed arranges for Jane to be sent to Lowood Institution, a charity boarding school for young girls, run by the harsh Reverend Brocklehurst (Henry Daniell).

Based on what Mrs. Reed has told him, Mr. Brocklehurst labels Jane a liar in front of all the inmates and has her stand on a stool for the rest of her first day. She is comforted and befriended by another student, Helen Burns (Elizabeth Taylor). Later, Jane protests when Brocklehurst orders that Helen's naturally curling hair be cut. As a result, both are punished by being made to walk around and around in the rain. Dr. Rivers (John Sutton), a sympathetic physician who periodically checks on the students, brings them back inside, but it is too late for Helen; she tragically dies that night.

Ten years later, in 1840, 20-year old Jane (Joan Fontaine) turns down Brocklehurst's offer of the position of teacher. She advertises for and accepts the position of governess for a young girl named Adele (Margaret O'Brien). When she first arrives at Thornfield, a gloomy, isolated mansion, she initially mistakes Mrs. Fairfax (Edith Barrett) for her employer, but she is only the housekeeper for her absent master.

Jane goes for a walk one night, only to startle a horse into throwing and slightly injuring its rider and her employer, Edward Rochester (Orson Welles). Back in Thornfield, he interviews her.
That night, Jane is awakened by strange laughter. When she investigates, she discovers Mr. Rochester's bed curtains on fire. She rouses the sleeping man and, together, they put out the fire without rousing anyone else. Rochester bids her wait while he goes to another wing of the house, where mysterious seamstress Grace Poole (an uncredited Ethel Griffies) keeps to herself. When he returns, he tells her nothing other than that the matter is under control. The next morning, he leaves Thornfield.

A winter and spring go by before he returns with a large group of guests; Jane is greatly saddened when Mrs. Fairfax confides to her that everyone expects Rochester to marry Blanche Ingram (Hillary Brooke). However, Rochester informs Jane of his conviction that Miss Ingram is attracted only by his great wealth.

When a man named Mason (an uncredited John Abbott) of Spanish Town, Jamaica, shows up, Jane can see that Rochester is disturbed. That night, a scream awakens everyone. Rochester assures his guests it is just a servant's reaction to a nightmare, but after they go back to their rooms, he has Jane secretly tend a bleeding Mason, while he fetches a doctor. Jane assumes Grace is responsible. Rochester has the doctor take Mason away.

Rochester has a private conversation with Blanche, in which he bluntly asserts that she is after him for his wealth. She is offended, and the guests leave. Unaware of this development, Jane broaches the topic of her future employment after Rochester gets married. He then reveals that it is she herself he intends to marry.

During the wedding ceremony, however, an attorney announces that Rochester has a wife still alive named Bertha, and who is mentally ill and deranged. This is confirmed by Mason, her elder brother. Defeated, Rochester takes them back to Thornfield and shows them his insane spouse, guarded by Grace Poole. Jane rejects his offer to leave England together and departs Thornfield.

With her funds exhausted, she returns to Gateshead. She finds that her aunt has suffered a stroke, caused by worry over the ruinous behavior of her own son, who then committed suicide. There is a reconciliation. After Mrs. Reed dies, Jane is pondering what to do with herself when she hears an anguished and beloved male voice from thin air calling her name.

She travels to Thornfield, which she finds in ruins. Mrs. Fairfax informs her that the lunatic escaped, set the place on fire, and fled to the roof. When Rochester tried to rescue her, she jumped and was killed. He was blinded when the burning stairway collapsed underneath him. With no other impediments, she joyfully returns to him. She narrates that, when their son was born, his vision was sufficiently restored for him to see their child.

The full movie can be viewed here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8FNQ5J4qOI

Rebecca

Rebecca is a novel by English author Daphne du Maurier. A moderate best-seller, there were 2,829,313 copies of Rebecca sold between 1938 and 1965 and the book has never gone out of print. The novel is remembered for the character Mrs. Danvers, the fictional estate Manderley, and its opening lines:

"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again... I came upon it suddenly; the approach masked by the unnatural growth of a vast shrub that spread in all directions... There was Manderley, our Manderley, secretive and silent as it had always been, the gray stone shining in the moonlight of my dream, the mullioned windows reflecting the green lawns and terrace. Time could not wreck the perfect symmetry of those walls, nor the site itself, a jewel in the hollow of a hand."

