Spellbound (1945)

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

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

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

Stars:

Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 6 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

Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a psychiatrist at Green Manors mental asylum. The head of Green Manors has just been replaced, with his replacement being the renowned Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck). Romance blossoms between Dr. Petersen and Dr. Edwards but Dr. Edwards starts to show odd aversions and personality traits. It is discovered that he is an impostor, and amnesiac, and may have killed the real Dr. Edwardes. Dr. Petersen is determined to discover the truth through unlocking the secrets held in the impostor's mind, a process which potentially puts her and others' lives at risk.

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Plot Keywords:

amnesia | dream sequence | post traumatic stress disorder | guilt complex | dream analysis | 

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Taglines:

The Maddest Love that ever possessed a woman

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Genres:

Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Passed

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)

Gross USA:

$7,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Selznick International Pictures, Vanguard Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min 95 min (Ontario) 118 min (with overture and exit music)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Two frames tinted) Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Alfred Hitchcock had suggested "Hidden Impulse" as a title, studio secretary Ruth Rickman came up with the title "Spellbound," which tested well in a pre-release survey.

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Goofs

When Dr. Peterson enters the library at the mental hospital, The word "LIBRARY" is clearly visible on the door in large letters. When she exits, it is gone.

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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

Referenced in Destination Hitchcock: The Making of 'North by Northwest' (2000)

User Reviews

Freudian fantasy

A world in which Freudian psycho-analysis works as it's supposed to is rather like a world in which magic works - so call this film a fantasy. There's nothing whatever wrong with fantasy. Indeed, there's nothing better. Hitchcock announces at the very beginning that the story takes place in a Freudian world; thereafter he plays perfectly fair with us.

He even chose the right collaborators for a fantasy. The dream sequences were designed by Salvador Dali. (Anyone whose dreams really do look like Dali paintings maybe COULD do with some psycho-analysis.) They're not frightening - dream sequences rarely are - but they are at any rate more interesting than the usual dreams we might have or hear about. The music was by Miklós Rózsa, maybe the best of the composers who settled in Hollywood, certainly the most vividly overpowering. He was exactly the right choice for this film - however much Hitchcock disliked the score, or said that he did.

The story follows a confused Gregory Peck, who cannot remember key episodes of his recent (and not so recent) past, and who may, just possibly, be a dangerous criminal. Ingrid Bergman is a second-generation disciple of Freud who despite her professional caution finds herself falling in love with him. Perhaps it sounds cardboard already, but the performances invest the characters with more life than my descriptions did. Peck in particular is highly sympathetic. He comes across as not at all mad, not even mentally disturbed - just a man who can't remember one or two things and has an odd aversion to things like parallel lines. (That?s right - parallel lines.) Anyway, as I said, it's a fantasy: the forces of psychoanalysis must unravel the mystery before it's too late. (Why there's a "too late" is too complicated to go into.) The usual kind of Hitchcock suspense isn't there but the man WAS capable of moving outside his home genre now and then. Remember, his other fantasy was "The Birds".