Spellbound (1945)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Palmer (novel) and
Hilary St. George Sanders (novel) ...

Release Date:

28 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

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

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Psychiatrist | Impostor | Murder | Memory | Amnesia

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Ingrid Bergman	...	Dr. Constance Petersen
Gregory Peck	...	John Ballantine / Dr. Anthony Edwardes
Michael Chekhov	...	Dr. Alexander 'Alex' 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

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound (USA) (promotional title)
The House of Dr. Edwardes (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

111 min | Canada:95 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Spain:18 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:L | Germany:16 (f) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #10456)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Vanguard Films

Trivia:

The first preview took place on 27 September 1944, after which David O. Selznick deleted an opening montage showing treatment of mental cases. After principal photography was completed, Selznick was involved with sound re-recording of the dialogue and the editing, eliminating about 14 minutes of the film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When John Ballantine, after seeing snow in Dr. Brulov's house, drops and breaks a cup full of coffee, no coffee spills on the carpet. Instead, we see some thin black disc made from wood or plastic pasted into the cup.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#18.3)" (2005)

Soundtrack:

Spellbound Concerto

Terrific! Powerful mystery leads to romance.

Alfred Hitchcock weaves his spell binding magic into this Francis Beeding novel. In some opinions, this is Hitchcock's best project from the 40's. Powerful stars and a great story line keeps your interest until the final shot.

An amnesia patient(Gregory Peck)is believed to be a psychotic killer. Bits and pieces of his memory about a childhood accident makes him believe that he is a murderer. Ingrid Bergman plays a young psychiatrist, who helps Peck unravel his past and regain his memory and mental health. During this process, the lovely doctor tries not to fall in love with her needy patient. She takes him to her old professor(Michael Chekhov) for help. He is reluctant to get involved with solving the mystery to clear the patient's name.

Brilliant camera work and being filmed in black & white really helped the story line. There is an eye opening dream sequence designed by Salvador Dali that is down right mystic.

The strong and talented cast also includes: Regis Toomey, Leo G. Carroll and Rhonda Fleming. This film is worth the time to watch again and again.