Podcasts
[Horror Queers Podcast] The Predatory Lesbian at the Center of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rebecca’
Maxim suuuuuuucks.
After kicking off October proper with a discussion of the meta horror comedy The Final Girls last week, we’re classing things up with a look at Alfred Hitchcock‘s original adaptation of Daphne du Maurier‘s classic novel Rebecca and its villainous lesbian housekeeper Mrs. Danvers (just in time for Ben Wheatley’s new Netflix adaptation).
The film is the story of a young woman (Joan Fontaine) who marries fascinating widower Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) only to find out that she must live in the shadow of his former wife, Rebecca, who died mysteriously one year earlier. She must also deal with the jealous, obsessed Mrs. Danvers (Judith Anderson), the housekeeper, who will not accept her as the mistress of the house while simultaneously coming to grips with Maxim’s terrible secret.
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Episode 95 – Rebecca (1940)
Last night, we dreamt we went to Manderley again, but today we’re actually going there! We’re going to be discussing lesbian housekeepers and spousal abuse in Alfred Hitchcock’s only Best Picture-winning film: Rebecca!
Join us as we discuss all the drama behind the tense relationship between Hitch and producer David O. Selznick before looking at how the Hays Code affected the film (bye bye, Maxim the Murderer!). Plus, a queer reading of the villainous housekeeper Mrs. Danvers and how she may be a reflection of Rebecca author Daphne du Maurier’s internalized homophobia.
Also, why does Maxim suck so much? How does Rebecca, a character we never see, make such a huge impression? And is Mrs Danvers actually a tragic figure?
Cross out Rebecca!
Coming up on Wednesday: We’re really getting in the Halloween spirit now as we revisit Michael Dougherty’s seminal horror anthology Trick ‘r Treat!
– Joe & Trace
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for tons of additional content! This month we’ll have episodes on Ratched, Books of Blood, The Haunting of Bly Manor and Rebecca, as well as an audio commentary on Halloween: H20!
After winding down June with discussions of our vey first William Castle film Homicidal (listen) and queer director Roland Emmerich’s summer tentpole Independence Day (listen), we’re heading back to 1981 to check out Joe Dante‘s seminal werewolf film The Howling.
The Howling sees television journalist Karen White (Dee Wallace) attend a psychiatric retreat with her husband Bill (Christopher Stone) after being attacked and traumatized by local serial killer Eddie Quist (Robert Picardo). It isn’t long before Karen realizes that the retreat is actually a secret cult of werewolves, and they’ve already got their sights set on Bill.
Be sure to subscribe to the podcast to get a new episode every Wednesday. You can subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, SoundCloud, TuneIn, Amazon Music, and RSS.
Episode 394: The Howling (1981)
Make note of that smiley face sticker and snag that conveniently-placed jar of acid because we’re talking Joe Dante’s stealth werewolf classic The Howling (1981)!
Join us as we discuss the film’s deviations from its source material before doing a deep dive into this very tongue-in-cheek, self-aware horror film. It honestly feels like a precursor to Scream, in many ways!
Plus: Roger Corman (again!) those incredible special effects, differentiating “color movies” from “movies in color,” and why queer icon Elisabeth Brooks has us going “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha!”
Cross out The Howling!
Coming Up Next: We’re tackling our very first Ken Russell film with a look at his controversial 1984 erotic thriller Crimes of Passion!
P.S. Subscribe to our Patreon for over 508 hours of Patreon content including this month’s new episodes on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Forbidden Fruits, Saccharine, Evil Dead Burn, an audio commentary on Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf (aka Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch), and the conclusion of our coverage of AMC’s The Vampire Lestat on the Requel Tier.