My Cousin Rachel
Richard Burton, Olivia de Havilland, Ronald Squire, George Dolenz, John Sutton, Audrey Dalton
Directed by Henry Koster
Based on a novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier
Twentieth Century-Fox, 1952

A mystery romance set in Cornwall.

Was Rachel Ashley really bad?

Were cousins Philip Ashley and Ambrose Ashley both paranoid over their suspicions of Rachel Ashley?

Was Philip Ashley really suffering from depression because of Rachel's rejection of his marriage proposal – or was he being fed laburnum seeds by Rachel (his late cousin's wife)?

Or was perhaps Guido Rainaldi pulling Rachel Ashley's strings all the time, and was her secret lover?

Perhaps Nicholas Kendall, Philip Ashley's Guardian & Executor of his Estate, hit the nail on the head when he said: “There are some women, good women very possibly, who through no fault of their own, imperil disaster – whatever they touch, turns to tragedy”.

Definitely a film worth watching, not an all-time great but it poses the questions just asked. “My Cousin Rachel” is certainly better than most of the rubbish that the Film industry has dished out over the past 40 years.

Nunally Johnson adapted the screenplay from Daphne du Maurier's novel – he was also responsible for the screenplay adaptations of these films, “Grapes of Wrath” (1940); “The Gunfighter” (1950); “Three Came Home” (1950); “The Woman In The Window” (1944); “Jesse James” (1939).

Richard Burton was given the Award Most Promising Newcomer in the 1952 Golden Globes.