We came to 1945 for the same reason we came to 1944: to explore all the years where Alfred Hitchcock was nominated for Best Director. This was his third nomination overall, for his second film under the auspices of producer David O. Selznick. The two admired each other, but both laid heavy hands in their work, so it's little surprise that, despite technically working for Selznick, Hitch made more films on loan to other studios during their seven years "together." Spellbound, fortunately, was a huge hit, the third greatest earner of the year in the US, while breaking box office records twice over in London.
Hitchcock found himself up for Best Director in a rare 3/5 repeat of the previous year's Best Director lineup:
Clarence Brown, National Velvet
Alfred Hitchcock, Spellbound
Leo McCarey, The Bells of St. Mary's
Jean Renoir, The Southerner
Billy Wilder, The Lost Weekend
The year before, Hitchcock, McCarey, and Wilder were all nominated, with McCarey winning; this year, Wilder would come out the winner. Hitchcock and Wilder were up against each other twice more, which we'll get into next month. In the meantime, my rankings, from fifth to first:
