Notorious | Movie reviews from Reelviews

When modern film viewers think of Alfred Hitchcock, they often focus on his works from the 1950s and 1960s, but some of the director’s most successful films came earlier. Probably his best idearear window
The trip took place in 1946 Notoriousthe first US-financed film, which gave him a chance to (mostly) escape the reign of David O. Selznick. With full control, Hitchcock used this creative freedom to create what some consider to be the Master of Suspense’s Big Four:
Rear Window, Psycho, VertigoAnd North through northwest.

When Seliznick sold Notorious Sent to RKO in the middle of pre-production, it arrived with the dream cast. The production starred two frequent Hitchcock collaborators – Ingrid Bergman (in her second of three appearances) and Cary Grant (his second of four) – as well as the director’s good friend Claude Rains. For Bergman, the role cemented a reputation that has been on the rise ever since Casablanca (which also featured Rains). For Grant, already one of Hollywood’s leading men, this was an opportunity to burnish his reputation.

Although it’s a thriller at its core, Notorious relies heavily on the romantic and sexual chemistry between its leads. Grant and Bergman share this in spades; In fact, one can argue that it is stronger than the one between Bergman and Bogart Casablanca. One of NotoriousOne of the most famous scenes involves a “three-minute kiss,” which Hitchcock choreographs with enough pauses to circumvent the Hays Code requirement that no kiss last longer than three seconds.

Speaking of code skirting, an activity at which Hitchcock was a master: Notorious is able to detail some salacious activities by relying on innuendo. As the director repeatedly demonstrated, the code was no obstacle to a filmmaker who understood its limitations and could work around them. Until he did it Psychothe code began to break down, allowing him to do things he could never have attempted before.

Notorious was written in 1945, when the Second World War was still on everyone’s lips, including Hitchcock and his screenwriter Ben Hecht. At this time, the Cold War was still in its infancy, although the Soviet Union was beginning to develop a hostile relationship with the West. The defeated Nazis remained the enemy, even if they were beheaded and routed. Rumors suggested that splinter cells found a safe haven in South America, and while it was true that many surviving Nazis fled there after the fall of the Third Reich, they were usually more interested in hiding than pursuing Hitler’s dream. (Adolf Eichmann is a prominent example.) For a film in search of a universally despised villain, an expatriate Nazi proved a perfect choice for Hitchcock and Hecht.

Notorious begins in April 1946 (more specifically, as the opening headline reveals: “Miami, Florida, 3:20 p.m., April 20, 1946”). Alicia Huberman (Bergman), the daughter of a convicted Nazi spy, is an American patriot, but her family connections have led to her loyalty being widely suspected. This ambiguity makes her an ideal recruit for special agent TR Devlin (Grant): he was assigned by his boss Paul Prescott (Louis Calhern) to gain Alicia’s trust and cooperation. Her goal is to seduce Alex Sebastian (Rains), a Nazi agent living in Rio de Janeiro. Sebastian is part of a spy ring whose motives have something to do with uranium and whose goal appears to be to either overthrow the Allies or restore Germany (the exact nature of the plan is never fleshed out as it is set in McGuffin territory). . While waiting for the mission to begin, Alicia and Devlin fall in love. This creates a romantic triangle in which only Alex’s feelings become clear: he is in love with Alicia. She pretends to be in love with him because she loves Devlin, but believes he only cares about the job. Devlin hides his love for Alicia and pushes her to sleep with Alex (and eventually marry him), even as she eats him up inside.

Notorious is both a melodrama and a thriller, with the characters’ emotions on display to the audience, although not necessarily mutually. Despite effectively acting as her pimp, Devlin finds it difficult to send Alicia into Alex’s bed. He tries (albeit weakly) to convince Prescott that she is unsuitable for the job. Meanwhile, Alicia realizes what she needs to do to sneak past Alex’s defenses (she openly references Mata Hari at one point) and does it because she wants to be worthy of the trust Devlin has placed in her.

Notorious becomes increasingly tense as it builds to a climax where Alicia’s life is at stake. At this point, Devlin stops being a spectator and becomes active. Although there is a lot of tension in the last ten minutes, there are no fights or shootings. (In fact, the film is notable for the fact that there is almost no violence on screen.) Devlin sets a carefully thought-out trap that leads to a bittersweet ending.

When it comes to visual presentation, Hitchcock continued to push the envelope throughout his career, be it with the “single shot” approach Ropethe voyeur’s perspective rear windowthe spinning vortex in dizzinessor the seemingly bloody shower scene in Psycho. There are two notable sequences here. The first is the carefully choreographed kiss. The second is a brilliant tracking shot that begins high above a ballroom and leads to a key that Alicia is holding. It’s flashy in the sense that it draws attention, but still effective.

There are some aspects of the story that feel dated and/or rushed. The romance between Alicia and Devlin develops too quickly and Alex, despite being involved in a dangerous and risky venture that requires great secrecy, becomes too reliant on his old/new love, especially when Devlin is around. Notorious also introduces a recurring theme in Hitchcock films about the controlling influence of a mother figure. Although she is no Mrs. Bates, Alex’s mother (Leopoldine Konstantin) has a less than benevolent influence on her son’s politics and actions.

Notorious It was Hitchcock’s second collaboration with screenwriter Ben Hecht, one of Hollywood’s most sought-after writers. A positive working relationship subsequently developed Bannedthey were able to put together the script for it Notorious quickly and with minimal drama. The film was a success upon release and became a cornerstone of Bergman and Grant’s reputation. Their chemistry combined with Hitchcock’s unerring sense of audience manipulation allows this film to work far better for modern audiences than many of his contemporary releases. Notorious has stood the test of time and deserves to be called both a classic and one of Hitchcock’s most impressive early American productions.

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Notorious (USA, 1946)

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