Tallis, Frank. "Detective Fiction is all in the Mind" The Times (London) 4 October 2008, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe. 21 November 2008.

Tallis describes how psychoanalysts and detectives have a great deal of shared characteristics. Both study evidence, look for clues, reconstruct histories, and seek to establish an ultimate cause. For this reason it shouldnt be surprising that psychoanalysis has had such a profound influence on detective fiction. In addition the genre of crime would have been quite different had it not been for Sigmund Freud. His ideas of personal history, childhood experience, intimate relationships and significant life events would interest any therapist. However these ideas are central to many crime writers as well. We see this influence in the character-based novels of Barbara Vine, in which learning the identity of the murderer is much less important than discovering their motives. Freud's influence is so powerful that crime writers, who have never read work of Freud use his psychoanalytic ideas in their fiction because those ideas have now become a part of our culture. Hollywood is the source of circulating and popularizing Freudian ideas. Among the many Hollywood directors who fell under Freud's influence was Alfred Hitchcock, whose thrillers were highly psychological.

Spellbound is the most explicitly Freudian of Hitchcock's films. Among the technical credits the viewer will see: "Psychiatric adviser, May E. Romm M.D." Selznick's own psychotherapist, May E. Romm, was brought on set. In the movie, when Ballentine and Peterson are about to kiss, we see doors within doors sequence. This idea of doors opening within doors, signify that Peterson learned to show emotion, doors of love opened for the both of them. Also, throughout the film, the theory of guilt complex plays a huge role in the character of Ballentine. During his childhood, Ballentine accidentally kills his brother. Because of this guilt that is stored within him, he makes himself believe he is the murderer of Edwardes when in reality he is not.