Spellbound (1945 film) 1

Spellbound (1945 film)

Spellbound

Theatrical release poster

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Produced by David O. Selznick

Screenplay by Angus MacPhailBen Hecht

Story by Hilary Saint George SaundersFrancis Beeding

Starring Ingrid BergmanGregory PeckMichael ChekhovLeo G. CarrollRhonda Fleming

Music by Miklós Rózsa

Cinematography George Barnes

Editing by Hal C. Kern

Studio Selznick International Pictures

Distributed by United Artists

Release date(s) • December 28, 1945 (US)

Running time 111 minutes[1]

Country United States

Language English

Budget US$1.5 million

Box office US$6,387,000 (by 1947)[2]

Spellbound is a 1945 American psychological mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It tells the story ofthe new head of a mental asylum who turns out not to be what he claims. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, GregoryPeck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll. It is an adaptation by Angus MacPhail and Ben Hecht of the novel TheHouse of Dr. Edwardes (1927) by Hilary Saint George Saunders and John Palmer (writing as "Francis Beeding").

PlotThe Fault... is Not in Our Stars,But in Ourselves...—William Shakespeare

The film opens with Shakespeare's proverb, and words on the screen announcing that its purpose is to highlight thevirtues of psychoanalysis in banishing mental illness and restoring reason.Dr. Constance Petersen is a psychoanalyst at Green Manors, a mental hospital in Vermont, and is perceived by theother (male) doctors as detached and emotionless. The director of the hospital, Dr. Murchison, is being forced intoretirement, shortly after returning from an absence due to nervous exhaustion. His replacement is the much youngerDr. Anthony Edwardes.

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Dr. Petersen notices that there is something strange about Dr. Edwardes. He has a peculiar phobia about seeing setsof parallel lines against a white background, first displayed after seeing a diagram drawn with the tines of a fork on atablecloth. Dr. Petersen soon realizes, by comparing handwriting, that this man is an impostor and not the real Dr.Edwardes. He confides to her that he killed Dr. Edwardes and took his place. He suffers from massive amnesia anddoes not know who he is. Dr. Petersen believes that he is innocent and suffering from a guilt complex.'Dr. Edwardes' disappears during the night, having left a note for Dr. Petersen that he is going to the Empire StateHotel in New York City. It becomes public knowledge that 'Dr. Edwardes' is an impostor, and that the real Dr.Edwardes is missing and may have been murdered.Dr. Petersen goes to the Empire State Hotel, knowing that the police are in pursuit. She uses her psychoanalyticskills to unlock his amnesia and find out what had really happened. One of Hitchcock's characteristicinnocent-person-pursued-by-the-police evasions ensues, as Dr. Petersen and the impostor (who now calls himself'John Brown') travel by train to Rochester, to meet Dr. Brulov, who had been Dr. Petersen's teacher and mentor.The two doctors analyze a dream that 'John Brown' had. The dream sequence (designed by Salvador Dalí) is full ofpsychoanalytic symbols—eyes, curtains, scissors, playing cards (some of them blank), a man with no face, a manfalling off a building, a man hiding behind a chimney dropping a wheel, and wings. They deduce that Brown andEdwardes had been on a ski trip together (the lines in white being ski tracks) and that Edwardes had somehow diedthere. Dr. Petersen and Brown go to the Gabriel Valley ski resort (the wings provide a clue) to reenact the event andunlock his repressed memories.Near the bottom of the hill, Brown's memory suddenly returns. He recalls that there is a precipice in front of them,over which Edwardes had fallen to his death. He stops them just in time. He also remembers a traumatic event fromhis childhood—he slid down a hand rail and accidentally knocked his brother onto sharp pointed railings, killinghim. This incident had caused him to develop amnesia and a generalized guilt complex. He also remembers that hisreal name is John Ballantyne. All is understood now, and Ballantyne is about to be exonerated, when it is discoveredthat Edwardes had a bullet in his body. Ballantyne is convicted of murder and sent to prison.A heartbroken Dr. Petersen returns to her position at the hospital, where Dr. Murchison is once again the director.After reconsidering her notes from the dream, Dr. Petersen realizes that the 'wheel' was a revolver and that the manhiding behind the chimney and dropping the wheel was Dr. Murchison hiding behind a tree, shooting Dr. Edwardesand dropping the gun. She confronts Murchison with this and he confesses, but says that he didn't drop the gun; hestill has it. He pulls it out of his desk and threatens to shoot her. She walks away, the gun still pointed at her, andexplains that while the first murder carried extenuating circumstances of his own mental state, murdering her as wellwould result in the electric chair. He allows her to leave and turns the gun on himself. Dr. Petersen is then reunitedwith Ballantyne.

Cast• Ingrid Bergman as Dr. Constance Petersen• Gregory Peck as Dr. Anthony Edwardes / John Ballantyne• Michael Chekhov as Dr. Alexander 'Alex' Brulov, a teacher of Dr. Peterson• Leo G. Carroll as Dr. Murchison, the head of Green Manors• Rhonda Fleming as Mary Carmichael, a patient in Green Manors• John Emery as Dr. Fleurot• Steven Geray as Dr. Graff• Paul Harvey as Dr. Hanish•• Donald Curtis as Harry, a staff of Green Manors• Norman Lloyd as Mr. Garmes, a patient in Green Manors• Bill Goodwin as House detective of Empire State Hotel• Wallace Ford as Stranger in Empire State Hotel Lobby

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• Art Baker as Det. Lt. Cooley• Regis Toomey as Det. Sgt. Gillespie

Taglines•• The Maddest Love that ever possessed a woman•• Will he kiss me... or kill me?

ProductionSpellbound caused major contention between Alfred Hitchcock and producer David O. Selznick. Hitchcock'scontract with Selznick began in March 1939, but only resulted in three films: Rebecca (1940) and The ParadineCase (1947) being the other two. (Notorious was sold to RKO in mid-production.) Selznick wanted Hitchcock tomake a movie based upon Selznick's own positive experience with psychoanalysis. Selznick even brought in histherapist, May Romm M.D., who was credited in the film as a technical adviser. Dr. Romm and Hitchcock clashedfrequently.[citation needed]

Further contention was caused by the hiring of surrealist artist Salvador Dalí to conceive certain scenes of mentaldelusion. Hitchcock himself had very little to do with the actual filming of the dream sequence. Selznick thought thatit was not Dalí's fault, for his work was much finer and much better for the purpose than he ever thought it would be,and although much of Dalí's work was used, one dream sequence depicting Bergman turning into a statue of theRoman goddess Diana was cut. Ingrid Bergman is quoted in the Hitchcock biography The Dark Side of Genius(1983) by Donald Spoto that the Dalí sequence ran for almost 20 minutes before it was cut by Selznick.[]

The cut footage apparently no longer exists, although some production stills have survived in the Selznick archives.Eventually Selznick hired William Cameron Menzies, who had worked on Gone With the Wind, to oversee the setdesigns and to direct the sequence.The film boasts an orchestral score by Miklós Rózsa notable for its pioneering use of the theremin, performed by Dr.Samuel Hoffmann. Selznick originally wanted Bernard Herrmann but when Herrmann became unavailable, Rózsawas hired, winning the Academy Award for his score.[] Although Rózsa considered Spellbound to contain some ofhis best work, he said "Alfred Hitchcock didn't like the music - said it got in the way of his direction. I never sawhim since."[]

Spellbound was filmed in black and white, except for one or two frames of bright red at the conclusion, when a gunis fired into the camera. This red detail was deleted in most 16mm and video formats, but was restored for the film'sDVD release and airings on Turner Classic Movies.

MusicIntrada Records released an album of a re-recording by the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra of the film's completescore . The album featured music not heard in the finished film.[3]

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Intrada Records Album

No. Title Length

1. "Main Title; Foreward" 3:13

2. "Green Manors" 0:51

3. "First Meeting" 2:11

4. "The Picnic" 2:01

5. "The Awakening; Love Scene; The Dressing Gown; The Imposter - Parts 1 & 2; The Cigarette Case" 16:49

6. "The Letter" 0:30

7. "The Empire Hotel" 1:22

8. "The Burned Hand - Parts 1 & 2" 2:29

9. "The Penn Station" 2:44

10. "Railway Carriage" 1:16

11. "Honeymoon At Brulov's; The White Coverlet; The Razor - Parts 1 & 2; Constance Is Afraid" 10:03

12. "Constance And Brulov - Parts 1 & 2" 4:15

13. "Gambling Dream; Mad Proprietors Dream; Roof-Top Dreams" 2:37

14. "Dream Interpretation - Parts 1 & 2; The Decision" 6:10

15. "Train To Gabriel Valley" 1:23

16. "Ski Run; Mountain Lodge" 5:51

17. "Defeat" 3:15

18. "Contance's Discovery" 2:04

19. "The Revolver" 3:05

20. "The End" 0:59

21. "End Title - Short" 0:24

CameoHitchcock's cameo appearance is a signature occurrence in almost all of his films. In Spellbound, he can be seencoming out of an elevator at the Empire State Hotel, carrying a violin case and smoking a cigarette, about 37 minutesinto the film. The trailer for Spellbound's original theatrical release in America made a great deal of fuss over thiscameo, showing the footage twice and even freeze-framing Hitchcock's brief appearance while a breathless narratorinforms us that this ordinary-looking man is the film's director.

