Jan. 14, 2011
14. Spellbound (1945)
Starring Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, Rhonda Fleming, John Emery
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Produced by David O. Selznick
Screenplay by Ben Hecht
Suggested by Francis Beeding’s novel “The House of Dr. Edwardes”
Plot: “A female psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory.” (from IMDb. I’m going to use the plot summaries from there from now on because I’m not very good at writing them!)
This movie was okay. Not my favorite Hitchcock. I am interested in psychology, but the simplification of the psychiatric angle of the plot makes this a little dated. I also thought that Peck was thoroughly unlikeable in this role. I don’t know why but I just couldn’t understand what Ingrid Bergman’s intelligent doctor character saw in him. I know many people will disagree with me on this, though! I did like him better in Designing Woman. I was impressed with how Hitchcock manipulated some of the visual elements in this film (I can’t really say what they were without giving the plot away). But I guess that’s one of the reasons that he’s regarded as a great director! Despite these techniques, I thought the film dragged and the ending seemed a little sloppy. Over all, this movie just did not work for me. The extras on the DVD I watched were very good, however, and it got me interested in PTSD.
_03.jpg "Jan. 11, 2011<br /><br />10. Designing Woman (1957)<br /><br />Starring Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Dolores Gray, Sam Levene<br /><br />Directed by Vincente Minnelli<br /><br />Plot: After only knowing each other a short time, a sportswriter marries and a successful fashion designer marry. Now they must deal with their conflicting lifestyles.<br /><br />This is a fun, light ’50s comedy. The clothes designed by Helen Rose are shown off to their full advantage by the stylish and sultry Lauren Bacall. Oh, and Gregory Peck is pretty easy on the eyes as well. It’s fun to see both of them in a comedy. Despite the fact that this won an Oscar for best screenplay, I thought the story was kind of lacking. I guess that just shows what I know. :P It seemed like it relied a little too much on the old ‘couples misunderstanding’ shtick. But all things considered, this is a really fun movie with a great cast.")
