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:

Will he Kiss me or Kill me?

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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

The dream sequence was designed by Salvador Dalí, and was originally supposed to run slightly longer. It included a scene in a ballroom with hanging pianos and still figures pretending to dance, folled with J.B. dancing with Dr. Peterson who turns into a statue. It was cut from the final film due to lack of time to appropriately build the set to scale (little people were used in the background to give the illusion of perception, which did not satisfy Alfred Hitchcock or Dali). Only part of it was filmed, and even less of it ended up in the release version.

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Goofs

When the hotel bellboy brings the newspaper to Constance he notices her photograph on the front page. Freeze-framing reveals that the articles adjacent to the photograph are actually random paragraphs of text.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits: The fault.....is not in our stars, but in ourselves..... - Shakespeare Our story deals with psychoanalysis, the method by which modern science treats the emotional problems of the sane. The analyst seeks only to induce the patient to talk about his hidden problems, to open the locked doors of his mind. Once the complexes that have been disturbing the patient are resolved and interpreted, the illness and confusion disappear.....and the devils of unreason are driven from the human soul.

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Connections

Referenced in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: Million Dollar Movie Week 3 (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Spellbound Concerto"
Composed by Miklós Rózsa

User Reviews

The Dream Sequence Makes This Movie Worthy

In Green Manors mental institution, Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is initiating her career of psychoanalyst and is considered a cold woman that has no time for love by her colleagues. When the head of the hospital Dr. Murchison (Leo G. Carroll) is forced to retire by the board after a breakdown, his replacement is the successful Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) that is so young that surprises the other doctors in his arrival. Constance and Edwardes immediately fall in love for each other, but in a couple of days later it is disclosed that the man that supposes to be Dr. Edwardes in indeed an impostor that seems to be a paranoid amnesiac with guilty complex that might have killed the famous psychoanalyst. He goes away from Green Manors to the Empire State Hotel in New York and leaves a message to Dr. Constance that decides to find him. She sneaks and travels to New York, where she meets him lodged with the identity of John Brown. Dr. Constance decides to heal him recovering his memory and discover the fate of the true Dr. Anthony Edwardes.

"Spellbound" is far from being among my favorite Hitchcock's movies, but there is at least one unforgettable moment in this suspenseful but dull romance: the sequence of John Ballantine's dream based on designs of Salvador Dali. Ingrid Bergman performs a psychoanalyst vulnerable in many moments and with unacceptable attitudes, like for example, prioritizing to open her correspondence that giving attention to her mentally ill patient Mr. Garmes or her juvenile rapture with Gregory Peck's character. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Spellbound – Quando Fala o Coração" ("Spellbound – When the Heart Speaks")