Saturday, February 12, 2022

Hitchcock vs. Radio Part 9: Spellbound

Spellbound

Spellbound actually works pretty well as a radio drama, the emphasis on the mystery of the story seems a little stronger here than in the film (where the psychology is a bit overwhelming). The casting of Valli in the Lux Radio Theater version feels a little odd - like she was hired just because, like Ingrid Bergman, she spoke with an accent. Still, she played off Cotten better than Mercedes McCambridge.

By now you may have noticed that there aren't as many adaptations before. Although post-war there were more radio programs adapting movies than ever before, it also made the studios a little more provincial - more apt to give one series the rights to their catalog, and more apt to be always looking at recent releases than the back catalog.

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