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Spellbound

Spellbound

Thriller · Mystery · Romance · 1945

When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.

Movie details

Spellbound

“This is love! Complete...reckless...violent!”

1945 Thriller · Mystery · Romance 1h 51m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses that the real Dr. Edwardes is dead and fears he may have killed him, but cannot recall anything. Dr. Peterson, however is convinced his impostor is innocent of the man's murder, and joins him on a quest to unravel his amnesia through psychoanalysis.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Spellbound?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Alfred Hitchcock

Written by

Ben Hecht · Angus MacPhail

Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman

Dr. Constance Petersen

Gregory Peck

Gregory Peck

John Ballantine

Leo G. Carroll

Leo G. Carroll

Dr. Murchison

Michael Chekhov

Michael Chekhov

Dr. Alexander Brulov

John Emery

John Emery

Dr. Fleurot

Steven Geray

Steven Geray

Dr. Graff

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey

Dr. Hanish

Court is in session

Put Spellbound on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.