Spellbound

1945, Alfred Hitchcock, USA, 111 min.

Introduced by psychic medium Jeffrey Wands

Sign: Leo (clue: Alfred Hitchcock’s birth sign—August 13, 1899)

Forks and white tablecloths take on a whole new significance in this literally spellbinding thriller by master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock. The sumptuous musical score by Miklos Rozsa picked up the Academy Award, but it is the archetypal dream sequence by surrealist icon Salvador Dalí that is the film’s crowning achievement. If the screen crackles with repressed sexual energy between Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, there is a reason: they were having an affair during filming.

“More than a literal ‘chase’ takes place here—more than a run from the police. A ‘chase’ of even more suspenseful moment is made through the mind of a man… Mr. Hitchcock has used some startling images to symbolize the content of dreams—images designed by Salvador. But his real success is in creating the illusion of love.”

—Bosley Crowther, New York Times

About Cabaret Cinema: Dreams & Prophecy

Inspired by the Astro Poets, the whimsical astrologers beloved by the Twitterverse, Cabaret Cinema looks beyond the stars of Hollywood to the stars in the sky this summer. Twelve films aligned with the signs of the zodiac ensure there’s something for everyone. Whether you were born under a Black Moon or Sans Soleil, come see what the cinema of the past portends for the future.