Mesmerized

Like the better known The Piano, Mesmerized is a period drama about a woman caught in a loveless marriage. A young orphan (Jodie Foster) marries a much older merchant (John Lithgow, with Kiwi accent). Hypnotism and voyeurism feature. Mesmerized (aka My Letter to George) was inspired by the case of Adelaide Bartlett in London. Shot mainly in the Bay of Islands, the movie was a co-production between RKO and New Zealand's Challenge Corporate Services. Actors' Equity protested at non-Kiwi actors getting all the main roles. American director Michael Laughlin had earlier shot film Dead Kids in Auckland. 

I don't like contemporary, eccentric, modern — call them what you will — movies. I believe in the rules for a genre picture. I like to improvise and put my own personal touches and twists to them so I can play the melodies a little differently. But I always stick to the ground rules.

– Director Michael Laughlin in Starburst 66, February 1984, page 34

Key Cast & Crew

Georges Delerue

Composer

Jodie Foster

As: Victoria, Co-Producer

Antony I Ginnane

Producer

Jerzy Skolimowski

Original Story

John Lithgow

As: Oliver

Michael Laughlin

Writer, Director