Spellbound Scene 13 Summary

  • JB wakes up in the middle of the night; Constance is on the couch.
  • He sits up looking distressed. There are theremin noises, so you know something bad's going to happen.
  • He goes into the bathroom to get a drink of water, then decides to shave.
  • Don't let the paranoid amnesiac have access to a razor, Constance. That's psychoanalyst Rule #1.
  • Constance forgot that rule though, so he's got the straight razor there as the ominous music starts up.
  • He starts to get the shaving stuff ready, but it's white.
  • Then he notices everything in the bathroom is white.
  • Theremin noise, theremin noise. Uh oh.
  • He sees the parallel lines on the coversheet again. The shadows on his face are all cavernous and scary, and he's still got the razor as he looms over Constance.
  • Will he kill her? That would be a sudden end to the film.
  • But nope, he goes out the door and down the stairs. There's a very stylish, light-and-shadow, ominous shot here. That's Hitchcock for you.
  • Brulov is in his office and offers JB some milk and crackers.
  • He seems awfully calm considering that JB has that razor.
  • He gives JB the milk.
  • There's a tricky shot of Brulov through the bottom of the glass as JB raises it to his lips. Again, that's a Hitchcock touch.