This past Thursday Joan Fontaine celebrated her 92nd birthday! In honor of her birthday I will list a few of my favorite films of her.
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Rebecca (1940) – Her first collaboration with Hitch. I really liked this movie based on one of my favorite novels. I think t captures the Gothic spirit very well. |
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Suspicion (1941) – I love Hitch, Grant and Fontaine. Over time, this film may not work on some levels, but it definitely wonderful viewing. |
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From this Day Forward (1946) – This is my rainy day movie standby. It always works on those dreary days as a wonderful pick me up. |
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Letter from and Unknown Woman (1948) – beautiful film in many regards, in others you think , “How pathetic?” Molly Haskell’s From Reverence to Rape has a very good synopsis of this book. |
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Island in the Sun (1957) – interesting, if not dated look at misogyny. Some will find the ending very interesting, in a curious way. |
One thing I will say that while she was successful in their own right, she did not have the same textures and level of cinematic success as her elder sister, This may be because she was successful in so many areas of her life – she is a licensed pilot, champion balloonist, expert rider, prize-winning tuna fisherman, a hole-in-one golfer, Cordon Bleu chef and licensed interior decorator. Though I suspect over the years, some of these accomplishments she relishes less than others.
She is also very famous for her role in another real-life drama.