Spellbound (1945 film)
| Spellbound | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Produced by | David O. Selznick |
| Screenplay by |
Angus MacPhail Ben Hecht |
| Based on |
The House of Dr. Edwardes by Hilary Saint George Saunders Francis Beeding |
| Starring |
Ingrid Bergman Gregory Peck Michael Chekhov |
| Music by | Miklós Rózsa |
| Cinematography | George Barnes |
| Edited by | Hal C. Kern |
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Production
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| Distributed by | United Artists |
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Release date
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Running time
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111 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Budget | US$1.5 million |
| Box office | US$6,387,000 (by 1947) |
Spellbound is a 1945 American film noir psychological mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It tells the story of the new head of a mental asylum who turns out not to be what he claims. The film stars Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov and Leo G. Carroll. It is an adaptation by Angus MacPhail and Ben Hecht of the novel The House of Dr. Edwardes (1927) by Hilary Saint George Saunders and John Palmer.
The film opens with this quote:
The Fault... is Not in Our Stars,
But in Ourselves...
and announces that it wishes to highlight the virtues of psychoanalysis in banishing mental illness and restoring reason.
Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) is a psychoanalyst at Green Manors, a mental hospital in Vermont. She is perceived by the other (male) doctors as detached and emotionless. The director of the hospital, Dr. Murchison (Leo G. Carroll), is being forced into retirement, shortly after returning from an absence due to nervous exhaustion. His replacement is Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck), who turns out to be surprisingly young.
Dr. Petersen notices that Dr. Edwardes has a peculiar phobia about sets of parallel lines against a white background. She also soon realizes, by comparing handwriting, that this man is an impostor. He confides to her that he killed Dr. Edwardes and took his place. He suffers from massive amnesia and does not know who he is. Dr. Petersen believes he is innocent and suffering from a guilt complex. He disappears overnight, leaving a note for her. At the same time, it becomes public knowledge that 'Dr. Edwardes' is an impostor, and that the real Dr. Edwardes is missing and may have been murdered.
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Wikipedia