Hello, everyone!
Just as an update to my fandom of Richard Burton, on Sunday night, I watched one of the movies from early in his career, where he played the leading male role alongside American actress Olivia de Havilland (she played Melanie from "Gone With the Wind", and Maid Marian with Errol Flynn in the 1938 version of "Robin Hood") titled "My Cousin Rachel". This 1952 film is based on the book by Daphne du Maurier, the same author of the novel "Rebecca".
Like "Rebecca", "My Cousin Rachel" is a period story of suspense encased in both romance and mistrust. Here, Richard Burton's character, Phillip Ashley, is a young man residing in Cornwall, England with his older cousin, Ambrose. To Phillip, Ambrose is not only his cousin but his everything: from brother to father, to confidant, etc, as Phillip has been under Ambrose's care since he was a boy. The two young men continue to live and grow together at their family estate currently under Amrbrose's care, until Ambrose goes off to Italy; little does young Phillip know that he will never see he beloved cousin alive again.
Until he is 25 years of age, Phillip, who is now 24, has left the family estate in the hands of his godfather, Nick Kendall, who is a wise and elderly man, after Ambrose's departure. Kendall has a daughter named Louise, who is young and kind, but also clever (played by Irish actress Audrey Dalton). While Ambrose is away in Italy, Phillip misses his cousin dearly, even though all is well between Kendall, Louise, and himself. Ambrose eventually writes to Phillip to tell him that he met a widowed countess who is coincidentally their cousin, whose first name is Rachel, and that they have married. The letter also indicates that he plans to stay in Italy with her, and that they have no immediate plans to return home. Eventually, red flags are raised when Phillip recieves a longer letter, and then a shorter one from Ambrose, warning him of their cousin and his wife, Rachel, and how dangerous she is. Phillip is also requested to come to Florence at once to aid his cousin in his time of distress. Phillip urgently goes to Florence from England, but he gets to Rachel's estate too late, and learns from one of the servants that Ambrose passed on three weeks before his own arrival, and Phillip is immediately shocked and crushed at the hearing of this news. He also learns that Rachel had left the estate herself the day before, and soon sets out back to Cornwall. When he learns that Rachel is in Cornwall, he offers her a place to stay at his family estate, but maintains a certain coldness with her, at first, as he believes that she broke Ambrose's heart, and mislead him into believing that she truly loved him, and then murdered him. However, when he openly accuses her of this treacherous deed upon first laying eyes on her in the room where she is staying, and presents her with Ambrose's letters of warning to him, she becomes emotionally tattered. This softens Phillip's heart to her, and he begins to have second thoughts that she is, in fact, innocent of having a hand in her husband's death. Rachel proves herself to Phillip, and to everyone else whom she meets, that she is a charming young lady, and is thoughtful of each person. It is not too long before Phillip himself falls madly in love with his cousin Rachel, and has tormenting and passionate thoughts of marrying her and making the estate belong to both of them once he turns twenty-five... it isn't until he makes these proclamations of his passion openly known to Rachel and the other people surrounding them, such as Kendall, Louise, and the servants, that trouble ensues...
Well, I won't spoil any more of it for you, but the trailer down below, and maybe this will spark your interest in seeing the movie, yourselves! (I honestly think that the movie itself is better than the trailer, and I realized what a vivid story "My Cousin Rachel" actually is! However, I'll leave this for you to decide!) Richard Burton, as in most of the roles I have seen him in, exhibits his utmost passion and rage through the intricacies of his speech and the coolness of his gestures. Olivia de Havilland plays a role that is both sultry and innocent, and has a personality which is leaves an audience in question that she is a two-faced charmer!
I know that you can watch this at a low cost if you have an Amazon Prime account; however, I don't know how Amazon works in other countries outside the U.S., and I wish you the best in finding the best way to watch this movie if you interested!
Without further ado, here is the trailer for the 1952 film "My Cousin Rachel", starring Richard Burton and Olivia de Havilland! Please tell me what you think!:
[media=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fKjZDgat_0]
