| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Spellbound (1945) |
| Director | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Writer | Ben Hecht (screenplay), Alma Reville (screenplay), John Seitz (story) |
| Lead Actor | Ingrid Bergman |
| Cast | Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov, Leo G. Carroll, Douglas Spencer |
| Genre | Mystery, Romance, Thriller |
| Release Date | October 3, 1945 (United States) |
| Duration | 1h 59m (119 min) |
| Budget | $1.5 million (approx.) |
| Language | English |
| IMDb Rating | 7.6/10 |
Spellbound follows eight participants in the 1999 National Spelling Bee from their victories in area competitions through the pressurized national event. These young people and their families put a face on the rich diversity of our country, reflecting a wide geographic, economic and social spectrum. Before the nail biting begins, the film introduces the students in their home settings.
Angela, who hails from Texas, is the daughter of first-generation immigrants from Mexico who do not speak English. For April, home is a small working-class town near Philadelphia that has seen better days. Emily comes from an upscale Connecticut home.
A strong work ethic is notable in all of the contestants, but no one takes this further than Neil and his East Indian father, who set up an elaborate study system in their California home. Nuper, from Florida, is also of Indian descent. Ashley is the African-American daughter of a single mother in Washington, D.C. Ted hails from rural Missouri where only sports count, and Harry is a brilliant hyperactive kid from New Jersey.
We catch these contestants preparing like elite athletes training for the Olympics, determined and dedicated, practicing hours each day, not just memorizing words but also learning word origins and language roots.
We recognize that in the end only one contestant can become the national champion. And we hope it will be one of “ours,” the ones that the documentary filmmakers chose to follow. This is not a drama, after all, where the writer can decide who wins. And when the parents and their children fly to Washington, D.C., for the competition, suspense grows.
One by one our students step forward to the microphone, hear the word, perhaps ask for a definition or clarification and then take the plunge. We become aware of the pressure they face, the confidence they do or do not display, the element of luck in their assigned word. All of ours make it through the first two rounds.
With each round tension goes up a notch and spikes in the fifth round when the bright television lights of CNN signal the beginning of live television coverage. At this point, four of ours are still in the running, and all make it to the final eight.
One by one, contestants have been hearing the feared signal that they have misspelled a word. We learn a lot about winning and losing as downcast contestants are escorted offstage to a consolation room and eventually sit down to talk about their experience. Their sometimes poignant reactions as they struggle with disappointment speak volumes. And we watch, spellbound.
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