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ReceptionAfter its release, it broke every record in London, breaking records in both famous theaters, Pavilion and TivoliStrand, for a single day, week, month, holiday and Sundays.[4]

It earned rentals of $4,975,000 in North America.[5]

AwardsSpellbound won the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture, and was nominatedfor Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Michael Chekhov); Best Cinematography, Black-and-White; Best Director;Best Effects, Special Effects; and Best Picture. Ingrid Bergman did not receive an Academy Award nomination forthe film, although she was nominated the same year for The Bells of Saint Mary's. She received the New York FilmCritics' Circle Award for Best Actress for the film in 1945.

Adaptations in other mediaOn two occasions, Spellbound was adapted to the radio program Lux Radio Theater, each starring Joseph Cotten: thefirst on March 8, 1948, the second on January 25, 1951.

References[2] David Thomson, Showman: The Life of David O. Selznick, Abacus, 1993 p 445[4] http:/ / news. google. com/ newspapers?id=rggtAAAAIBAJ& sjid=19UFAAAAIBAJ& dq=spellbound& pg=4942%2C5207428[5] "All-Time Top Grossers", Variety, 8 January 1964 p 69

External links• Spellbound (http:/ / www. imdb. com/ title/ tt0038109/ ) at the Internet Movie Database• Spellbound (http:/ / tcmdb. com/ title/ title. jsp?stid=91049) at the TCM Movie Database• Spellbound (http:/ / www. rottentomatoes. com/ m/ 1019609-spellbound/ ) at Rotten Tomatoes• Spellbound (http:/ / www. criterion. com/ current/ posts/ 223) Criterion Collection essay by Leonard Leff• Spellbound (http:/ / www. criterion. com/ current/ posts/ 224) Criterion Collection essay by Lesley Brill• Spellbound (http:/ / www. eyegate. com/ cine/ Spellbound) at Eyegate Gallery• Spellbound Concerto by Miklós Rózsa (http:/ / www. youtube. com/ watch?v=xpSwRR-KQAU) Music to the film

arranged by Rózsa• Spellbound (http:/ / ia700201. us. archive. org/ 2/ items/ Lux13/ Lux_48-03-08_Spellbound. mp3) on Lux Radio

Theater: March 8, 1948

Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and ContributorsSpellbound (1945 film)  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=554429761  Contributors: 6afraidof7, Abato piscorum, Aion, Ajd, Ajw786, Andrzejbanas, Anne O'Neame,Anticipation of a New Lover's Arrival, The, Arch dude, Artihcus022, Bdve, Bender235, Betacommand, Bjones, Black Mesa, Bobamnertiopsis, Bobet, C777, Caiaffa, Cburnett, Checkplus,Clarityfiend, Colinmotox11, Colonies Chris, Cop 663, Danny, Davepattern, Davidiad, Dobermanji, Dutchy85, Dutzi, Eloquence, FFlixx7481, Feydey, Gaius Cornelius, Gareth Griffith-Jones,Girolamo Savonarola, Hektor, Horkana, Infocidal, Irishguy, Itxia, Jay-W, Jjjakegittes, JoeSmack, Jonathan.s.kt, Judesba, Julian Mendez, Khaosworks, Kirbyparufo, Kookyunii, Lawikitejana,Lugnuts, Luigibob, M samadi, MachoCarioca, Maniago, Martarius, MartinPackerIBM, Maxim, Mbrother64, Miami33139, MikeWazowski, Mikomaid, Motownlegend, Naddy, Nader85021, Nihilnovi, Noirish, Oldiesmann, Orbicle, Parmiter, Pegship, Pfa, PhantomS, Philip Cross, Purplebackpack89, Roaring phoenix, Rossrs, Rtrace, Satish a, Savolya, Schwenkstar, Slobodan Grasic,Smith03, Spacelamb, Sparkit, Steve03Mills, Sugar Bear, Sumivec, Tassedethe, Tectar, Telamonides, ThatFilmGuy92, The wub, Thismightbezach, Thomas Blomberg, Tjmayerinsf,TonyTheTiger, Tvaughn05, Who, William Ackerman, Wmahan, Wool Mintons, Zoe, Zot abni 111, Zzyzx11, 61 anonymous edits

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