Joan Fontaine's B-day!!!!!

Today is Joan Fontaine's birthday, I repeat it is Joan Fontaine's birthday on the 22nd of October !!!!!!!!! YAAAY. Oh and just wait till you find out the age of this living legend.....95 yes that is right 95, ninety-five years of age. She has lived for ninety-five years that is amazing that's is even longer than Mickey Rooney (who is 92). It must be amazing to have lived such an incredible and just be able to sit in a rocking chair thinking about the incredible life you have led. In honour of one of my favourite actresses I think that I shall review one of her films and because I have already reviewed Rebecca (which is just fabulous) I shall review Jane Eyre.

This is my favourite adaptation of Charlotte Brontes "Jane Eyre". It's an incredibly dark and sinister version of the novel, but what can you expect when Orson Welles is starring in it. This film was made in 1943 and starred Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles. I'm not going to do the plot just because the ending is not what you would expect and because it is one of the most celebrated books in history so if you don't know the plot then shame on you.

I really like this film because it is so sinister. The scenery is amazing and really creepy it is set in a dark and foggy moor this kinda sets the tone for the entire film because you know something serious is going to happen, and it won't end very well. Joan Fontaine is her flawless self in this production and so is Orson Welles who is ultimately playing a grumpy, misunderstood character which is completely out of the ordinary for him. This film also features a young Margaret O'Brian as Adele and I think she is just adorable as usual, she really lightens up the production making a few cute and cheery scenes among the misery. This film also features a young Elizabeth Taylor as Helen. Joan Fontaine's' performance in this film always reminds me of her character in Rebecca because they are both sweet, innocent and confused a lot of the time. They are both tormented by a woman as well.

A young Taylor being as cute as a button.

I rate Jane Eyre a ..............7.9 out of 10!!!!!!

Rebecca (1940)

Rebecca, Rebecca, Rebecca a demon if you will, the great unseen femme fatale. The great Joan Fontaine, I love her, her kind nature, innocence, beauty she is an all around wonderful human being and who can forget Laurence Olivier a great actor. Well I was transfixed when I watched Rebecca, no one could contact me for two hours. I was so mesmerized that I read up the back story and the behind the scenes which is a wonderful world of it's own, I will explain. Behind the scenes Laurence Olivier resented Joan Fontaine and was harsh and mean to her because he wanted his then girlfriend (Vivien Leigh) to get her part. This made Joan Fontaine shy around him so Alfred Hitchock saw this as an opportunity to add to the shyness of her character by telling Joan Fontaine that all of the cast and actors HATED her so that she would be shy and nervous and play her character better. This is a harsh thing to do but look at the end result, A MASTERPIECE.






Now a basic storyline: When a shy and nervous young woman marries a rich widow and moves into his mansion she is constantly haunted by the memory of his ex wife with the maid comparing them constantly and tormenting her. She soon finds a haunting and horrifying secret.

I rate Rebecca a 9 out of 10 WOOHOO