Spellbound (1945)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

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

Release Date:

28 December 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | 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:

Memory | Police | Amnesia | Murder | Impostor

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Acker	...	Matron (uncredited)
Irving Bacon	...	Railway Gateman (uncredited)
Richard Bartell	...	Ticket Taker (uncredited)
Harry Brown	...	Gateman (uncredited)
Joel Davis	...	John Ballantine as a Boy (uncredited)
Jacqueline deWit	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Edward Fielding	...	Dr. Anthony Edwardes (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man Leaving Elevator (uncredited)
Teddy Infuhr	...	John Ballantine's Brother (uncredited)
Victor Kilian	...	Sheriff (uncredited)
George Meader	...	Hallett - Railroad Clerk (uncredited)
Matt Moore	...	Policeman at Train Station (uncredited)
Constance Purdy	...	Dr. Brulov's Housekeeper (uncredited)
Addison Richards	...	Police Captain (uncredited)
Erskine Sanford	...	Dr. Galt (uncredited)
Janet Scott	...	Norma Cramer (uncredited)
Clarence Straight	...	Secretary at Police Station (uncredited)
Dave Willock	...	Bellboy (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Ben Hecht		(screenplay)
Frances Beeding		suggested by novel The House of Dr. Edwardes &
John Palmer		suggested by novel "The House of Dr. Edwardes" (uncredited) &
Hilary St. George Sanders		suggested by novel "The House of Dr. Edwardes" (uncredited)
Angus MacPhail		(adaptation)
May E. Romm		contributing writer: foreword (uncredited)

Produced by
David O. Selznick	....	producer

Original Music by
Miklós Rózsa		(as Miklos Rozsa)

Cinematography by
George Barnes		(photographed by)

Art Direction by
James Basevi

Production Management
Fred Ahern	....	unit manager (uncredited)
Richard Johnston	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lowell J. Farrell	....	assistant director
Charles Barton	....	second unit director (uncredited)

Art Department
Salvador Dalí	....	dream sequence designed by (as Salvador Dali)
John Ewing	....	associate art director
Emile Kuri	....	interior decorator

Sound Department
Richard DeWeese	....	recorder (as Richard De Weese)
Arthur Johns	....	sound effects mixer (uncredited)
Arthur Johns	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Jack Cosgrove	....	special effects
Clarence Slifer	....	special effects associate (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Ned Scott	....	still photographer (uncredited)
John F. Warren	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Rex Wimpy	....	second camera operator: dream sequence (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Howard Greer	....	gowns: Miss Bergman (uncredited)
Ann Peck	....	wardrobe supervisor: women (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Hal C. Kern	....	supervising film editor
William H. Ziegler	....	associate film editor

Music Department
Audrey Granville	....	associate composer (uncredited)
Samuel Hoffman	....	musician: theremin (uncredited)
Earl B. Mounce	....	music mixer (uncredited)
Eugene Zador	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Barbara Keon	....	production assistant
May E. Romm	....	psychiatric advisor (as May E. Romm M.D.)
Ann Harris	....	research director (uncredited)
Eileen Johnston	....	psychiatric advisor (uncredited)
Clarita Heath Reiter	....	technical director: skiing sequence (uncredited)
Rex Wimpy	....	transparency projection shots (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Selznick International Pictures (presents) (as Selznick International) (as A Selznick International Picture also)
• Vanguard Films (as Vanguard Films Inc.)

Distributors

• United Artists (1945) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sonoro Filme (1946) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Actueel Film (1947) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Meteor Film Productions (1947) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (as Meteor Film)
• Selznick Distributing Corporation (1949) (USA) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Suomi-Filmi (1951) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Schorcht Filmverleih Gmbh (1952) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• National Telefilm Associates (NTA) (1958) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• ABC Distribution Co. (1973) (USA) (TV)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Pioneer (1994) (UK) (video) (laserdisc)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• EuroVideo (2002) (Germany) (DVD)
• EuroVideo (2002) (Germany) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Manga Films (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (Canada) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• CBS/Fox (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Capital Cities/ABC Video Enterprises Inc. (19??) (USA) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Intrada  score album released by (Excalibur Collection) (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound" - USA (promotional title)

Runtime:

111 min | Canada:95 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Two frames tinted) | 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) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1947) | UK:A (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | USA:Unrated | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (re-release) (2008) | USA:Approved (PCA #10456)

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

Trivia:

David O. Selznick wanted much of the film to be based on his experiences in psychotherapy. He even brought his psychotherapist in on the set to be a technical advisor. Once when she disputed a point of fact with Alfred Hitchcock on how therapy works, Hitchcock said, "My dear, it's only a movie."

Goofs:

Continuity: Peterson's position behind Edwardes while in line to buy train tickets changes.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Animaniacs: Spell-Bound (#1.38)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

Spellbound Concerto

Visually stylish but hopelessly silly oddity

I recently saw this film on the large screen after having not seen it for over 10 years. My memories of it were not that fond -- I recalled it as an unusually melodramatic and not very convincing thriller enlivened by a very attractive cast.

What I had forgotten about was how almost impossibly silly all the psychoanalytical claptrap is, especially in the first couple of reels, which thereby make us feel very quickly that we're not quite in the mature, masterful grip of Hitch's usual wit and taste. Yes, I know this was made in the 40's, but the first 20 to 30 minutes of the film have more sexist moments and infantile behavior by supposed doctors than one would ever expect from either Hitch or Ben Hecht.

So who's to blame? One guess -- David O. Selznick! That being said (along with the fact that the story doesn't really add up to much of anything, since all the premises on which it's based seem so shaky, naive and downright goofy), the film has some things going for it. About midway through the picture, when Michael Chekhov appears as Dr. Brulov, the film suddenly kicks into what we might call "classic British Hitch mode," with the kind of understated wit and ensemble playing the director had been doing so well since the early 30's. It almost becomes another (and far more palatable) film at this point. The scenes with Bergman, Peck and Chekhov are the highlight of the film, and I have to admit that I'm even kind of fond of the hotel lobby scene, with the appealingly breezy Bill Goodwin (of "Burns and Allen" radio fame) as the house detective. Peck has never been more handsome, in a strangely fragile way.

Also worth a look are the brief but truly unusual Dali-designed dream sequences. There is something to be said for Miklos Rozsa's score as well: although it edges a bit far into soupy overscoring, the expressive main theme has quality, and his use of the theremin (which he also employed in his score for THE LOST WEEKEND at virtually the same time) is striking and represented "something new" in film music.

One could easily make excuses for this film based on "it was only 1945" or "what people knew about psychoanalysis was still naive", etc., but even taken in context of its time it's a pretty silly film without the kind of sustained surety of style leavened with simultaneous suspense, intelligence, taste and humor that he had already proved he could do so well from more than ten years earlier. Given a standard he had already given us with examples from THE 39 STEPS or YOUNG AND INNOCENT through THE LADY VANISHES in the UK, or FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT and SHADOW OF A DOUBT here in the US, this film seems not up to his true capacities, and like his other Selznick-produced American film, REBECCA, seems both overfussy and filled with emphases and spoonfeeding of details which Hitch himself would never have given us.

You need only compare this film with his very next one, NOTORIOUS, to be painfully aware how much better Hitchcock on his own -- using his own standards of pace, momentum and the ADULT treatment of script themes -- could be when not under the thumb of Selznick. Thank God he didn't have to work for him any more after this.