Notorious

I’ve started watching or re-watching the films in Roger Ebert’s The Great Movies book (Vol. 1). Because I’m a nerd for this sort of thing, I put all of the titles on a spreadsheet and use a random number generator to pick what to watch next. Next up, was Notorious.

Notorious is a 1946 romantic and suspenseful masterpiece by Alfred Hitchcock. In it, a beautiful American woman of questionable reputation falls for an American FBI agent who coaxes her to spy on a Nazi operation in Rio. Specifically, her assignment is to seduce and marry one of its leaders. The woman, Alicia played by Ingrid Bergman, agrees to do so out of her love for the American agent Devlin, played by Cary Grant. The Nazi Sebastian, played by Claude Rains, sincerely loves Alicia and has for many years from afar. As for Devlin, he is angered and disgusted that Alicia would actually accept the assignment he has facilitated. He is jealous of Sebastian and angry at himself for putting Alicia in harm’s way. These feelings, he soon realizes, are because he is in love with her as well.

In the meantime, Alicia dutifully provides intelligence to Devlin, Sebastian treats her with kindness and devotion, and Devlin grows distrustful of her and is fed up with the whole affair. That is, until the agency stops hearing from Alicia altogether.

Ebert refers to this as Hitchcock’s most elegant of his visual style. Famous shots include Alicia’s point of view driving drunk while her hair is in her eyes, an “upside-down” Devlin when she awakens with a hangover, and the continuous shot in Sebastien’s mansion that begins upstairs with a wide view of a party and ends with a closeup of a key in Alicia’s trembling hand.

English Film Director Alfred Hitchcock. (Credit: Wikipedia)

Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) is one of the most well-known directors in film history. Originally from England, Hitchcock got his start in silent films before moving to Hollywood in 1939. A frequent interview guest and host of the TV show Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 50s and 60s, he became as popular as his film stars. His meticulous attention to photographic composition, plot, and musical scores in telling stories that thrilled, shocked, and surprised audiences earned him the nickname the “Master of Suspense.” Over the course of his six-decade career, he directed over 50 feature films, many of which continue to be studied by film students and top several influential “all-time best” lists.

Over to you: Have you seen Notorious? What are your thoughts on this movie?