Spellbound (1945)

Spellbound
Intriguing and mystifying, this "manhunt story" (as the director described it) is pickled in a heady dose of psychoanalytic dialogue, thanks in part to producer David O. Selznick, an ardent Freudian. Aside from Hitchcock's peerless handling of both the suspense surrounding J.B.'s identity and the love tryst that develops between Peck and Bergman, "Spellbound" remains celebrated because of the unforgettable dream sequence designed by Surrealist artist Salvador Dali (and directed by William Cameron Menzies). For sheer thrills and hypnotic weirdness, all enhanced by Miklos Rozsa's unsettling, Oscar-winning theremin score, "Spellbound" is hard to beat.

Not my favorite Hitchflick by a long shot.
Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945)

I often feel like an iconoclast when it comes to Alfred Hitchcock movies. While some of them are brilliant, I have found that the ones most loved by critics everywhere leave me not cold, exactly, but wondering what all the fuss is about. Spellbound joins these ranks. It's a good movie, to be certain, but one of the best ever made? I'm not even sure it's one of Hitchcock's five best.

The plot: Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a young doctor at a mental institution whose head, Dr. Murchison (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s Leo G. Carroll), is retiring. Arriving to replace him is one Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck). Petersen is powerfully attracted to Edwardes, which causes her no amount of conflict when she finds out that Edwardes may not be who he says he is.

Yeah, it works. Of course it does, it's Alfred Hitchcock. However, it feels at times-- especially during the first hour-- that Hitchcock hadn't quite decided whether he wanted to make his usual thriller or wanted to simply delve into romance territory. And it's not the idea that it's Hitch doing a romance that doesn't work, it's the indecision of the thing, which leads at times to the movie having all the pace of a snail on quaaludes. Once it gets going, it's as fine as any piece of Hitchcockiana, but it does take a while to get going. ***

Not my favorite Hitchflick by a long shot.
Spellbound (Alfred Hitchcock, 1945)

I often feel like an iconoclast when it comes to Alfred Hitchcock movies. While some of them are brilliant, I have found that the ones most loved by critics everywhere leave me not cold, exactly, but wondering what all the fuss is about. Spellbound joins these ranks. It's a good movie, to be certain, but one of the best ever made? I'm not even sure it's one of Hitchcock's five best.

The plot: Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a young doctor at a mental institution whose head, Dr. Murchison (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'s Leo G. Carroll), is retiring. Arriving to replace him is one Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck). Petersen is powerfully attracted to Edwardes, which causes her no amount of conflict when she finds out that Edwardes may not be who he says he is.

Yeah, it works. Of course it does, it's Alfred Hitchcock. However, it feels at times-- especially during the first hour-- that Hitchcock hadn't quite decided whether he wanted to make his usual thriller or wanted to simply delve into romance territory. And it's not the idea that it's Hitch doing a romance that doesn't work, it's the indecision of the thing, which leads at times to the movie having all the pace of a snail on quaaludes. Once it gets going, it's as fine as any piece of Hitchcockiana, but it does take a while to get going. ***