Notorious - Criterion Collection - Criterion

Flawless Hitchcock

It is often rumored that Hitchcock's favorite among his films was "Shadow of a Doubt" but for this reviewer, the 1946 "Notorious" heads that list. Equal parts suspense/film noir and high-octane romance, with a superb cast of Golden Age stars, an expert script by Ben Hecht, and a brooding black and white production by David O. Zelznick, "Notorious" is simply flawless, with scenes ensconced in Hollywood's Hall of Legend.

Ingrid Bergman is Alicia Huberman, daughter of an unrepentant Nazi spy caught and convicted just after World War II. Alicia hates her father's beliefs but is nevertheless tainted by them. After his conviction, her father commits suicide in his jail cell - left adrift, the embittered Alicia embarks on a life of hard partying and even harder drinking. But before too long, Alica receives a visit from Agent Devlin (Cary Grant) with a proposition from the US intelligence community (presumably the FBI, although they are never named as such): they want her help in penetrating her father's circle of ex-Nazis, whose other members escaped to Rio de Janeiro, where they are working on a project that they believe will reignite and support their old cause. A group of intelligence agents, headed by Captain Paul Prescott (Louis Calherne) believe that Alicia's credentials as the daughter of a loyal-to-the-death Nazi will gain her entry to this circle, not least because they know that one of its leaders, Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains), was once desperately in love with her.

After some resistance, Alicia agrees to help the agents, although she is not yet aware that they intend her to seduce Alex. She and Devlin fly to Rio where Alicia is given an apartment, elegant clothes, jewels, and some basic espionage preparation, as she waits for her assignment to begin. As they wait, Alicia and Devlin fall deeply in love, and Devlin, who knows what his colleagues hope will occur, is faced with two unhappy options: betray his newfound love by allowing her to go forward with this unsavory assignment, or betray his duty by persuading her to drop it. Devlin opts to stand by his duty to his country - when the call comes, he hides his unhappiness and stolidly places Alicia in Alex's path.

As hoped, Alex is enraptured at encountering Alicia again, and Alicia is invited to a dinner at Alex's beautiful mansion, where she immediately meets and is welcomed by the men her father worked with - as well as Alex's formidable and extremely possessive mother (Leopoldine Konstantin). Alicia has made a promising beginning on her assignment. At regular intervals, as she and Alex begin to see each other, she reports to Devlin, sometimes in public places such as the race track, where the middle-aged Alex jealously takes note of the tall, dark handsome stranger. Alicia introduces Devlin as a former admirer in whom she is not interested.

However, the plot succeeds too well: within a short time Alex asks Alicia to marry him. She reports to Prescott, to ask what she should do. And in this scene, the film points up the moral hypocrisy of the American agents - the "good guys". While they do not go so far as to insist that Alicia marry Alex, neither do they try to dissuade her, knowing full well that should she go through with the marriage, she will naturally be expected to engage in sexual relations with Alex (although this is never addressed directly). It is clear that the agents believe that since Alicia has a somewhat disreputable (i.e., sexually experienced) past, her feelings here do not matter, although they would never dream of allowing women from their own families to do such a thing. When Alicia realizes this, and realizes that even Devlin will not dissuade her from such a step, she is shattered, and in her bitterness no longer cares what happens to her, and she agrees to marry Alex.

When Alex and Alicia return from a brief honeymoon, they settle into domestic life, and the overjoyed Alex showers his bride with jewels, clothes, and affection. His happiness is not shared by his mother, Mme. Sebastian, furious at being supplanted by a beautiful young daughter-in-law. Alex throws a large party to introduce his new wife to their social set (most of whom know nothing of his clandestine activities). Devlin asks for an invitation to the party so that he can inspect the wine cellar, where Alicia suspects some clue to the mysterious project lies. She manages to obtain the cellar key from Alex and to slip it to Devlin after he arrives at the party.

But Devlin's investigation of the cellar proves disastrous - he breaks a bottle that contains, not wine, but a strange mineral ore, which he hastily pushes under the racks just as he is interrupted by Alex coming down for more wine. Devlin tries to cover by pulling Alicia into his arms. He apologizes profusely and tells Alex that he has never gotten over Alicia, and that she has just resisted his advances. But Alex's suspicions now extend beyond infidelity, and he inspects the cellar himself, finds the broken bottle of mineral ore, and realizes immediately that his wife and Devlin are working together, and who they must be working for.

When Alex returns to the party he makes no sign to Alicia that he has guessed her role, but when the party is over, in the middle of the night, he slips into his mother's bedroom and sits by her bed. In probably the film's most famous scene, when his mother awakens and asks what is wrong, Alex replies, "Mother, I'm married to an American agent." Mme. Sebastian urges Alex to let her handle the situation, and not to let any of their conspirators find out what Alicia is, or they will also kill Alex and his mother.

Mme. Sebastian begins to poison Alicia via her morning coffee, a little at a time. Her plan is to make it seem as if Alicia has some illness from which she slowly dies. Alicia begins to sicken, developing headaches and light sensitivity, becoming lethargic and pale. The also-bitter Devlin believes at first that she is drinking again. One morning, however, through a chance remark that the Sebastians let slip, Alicia realizes what is happening to her. But she is now so weak that she cannot even flee the house, and the Sebastians put her to bed in an upstairs room with no telephone and locked windows. Alicia, for the first time, misses a reporting assignation with Devlin, something she has never done before; her sudden silence convinces him that Alicia was not hung over, but ill, and, alarmed, he goes to the Sebastian's home to find out what has become of her.

