Spellbound

“It’s quite remarkable to discover one isn’t what one thought one was.” – Ingrid Bergman als Dr. Petersen

Psychoanalyst Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman) works at Green Manors mental hospital. When the head of Green Manors is forced in retirement, he is replaced by the young Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck). Romance blossoms between the two of them, but Dr. Petersen quickly notices strange traits and amnesia in her lover, which point to a personality disorder. “I’m haunted, but I can’t see by what!” Edwardsen is a victim of his own memory and dreams, but together the couple wants to figure out who he really is. But then a murder comes into play as well…

A murder mystery mixed with Freudian theories and a passionate love affair? Those are the perfect ingredients for a Hitchcock thriller. Add to that the star power of Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck and you get a cinematic recipe for success. SPELLBOUND is one of the first movies incorporating the theme of psychoanalysis as a narrative element and Hitchcock collaborated with surrealist Salvador Dalí on a 20 minutes long dream sequence to translate the workings of psychoanalysis to the screen. When producer David O. Selznick saw the scene, he decided to reshoot it and cut it down to 2 minutes. Luckily this intervention doesn’t take away from what makes SPELLBOUND one of the highlights from Hitchcock’s Hollywood career: entertainment and suspense with a touch of forbidden romance, the shock of the unexpected and an undertone of human interest that is never forgotten.

We also screen SPELLBOUND together with MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON on Thursday 12 and Tuesday 24 November.