Thursday, April 21, 2016

R: 'Rebecca', Roosevelts, and Rochester Hills


I probably saw the movie 'Rebecca' on the old Bill Kennedy Show.  Most of the old movies I saw were presented by Bill, first on his show from Windsor, Ontario and later when he moved his show to Detroit.

It was many years before I got around to reading the book. By that time I had seen the movie several times.  But in college I started reading books by Daphne du Maurier and found that the book was indeed better than the movie which was the Oscar's Best Picture in 1941.

Mystery, jealousy, intrigue and general spookiness - makes sense that it would be dramatized by Hitchcock.  I do recommend that you read the novel, even if you have seen the movie.  And if you haven't seen the movie - well how is that even possible?  



And as a tie-in, I want to mention another book on my shelves, the Pulitzer Prize-winning 'No Ordinary Time'.  The book is about the Roosevelts during Work War II.  When it comes to strong women, I think Eleanor would have made a fantastic President.


And since I have been mentioning National Parks, I figured I would take the opportunity to give a shout out to Teddy Roosevelt for expanding the parks system in America.







Rochester Hills, Michigan:  You could visit Rochester Hills to visit Oakland University, but the most striking thing on the campus is Meadow Brook Hall, the former home of Matilda Dodge Wilson.  Built in the 1920's it has 110 rooms, 88,000 sq ft.  It is the third largest museum home in America.  I have visited several times for different events, but have never gone on 'just a tour'.  I need to add it to my 'visit' list as it is within just a few miles of my home.
Meadowbrook Hall
By Wm. Chris Rowland, II (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

Meadowbrook Hall Garden
Avard Fairbanks [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], via Wikimedia Commons

18 comments:

  1. Rebecca is one of my mother's favourites and she loves several of the film adaptations. I haven't read the book myself. The first picture of Meadow Brook Hall looks scarily like Rose Red, which is in my blog post today :)
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  2. I've only been to Meadow Brook once, to see a play. Do you remember if there were ever art shows somewhere on the grounds? There is a little memory somewhere in my tiny mind. lol

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    1. I remember going to a big art show many years ago. Do not think they still have it. I saw a lot of musical acts outdoors there.

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  3. I used to read a lot of Daphne du Maurier books, many years ago, kind of forgotten most of them now though, it is so many years ago. I don't think I ever saw the movie.

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    1. The movie is one for you to put on your list.

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    2. Isn't Rebecca the story where she never actually appears because she is dead? Got an idea I did see it on TV many, many, years ago. After all it was made in 1940 so I think I did see it.

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    3. Yes, Rebecca was the first wife of the owner of Manderly and never appears in the movie.

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  4. I heard of Rebecca, but haven't seen the movie or read the book. I think I'll be spending the month of May reading all the books I have found through the challenge that have been interesting to me :)

    betty

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  5. The cover of that first book takes me back. So many popular paperbacks looked like that when I was a kid.

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  6. I need to watch more Hitchcock movies... This one sounds fun!

    @TarkabarkaHolgy from
    The Multicolored Diary
    MopDog

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  7. Sadly (I should hang my head in shame) I have neither seen the movie nor read the book. But I have been to the Little White House (where Franklin Roosevelt died and the nearby site where he received treatments for his polio) in Warm Springs, GA and to the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in Hyde Park, NY. Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  8. Rebecca is among my favourite books. Meadow Brook Hall sounds absolutely amazing.Great post!

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  9. Of course I have seen the film, more than once and I own the DVD but I still have to read the book. I tried years ago but my heart wasn't in it. This place looks beautiful and funny how we never do the tourist stuff when we live in the area. Hope you go and then post pictures.

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  10. You have some beautiful places to visit in your state! I remember 'Rebecca' was a pretty amazing film...one of the better ones as I recall. Another good book!

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  11. Just went to exercise classes. Got there a bit early and there are all kinds of book you can borrow. One was a Daphne du Maurier collection of 3 books, Rebecca, Frenchman's Creek and Jamaica Inn, so I grabbed it as I haven't read any of them for years.

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