"With those famous opening lines of Rebecca... [du Maurier] created one of the classic Gothic romances." Rebecca "remains Daphne du Maurier's best-loved novel."

PLOT

A naïve young woman (Joan Fontaine), whose name is never mentioned, is in Monte Carlo working as a paid companion to Edythe Van Hopper (Florence Bates) when she meets the aristocratic but brooding widower Maximilian "Maxim" de Winter (Laurence Olivier). They fall in love, and within two weeks they are married.

She is now the second "Mrs. de Winter"; Maxim takes her back to Manderley, his country house in Cornwall. The housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), is domineering and cold, and is obsessed with the beauty, intelligence and sophistication of the first Mrs. de Winter, the eponymous Rebecca, preserving her former bedroom as a shrine. Rebecca's so-called "cousin", Jack Favell (George Sanders), visits the house while Maxim is away.

The new Mrs. de Winter is intimidated by her responsibilities and begins to doubt her relationship with her husband. The continuous reminders of Rebecca overwhelm her; she believes that Maxim is still deeply in love with his first wife. She also discovers that her husband sometimes becomes very angry at her for apparently insignificant actions.

Trying to be the perfect wife, the young Mrs. de Winter convinces Maxim to hold a costume party, as he had done with Rebecca. The heroine wants to plan her own costume, but Mrs. Danvers suggests she copy the beautiful outfit in the ancestral portrait of Caroline de Winter. At the party, when the costume is revealed, Maxim is appalled; Rebecca wore the same outfit at the ball a year ago, shortly before her death.

The heroine confronts Danvers, who tells her she can never take Rebecca's place, and almost manages to convince her to jump to her death. An airborne flare reveals that a ship has hit the rocks. The heroine rushes outside, where she hears that during the rescue a sunken boat has been found with Rebecca's body in it.

Maxim admits to his new wife that he had earlier misidentified another body as Rebecca's, in order to conceal the truth. His first marriage, until now viewed by the world as ideal, was in fact a sham. At the very beginning of their marriage Rebecca had told Maxim she intended to continue the scandalous life she had previously lived. He hated her for this, but they agreed to an arrangement: in public she would pretend to be the perfect wife and hostess, and he would ignore Rebecca's promiscuity. However, Rebecca grew careless, including an ongoing affair with her "cousin" Jack Favell. One night, Rebecca told Maxim she was pregnant with Favell's child. During the ensuing heated argument she fell, hit her head and died. Maxim took the body out in her boat, which he then scuttled.

Shedding the remnants of her girlish innocence, Maxim's wife coaches her husband how to conceal the mode of Rebecca's death from the authorities. In the police investigation, deliberate damage to the boat points to suicide. However Favell shows Maxim a note from Rebecca which appears to prove she was not suicidal; Favell tries to blackmail Maxim. Maxim tells the police, and then falls under suspicion of murder. The investigation reveals Rebecca's secret visit to a London doctor (Leo G. Carroll), which Favell assumes was due to her illicit pregnancy. However, the police interview with the doctor establishes that Rebecca was not actually pregnant; the doctor had told her she was suffering from a late-stage cancer instead.

The coroner renders a finding of suicide. Only Frank Crawley (Maxim's best friend and manager of the estate), Maxim, and his wife know the full story: that Rebecca told Maxim she was pregnant with another man's child in order to try to goad him into killing her, an indirect means of suicide that would also have ensured her husband's ruination and possible execution.

As Maxim returns home from London to Manderley, he sees that the manor is on fire, set alight by the deranged Mrs. Danvers. The second Mrs. de Winter and the staff escape the blaze, but Danvers is killed when a floor collapses. Finally a silk nightdress case on Rebecca's bed, with a beautifully embroidered "R", is consumed by flames.

Here is the link to the full movie:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cf0-GsXDzI

Source: wikipedia