In a modern perspective, the psychology of the movie seems "a bit old fashioned" to say the least. But if the premise is accepted, it's an interesting (albeit uneven and jaggedly paced) thriller. It gets bonus points for the Salvador Dali designed dream scenes.

"I take it the supply of linen at this institute is inexhaustible!", a hilarious line from Peck early on, gave me hope that there would be something redeeming in this unbelievable plot of an esteemed psychologist instantly falling in love with a suspected murderer. Alas, the only things redeeming are a few of Hitchcock's wonderful first-person shots, and the fantastical Dali dream sequences which unfortunately only take up a few minutes of screen-time.

There's a great story involving a psychotherapist hired by producer David O. Selznick to serve as a technical adviser. The woman pointed out a problem with some aspect of the story, a complaint to which Hitchcock responded, "My dear, it's only a movie." Whether true or not, the story is telling. Like other works of his which boasted sensational, medium-bending elements, Hitchcock can sometimes seem like he's just marking time with the scenes that fall outside of the splashiest parts of the film.

Hasn't aged well at all.

Hitchcock making a film about psychology? Oh godddd, that means crud psychobabble, doesn't it? Yes. Yes it does. On the plus side, Bergman's nice, and there's that infamous Dali sequence.

Takes too long to start, is a little too long in the tooth and a little too literal. But once the plot sets in motion, it's a good ride with some nice quirks.

Enthralling and rather infuriating psychological mystery; the Hitchcock touches are splendid, and the stars shine magically, but the plot could have stood a little more attention.

There's some nice camerawork and a wonderful dream sequence, but there are problems, too, such as the miscast Peck and the ridiculous way the plot falls into place. Middle-tier Hitchcock.

Spellbound is a great romance, and an intriguing film, but its view of mental illness is downright laughable. Peck spends most of the movie fainting at the terrible sight of lines, and all of the psychologists seem to accept his bizarre spectrum of symptoms as perfectly normal when they occur approximately never. Regardless, Hitchcock doesn't need reality on his side to make a great film, and Spellbound is an engrossing ride.

intro to psycho-analysis for dummies. even the beauty of ingrid bergman is not enough.

82.625

Sure the plot is absurd but this is Hitchcock we're talking about. At times the film is incredibly corny and the twist is quite idiotic but the film's got a lot of style to cover for it. The Dali sequence alone is good enough reason to check this out. That cartoonish psychiatrist must have offended quite a few people though.

Very entertaining and, yes, the ideas of psychotherapy aren't exactly right in this film and the love story is terribly forced and not even close to being believable. But, all Hitchcock wants is to entertain and you'd be a fool to disregard his excellent directing in this film. So, even though the story telling isn't the greatest, this movie is still worth seeing.