In the scripting process, Alfred Hitchcock made lots of changes with the novel's character "Mrs. Danvers." Hitchcock made her much younger and did not reveal her past.
Just as in the original novel, Mrs. de Winter has no first name.
Mrs. Danvers is hardly ever seen walking; she seems to glide. Alfred Hitchcock wanted her to be seen solely from Joan Fontaine's character's anxious point of view, and this effect tied in with her fear about Mrs. Danvers appearing anytime unexpectedly.
Over 20 actors were tested for the role of Mrs. de Winter, which eventually went to newcomer Joan Fontaine. One of them was Vivien Leigh, who Laurence Olivier was pressing for, as they were a couple at the time.
Rebecca's handwriting was done by Helen Amigo.
The first film Alfred Hitchcock made in Hollywood and the only one that won a Best Picture Oscar.
The novel was bought by David O. Selznick for $50,000 as a vehicle for Carole Lombard with the idea that he would attempt to get Ronald Colman for the male lead. According to Selznick's memos, when Colman put off accepting the part because he was afraid that the picture would be a "woman starring vehicle" and because of the murder angle, Selznick turned to his second choices for the role, Laurence Olivier and William Powell. Olivier was willing to work for $100,000 less than Powell and so he was chosen. Leslie Howard was also considered for the part.
The original script named the heroine "Daphne" after the writer Daphne Du Maurier. David O. Selznick objected and the name was not used.
This was Alfred Hitchcock's second film based on a Daphne Du Maurier novel (the first was Jamaica Inn)
This was the first film Alfred Hitchcock made with David O. Selznick. Hitchcock worked with screenwriter Robert E. Sherwood and Hitchcock's assistant Joan Harrison in the scripting process. But he was dissatisfied almost from the beginning of the shoot with Selznick's controlling - some called it obsessive - manner of "producing".