My Cousin Rachel (1952)

My Cousin Rachel
Directed by Henry Koster
Written by Nunnally Johnson from the novel by Daphne Du Maurier
1952/USA
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
First viewing/Amazon Instant

[box] “The point is, life has to be endured, and lived. But how to live it is the problem.” ― Daphne Du Maurier, My Cousin Rachel[/box]

There was nothing wrong with this as a movie per se but I just couldn’t get behind the story.

Philip Ashley (Richard Burton) was brought up by his adored uncle Ambrose.  When Philip is grown, Ambrose travels to Italy for his health, leaving his nephew behind to watch over the estate.  While in Florence, Ambrose falls in love with and marries the Countess Rachel Sangaletti, a widow.  Then Philip starts getting letters.  His uncle’s handwriting has deteriorated and it is evident that he has grown afraid of his wife.  The last letter begs Philip to come to him.  The family lawyer reminds Philip that Ambrose’s father died of a brain tumor and that such things could be hereditary and thus account for his uncle’s state of mind.

Philip arrives in Florence to find his uncle already dead.  He meets with his uncle’s Italian solicitor Guido Rinaldi who tells him that he died after a long illness.  Uncle Ambrose left Philip his entire estate.  The widow has already left Florence.  Rinaldi tells Philip that his uncle was raving mad during the last part of the illness and very paranoid.  Philip isn’t having any of this and vows revenge on the widow.

After Philip returns home, Rachel arrives to return the uncles possessions to him.  He is amazed to see that the widow is a relatively young, sweet woman.  It doesn’t take long until Philip is head over heels in love with her.  He is so in love in fact that he gives Rachel a handsome allowance and a treasured family necklace, which the lawyer takes back because Philip has not yet come of age.  Rachel is observed to have transferred most of the money out of the country.  This may have been to satisfy some large debts.  On his birthday, Philip  announces that he is deeding the entire estate over to Rachel.  She happily accepts but when Philip also announces their engagement she balks.

This is a handsome movie with good acting.  I had a real problem with the plot because most of Philip’s actions seemed totally inexplicable to me.  Also, the ending, which I will not reveal, was unsatisfactory not because things were left open but because it seemed abundantly clear what had been going on. I also did not understand why Philip was to blame for what happened. If someone has seen this, I would  appreciate any insight that could be given.

My Cousin Rachel was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Supporting Actor (Burton); Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White; and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White.

Trailer