Spellbound (1945)

A female psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Ben Hecht (screenplay), Frances Beeding (suggested by novel "The House of Dr. Edwardes"),

Stars:

Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ingrid Bergman	...	Dr. Constance Petersen
Gregory Peck	...	John Ballantyne
Michael Chekhov	...	Dr. Alexander Brulov
Leo G. Carroll	...	Dr. Murchison
Rhonda Fleming	...	Mary Carmichael
John Emery	...	Dr. Fleurot
Norman Lloyd	...	Mr. Garmes
Bill Goodwin	...	House Detective
Steven Geray	...	Dr. Graff
Donald Curtis	...	Harry
Wallace Ford	...	Stranger in Hotel Lobby
Art Baker	...	Det. Lt. Cooley
Regis Toomey	...	Det. Sgt. Gillespie
Paul Harvey	...	Dr. Hanish

Storyline

The head of the Green Manors mental asylum Dr. Murchison is retiring to be replaced by Dr. Edwardes, a famous psychiatrist. Edwardes arrives and is immediately attracted to the beautiful but cold Dr. Constance Petersen. However, it soon becomes apparent that Dr. Edwardes is in fact a paranoid amnesiac impostor. He goes on the run with Constance who tries to help his condition and solve the mystery of what happened to the real Dr. Edwardes.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | patient | female psychiatrist | impostor | amnesia | 

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Taglines:

Strange . . . Strange . . . Their Irresistible Love! Dark . . . Dark . . . Their Inescapable Fears !

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 December 1945 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound

Filming Locations:

Alta Lodge - 10230 E. Little Cottonwood Road, Alta, Utah, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,696,377 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Selznick International Pictures, Vanguard Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 95 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Two frames tinted) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Writer Ben Hecht consulted many of the leading psychoanalysts of the day when he was penning the screenplay.

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Goofs

The burn on JB's hand is only visible during the scene where they talk about it. It disappears in every other scene where his hand is visible (like when he is sitting on the couch with Dr Brulow).

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nurse: [offscreen] Miss Carmichael, please. Dr. Petersen is ready for you.

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Crazy Credits

Just before the opening credits, an overture is played.

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Connections

Featured in Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (1994)

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Soundtracks

"Spellbound Concerto"
Composed by Miklós Rózsa

User Reviews

Too simplistic.

"Spellbound" is probably one of Hitchcock's most uneven films. It has some brilliant scenes (like the point-of-view shot near the end) that showcase Hitchcock's mastery and imagination, but it also has too many talky sequences and it takes too much time to reach its less-than-satisfying conclusion. Hitchcock relies heavily on psychological theories for his explanations, but I think that those explanations are far too simplistic. The "decoding" of the weird dream sequences is also too literal: every image has a definite and obvious meaning - does that ever happen in YOUR dreams? The low point is, for me, the explanation that the movie provides for the wheel's presence in the dream.