House Detective (Bill Goodwin)

Character Analysis

Detectives aren't as good as analysts.

Spellbound's a mystery—but the heroes are psychiatrists, not detectives. That's underlined when Constance meets the house detective at the hotel where Ballantyne is hiding out.

The detective thinks he's got Constance pegged as a regretful wife trying to find the husband she kicked out. Constance runs with it and totally bamboozles him. By the time he figures out that Ballantyne's wanted for murder, the pair have made their escape.

So next time you need a mystery solved, don't call the police. Call a psychiatrist. Psychiatrists: they fix everything… unless, like Dr. Murchison, they shoot you. It's one or the other in Spellbound.