Rebecca- My Fair Lady

A wonderful movie is on TCM right now- Rebecca. Based on the novel by Daphne Du Maurier, this is my favorite Hitchcock movie- with fine performances by the great Sir Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, and the irrepressible George Sanders. An interesting story- three years go I was teaching a course on Global Business and on the first day of class I took a roll call. As I was going through the roster I came across the name 'Rebecca.' I called out the name and a young lady responded. I asked her if she had seen the namesake movie. She replied that she had not only seen the movie but had also read the book by Ms. Du Maurier. I was impressed. As it turned out Rebecca was one of my best students ever! To emphasize the rarity of this type of event, I should mention that I have had quite a few "Christine"s in my courses who had never heard of Christine Lahti, an Audrey who had not heard of Audrey Hepburn, a Krissy who had not heard of Chrissy in Three's Company, and so on....Christine Lahti is a person I highly admire. She stands up and speaks out about fairness and justice and women's issues.

Another fine movie based on a Daphne Du Maurier novel is Don't Look Now.

Yesterday, I was watching, yet again, the wonderful My Fair Lady. Audrey Hepburn, in my view the finest Hollywood actress ever, is just marvellous as is the entire cast. A very enjoyable film anytime. It is amazing that this movie was up against Mary Poppins, for which Julie Andrews won the Oscar.

As Sarah Palin has proven 'eloquently,' appearances can be fake and deceiving. Of course, talking about Keeping up Appearances, Mrs. Hyacinth Bucket, the 'Bucket Woman,' always has (and provides) the last laugh!