I went down the comments here as far as patience would take me and came out puzzled: celebrations of the actor, but none for the author, George Bernard Shaw? The greatness of Maggie Smith is a matter of consensus, but there is no performance without the writer. Hats off to both.
Anna Massey is stellar in this role. People single out Jeremy Brett, and this version of Rebecca being the best, and maybe the brilliance of Massey's performance gets lost in the shuffle, but she is superb.
An intelligent actress. She had the sense to learn from Edith Evans without aping her. The humourless Dench disastrously relied on her own meagre talent.
This is the only version where Manderley was exactly as I imagined it when I read the book! Every other version the house was a disappointment. Happy Valley actually seemed this way to me in my dreams!
folks should watch the 1997 version as well with Charles Dances, Emilia Fox and Diana Rigg, it's not talked about much but to me it is definitely the best version. Most people don't mention it because they don't even know it's out there.
I don't think it ever says how long they were married or how old they are in the scene; He could be well retired by now, growing accustomed to a millionaire's life and just coasting on Epifania's money.