The final scenes of the film, as Devlin finds Alicia near death in her prison bedroom and confronts the Sebastians, are some of the most memorable in Hollywood history. They really DON'T make them like this any longer.

A milkily beautiful Ingrid Bergman is sublime as Alicia, by turns angry and tender. Grant, dark, brooding, and self-controlled, is a perfect foil for her tumultuous feelings and hunger for love - without showing an inch of naked flesh, the two generate incredible erotic heat. Claude Rains was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as the feckless Alex, and Ben Hecht was nominated for Best Screenplay for his script.

This is truly one of the great suspense films of all time, and an absolute MUST for the libraries of fans of this genre.

Another Hitch Masterpiece

This 1946 classic stars Ingrid Bergman as Alicia Huberman, an immature party girl who after learning that her father has committed suicide in prison (he was convicted of being a German spy) is recruited by U.S. agent T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant) to go undercover and spy on her father's former Nazi friends in Rio de Janeiro. This is her big chance to clean her name, and pay back to her beloved country what she feels her father has taken away and betrayed. Right from the very get go the audience can plainly see the definite allure that exists between Alicia and Devlin. However, Dev is not too thrilled by her past partying ways and hedonistic lifestyle. This only makes Alicia more desirous to prove to Devlin and the other agents that she is more than just a pretty, vapid face.

Alicia's first assignment in Rio is to become well acquainted with Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains), a wealthy German businessman. Alex immediately finds himself head-over-heals for the alluring Alicia and proposes to her. In trying her best to please Devlin, she accepts Sebastian's proposal of marriage with the hopes that she and Dev can infiltrate Sebastian's circle of German scientist friends while also obtaining full access to the Sebastian mansion. A mansion that perhaps holds the keys to unlocking the mysteries surrounding this man and his arcane associates. This is all I wish to disclose about this suspenseful, taut thriller. Just make sure you see it yourself!

It may not be Hitchcock's greatest film, but in my mind, it may just arguably be his most perfect. Everything about this film works magnificently - the amazing directing of Hitch, Greg Toland's photography, Ben Hecht's brilliant writing (what a prolific career this Oscar winner had!), and of course the extraordinary acting performances by Grant, Bergman, and Rains. Claude Rains in particular was outstanding in his Oscar nominated role as Alexander Sebastian. Rains as an actor, possessed the wonderfully unique quality of perfectly portraying the sympathetic villain. Is it me, or could that man act?! Also, when you look up CHEMISTRY in the dictionary it should have a picture of Bergman and Grant next to the word. These two set the screen on fire! Bergman sure had a way with her leading men, and Cary is no exception. I have seen him a bit wooden at times when it comes to love scenes, but definitely not this time folks. What passionate performances!

This is one in which every time you view it you'll pick up something new. As in all of Hitchcock's classics, symbolism is the main and essential ingredient when it comes to his directing - and "Notorious" is bursting with it almost upon every scene. Every time I watch this film, I am amazed about how many new things I pick up on that I hadn't consciously noticed before. You will also learn to appreciate it more with each additional viewing. That is what a masterpiece, a work of art, is all about. He was an absolute savant behind the camera, and it's a shame that most of Hollywood's modern day directors, despite all of their advanced technology, can't even touch this remarkable talent. Where have our great directors of yesteryear gone? People like Hitchcock, Welles, Ford, Capra, Wyler, Kramer, Kubrick, Kazan, et al...?

A definite must see! And without a doubt, in this reviewer's humble opinion - a FIVE STAR work of art, restored to perfection by Criterion Classics.

okay...

It is a good movie in which to see Grant and Bergman act together but the story just wasn't there. It was rather boring and incomplete.

LOVE TRIO IN RIO

Even though Hitchcock pictures are difficult to compare, "Notorious' may be a better picture than the 1940 Oscar winner "Rebecca". Here we have Grant and Bergman as American agents trying to unravel the secrets of Rains and his villainous German cohorts after World War 2. The Americans are falling in love with one another,when Bergman is assigned to re-kindle an old love affair with Rains, much to Grant's chagrin. She succeeds too well, marries Rains, and soon discovers what her husband is up to. Simultaneously, Rains discovers Bergman's duplicity, setting the stage for a tense, unpredictable drama. Look for Mme. Konstantine, in her only screen appearance, to be incredibly effective as Rains' ageing mother. In fact, the entire cast gives a highly credible performance, leading this reviewer to rank the film as one of the best of the 1940's. Period!

Very Good

Notorious is both a love story and a thriller: the story of Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), a woman of a "certain reputation" and daughter of a convicted Nazi traitor, who's recruited by T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant) to serve as a spy in Brazil. Despite the strong feelings that arise between Huberman and Devlin (and what a gorgeous couple Bergman and Grant make), she gets more and more involved with the man she's supposed to spy--a relationship that threatens not only Alicia's relationship with Devlin, but also her life. The end is suspenseful, and the film is set in a very believable (although fake) Rio de Janeiro.