I agree and she (or perhaps Katherine Hepburn in The Philadelphia Story) should have nabbed the Oscar. Ginger Rogers was well respected and her film a nice success, and so she surprisingly won instead. I believe the Academy awarded Fontaine an Oscar for Suspicion on the strength of her performance in Rebecca. It's incredible she's the only actor from a Hitchcock film to win an Academy Award. One thing I have noticed from a lot of viewers is their dislike for the second Mrs. De Winter character. Her insecurity and emotional outbursts might have something to do with it and I don't think modern audiences are used to the protagonist having such an "inferiority complex" as Fontaine puts it above. But the character is only supposed to be about 20 years old; her father, her only family member, has recently died and she accepted a job as a traveling companion to an affluent, vicious old woman; she's swept off her feet and then marries an older, wealthy English aristocrat whose first wife "haunts" the manor - everyone, especially the sinister housekeeper, constantly reminds the second Mrs. de Winter of how impressive Rebecca was, in both her beauty and her character, implying that the second Mrs. de Winter can't possibly contend with her. How else is a 20 year old girl supposed to act, then? The entire film is a standout.

yes, maybe a make up for the loss in Rebecca

Success is nothing without somebody to share it with

She did this to me too. I wrote to her beeing still a starstruck teenager and to my great surprise and utter delight she not only replied to my clumsy letter but proceeded to send me postcards on every christmas for years.

Olivia and Joan looked a lot alike, just Olivia had darker hair and eye color.

That's exactly the impression I've always had. Olivia seemed phony and hypocritical, as if she were always wearing a mask. Joan was straight up, no nonsense, as well as being very pleasant and charming. To me there's no contest between the two, though I will say that Olivia was absolutely magnificent as Catherine Sloper in The Heiress, a multi-dimensional and moving performance.

Thomas Barrientos That is how I perceive Olivia also. Of the two, I think Olivia is the better actress, but I like Joan much better because she is so much more sincere as a person.

Exactly my impression too. Olivia de Havilland considered herself like Melanie in Gone with the Wind. It became a farce in later years, I guess she was more responsible for the feud than Joan. Joan was a feisty and strong woman, who unlike most of her famous screen characters did not like to be a victim.

If Joan was so great, why did Joan first SNUB Olivia's congratulation attempt, when Joan got the first Oscar. Also, Joan was the jealous one. She had no intention of acting until Olivia "fell" into it. Joan was always copying, crowding ,and trying to outdo Olivia. Also, in interviews Olivia did not continuously compare herself to Joan, but that is all Joan could talk about, always making sure Olivia looked bad. Sounds pretty narcissistic to me. Also during WWIi Olivia was continuously visiting military hospitals on the fighting fronts, even getting sick herself (pneumonia). Due to her humble, soothing, presence, she was the only star that military doctors requested visit the Psychiatric wards. This is why she made movies later on about mental illness, to shed light on this tragic condition. Olivia was always thinking of the greater good. Olivia was a deep thinker and a giver. By comparison, Joan was relatively shallow (immature), and Joan knew it.

She remained beautiful even in old age

I don't

British-Japanese

Um no.

According to Joan she didn't consider it a feud in the sense that others meant it to be. They just were never that close. I believe that to be true even form hearing Olivia side. They just were never close growing up then went into the same industry which leads to natural rivalry and being pitted against eachother. They then just came to enjoy picking at eachother for the rest of their lives.

Nothing like her

I agree- "Nothing like her"..

Seriously wtf are you high?

Why when Joan was perfect?