if daphne du maurier have set rebecca in 1950s san francisco and it might very well resemble this uptight and highly unusual noir from robert wise . valentina cortese play a concentration camp survivor who steal the identity of a dead woman and insinuate herself into the life of richard basehart ( who happen also to be the guardian of the dead woman son ) . it absurd and over the top but also topflight entertainment . cortese be terrific and slowly fall apart a she realize the mistake she make . basehart be fine if a bit bland . although the light toward the end make him appear very menace . fay baker make a very good mrs. danvers like caretaker . wise be a fine director and he keep thing move at a pretty brisk clip . he also stag a now classic out of control car crash with cortese ( or at least a stunt cortese ) at the wheel .