- Alfred Hitchcock is famous for his psychological thrillers, but no film of his is more literally psychological than Spellbound. Here, Ingrid Bergman portrays psychoanalyst Dr. Constance Petersen, who, as any of her libidinous colleagues will tell you, is more successful as a doctor than as a woman. Petersen spends her days treating violent nymphomaniacs and dealing with guilt complexes galore at a clinic run by Dr. Murchison (Leo G. Carroll), who is preparing to retire. Arriving to relieve Murchison is Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck), who is a lot younger than anyone expects and apparently more attractive than Dr. Petersen expects. Soon, Petersen and Edwardes are out frolicking and eating liverwurst while the other doctors are left stroking their beards and wagging their tongues.
- So what's the problem? Well, the problem is that Dr. Edwardes is actually an amnesiac by the name of John Ballantine. He has no idea who he is or what happened to the real Dr. Edwardes, although he does seem to react strangely, and sometimes violently, to certain visual cues. Could psychology help solve this mystery? That's what Petersen is thinking when she leads Ballantine to the home of her old mentor, Dr. Brulov (Michael Chekhov). Brulov is the image of Freud himself, and he manages to help Ballantine to recall a disturbing dream that contains the secret of what really happened to Dr. Edwardes. Although that dream vindicates Ballantine, it has rather unfortunate implications for the person who really killed Dr. Edwardes.
- Spellbound is an odd film in that it is a decent story with some high-powered stars that ends up seeming like an excuse for the dream sequence. There are very few scenes that could easily upstage Gregory Peck and Ingrid Bergman, but the dream in Spellbound is one of them. Hitchcock brought in none other than Salvadore Dali to design in his inimitable style this phantasmagoric trip through the human psyche. While the psychology surrounding the dream and its interpretation seem a bit hokey, as does the idea that a dream interpretation is sufficient to implicate a murderer, the whole sequence certainly leaves an indelible imprint on the film and, for that matter, the audience. The other memorable moment arrives when Dr. Murchison uses a gun to add a splash of color at the end of the film. I suppose this was Hitchcock's first experiment with color, but thankfully not his last.
- I spotted Hitchcock exiting the elevator holding a violin case.
- Once again, I'm going to have to claim that David Lynch must have seen this film.
