Spellbound

I awarded this film 6/10, whose title was "Passing Clouds" on www.youtube.com.I have to agree with another reviewer that it was produced at a funereal pace and Vera Lindsay who played Diana Hilton spoke her lines in a very slow hypnotic fashion that I too found myself nodding off.That is a pity as this was my first viewing of this rare 1941 film.Again I have to agree that with Britain suffering at the height of "The Blitz" in 1941 and with people losing loved ones, there was the feeling that the producers wanted to invoke some comfort for the survivors left behind by the recently deceased.Personally I would have thought that a good comedy would have been more apt, to raise Britain's morale.At least there was a comic Irish gardener dispensing his home grown philosophy.

I think that the other reviewer rather prefers the overstatement of todays slashers eg "Friday The 13th",to more understated horror films.During the Second world war a number of films were produced which dealt with the afterlife.the most famous being "A Matter of life And Death".People wanted to believe that their sacrifice was not in vain and that though left behind could look forward to meeting their deceased friends and relatives in the next world.This is one such film only with a rather creepy malevolent streak,very reminiscent of the films of Val Lewton which were to follow.It is true that many scenes are understated,but that was the way things were in those days.Death was common place,after all you could be killed by a bomb hitting the cinema in which you were watching it before the end of this film.You really cannot judge films of a different era by standards of today.This film was totally unknown to me before i saw it and i would say that if you are interested in the genre this is certainly worth catching up on.

OMG! This film started off slow albeit with hope. Then it slowed down some more ~ then just fizzled out all together. Obviously the writers/directors/producers et al somehow saw fit to avoid every conceivable, reasonable plot and storyline to create any kind of 'film' whatsoever. How many lame questions were left unanswered? Then this feeble piece just kind of limped off into the credits. Did the movie ever actually end? ~ 'cause I certainly missed it. Having worked in H~Wood I cannot comprehend how this empty vessel of paste was ever even created let alone invested in and then sailed through all of the flashing RED LIGHTS + DANGER signs through to the big screen. I felt so ashamed having watched it {rather having endured the 1.5 hrs. Of suffering-} that I quickly erased all traces and then took a long hot bath {and washed my hair}. I am still in therapy dealing with the PTSD. LOL Enjoy ~

This film must be watched bearing in mind the context. It's 1941 for crying out loud--it's not The Exorcist. Green vomit hadn't yet been invented, thank God. And, furthermore, this is a British film, which means it is even more restrained than an American film. But that's its strength. It is slow, yes, but deeply penetrating because of its pace.

If you get antsy watching actors seated in a room talking; if you crave special effects; if silence bores you, then you probably won't like it. I imagine that you probably would not enjoy classic Victorian novels, either. But I do, and this movie puts me in a similar frame of mind.

Great actors all. Everyone believes in their respective roles. Wonderful dark-room photography, reminiscent of Capra's midnight filming in Arsenic and Old Lace.

Well worth watching.

Directed by someone named John Harlow and released in America as 'The Spell of Amy Benson' so as not to be confused wih Hitchcock's masterpiece this film epitomises the worst of British cinema of the time. Apart from Felix Aylmer there is really no one worth watching. Derek Farr is one-dimensional and Hay Petrie irritating. Frederick Leister puts one in mind of a cricket bat. The 'teddibly, teddibly' acting, leaden direction and lamentable lack of pace combine to make this film a truly tortuous experience. A waste of promising material. Avoid at all costs.