Back home

Spellbound

957 votes

Producing House

When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.

movie

Status: Released

Released Date: 1945-11-08

Runtime: 111 mins

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Spoken language: English

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Romance

Original title: Spellbound

Production Companies: Selznick International Pictures, Vanguard Films

Production Countries: United States of America

Reviews

G

Geronimo1967
When Leo G. Carroll ("Dr. Murchison") steps down as director of the "Green Manors" - a centre for psychoanalysis, he is replaced by Gregory Peck ("Dr. Edwardes") who immediately attracts the attention - romantic and professional - of Ingrid Bergman ("Dr. Petersen") who quickly discovers that he has quite a secret. Together they must work speedily to unravel a mystery of memory and murder before the authorities come to their own conclusions. This isn't my favourite Hitchcock thriller - Peck hasn't quite got the charisma or intensity the part required and though Bergman is beautiful; she is still just a little too stilted, unnatural even. The plot, however is complex and intriguing dealing with a traditional crime-noir subject in a far more cerebral manner. Miklós Rósza's Oscar winning score adds much of the menace to this and the pace smoulders nicely to a suitably thoughtful conclusion. I know Peck was David O. Selznick's golden boy at this point, but I cannot help but think he let's the thing down a bit; perhaps Hitch should have cast a more characterful lead? Great stuff, nonetheless though - certainly worth a watch.
2022-07-01

b

barrymost
This intriguing little crime/thriller from the great Alfred Hitchcock isn't half bad. It's a more unusual Hitch effort, but the story has plenty of twists and turns to keep interest. Ingrid plays a kindhearted psychologist who falls in love with the new doctor at the asylum where she's working, but he may not be all that he seems. I'm sorry, Ms. Bergman; it looks like you've fallen in love with a psycho.
2019-09-08

Recommendations

Ghost Machine
2.4

Ghost Machine

2009-02-01

Two technicians battle a vengeful spirit that has infected their stolen military software.

The Enforcer
3.6

The Enforcer

1951-02-24

After years of investigation, Assistant District Attorney Martin Ferguson has managed to build a sol

House of Games
3.4

House of Games

1987-10-11

A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into

Nomads
2.4

Nomads

1986-03-07

One night, in a Los Angeles hospital, Dr. Flax attends to a seriously injured man who, apparently cr

3:15 the Moment of Truth
2.8

3:15 the Moment of Truth

1986-01-31

Violent crime is routine. Organized drug trade runs rampant in the face of powerless authority. And

Wild Side
2.9

Wild Side

1996-06-22

A bank accountant who moonlights as a high-priced call girl becomes embroiled in the lives of a mone

Odds Against Tomorrow
3.4

Odds Against Tomorrow

1959-10-15

An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tension

The Earrings of Madame de...
3.8

The Earrings of Madame de...

1953-04-16

In late 19th century France, the Countess Louise, wife of a wealthy general, sells the earrings her

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers
3.5

The Strange Love of Martha Ivers

1946-08-19

Three childhood friends, Martha, Walter and Sam, share a terrible secret. Over time, the ambitious M

The Hound of the Baskervilles
3.5

The Hound of the Baskervilles

1939-03-24

When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Ho

Gone, But Not Forgotten
2.5

Gone, But Not Forgotten

2003-10-09

Questions about the identity of an amnesiac threaten his romance with the park ranger who rescued hi

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror
3.3

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror

1942-09-18

England, at the start of World War Two. Mysterious wireless broadcasts, apparently from Nazi Germany

I Walked with a Zombie
3.4

I Walked with a Zombie

1943-04-21

A nurse in the Caribbean turns to voodoo in hopes of curing her patient, a mindless woman whose husb

The Fourth Man
3.1

The Fourth Man

2007-02-20

A man awakens from a two-month-long coma. Total amnesia. A bullet fired point blank. He doesn't reme

Honor Student
2.8

Honor Student

2014-09-13

At a book signing for his best seller, Nicholas Howarth is confronted by sexy Teresa Smith, who says

Hideaway
2.6

Hideaway

1995-03-03

Hatch Harrison, his wife, Lindsey, and their daughter, Regina, are enjoying a pleasant drive when a

The Cat o' Nine Tails
3.4

The Cat o' Nine Tails

1971-02-12

A newsman works with a blind puzzle-solver to uncover a deadly conspiracy linked to a genetic resear

Edge of Madness
2.7

Edge of Madness

2002-03-01

1851, Manitoba's Red River Valley. As winter sets in, a young woman on the edge of madness arrives e

The Crossing Guard
3

The Crossing Guard

1995-01-26

Unable to move on from the loss of his daughter, Freddy, now a shell of the person he was before, sw

Mrs. Miniver
3.5

Mrs. Miniver

1942-07-03

Middle-class housewife Kay Miniver deals with petty problems. She and her husband Clem watch her Oxf