June 2, 2010
The Ned Scott Archive was able to purchase 9 original, oversize 11 x 14 prints from the movie “Spellbound”, a 1945 film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by Alfred Hitchcock. These prints were made in support of the film from images created during a photographic session at our family home home in La Canada, California. Because of this unique aspect of the prints, these are very special to the Archive. I was only one year old when these photographs were created. They may be viewed here. Author and photographer Mark Vierra of the Starlight Studio made these available to the Archive. According to Vierra, these oversize prints, or proofs, were made at the suggestion of producer Selznick and given to him at the completion of the film production. They had remained with his estate for many years and only became available after his passing. The images were photographed in our sunken living room, 36 by 21 feet with its 13 foot ceiling and floor-to-ceiling bookcase. Pella wall-to-ceiling custom window panels framed the western side of the living room, allowing for a large suffusion of natural light. Following the death of Ned Scott’s widow, Gwladys Scott, the house was sold to the actor Kevin Costner in 1985. (Being half Welsh, Gwladys always insisted on the “w” being added to the spelling of her name after she dropped the pen name von Ettinghausen in 1936.) Kostner converted the house from the stark and classy Bauhaus architectural style to a Mexican hacienda style. My view is that such a drastic change, while it is certainly the purview of the new owner, reflects his San Fernando Valley roots.
Ingrid Bergman for “Spellbound” by Ned Scott