Notorious (1946)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writer:

Ben Hecht (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

6 September 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Film-Noir | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Notorious woman of affairs... Adventurous man of the world!

Plot:

A woman is asked to spy on a group of Nazi friends in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?

Plot Keywords:

Spy | German | Wine | Love | Wine Cellar

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Cary Grant	...	T.R. Devlin
Ingrid Bergman	...	Alicia Huberman
Claude Rains	...	Alexander Sebastian
Louis Calhern	...	Captain Paul Prescott
Leopoldine Konstantin	...	Madame Anna Sebastian (as Madame Konstantin)
Reinhold Schünzel	...	Dr. Anderson (as Reinhold Schunzel)
Moroni Olsen	...	Walter Beardsley
Ivan Triesault	...	Eric Mathis
Alex Minotis	...	Joseph - Sebastian's Butler
Wally Brown	...	Mr. Hopkins
Charles Mendl	...	Commodore (as Sir Charles Mendl)
Ricardo Costa	...	Dr. Julio Barbosa
Eberhard Krumschmidt	...	Emil Hupka
Fay Baker	...	Ethel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bernice Barrett	...	File Clerk (uncredited)
Bea Benaderet	...	File Clerk (uncredited)
Candido Bonsato	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Charles D. Brown	...	Judge (uncredited)
Eddie Bruce	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Aileen Carlyle	...	Woman at Party (uncredited)
Beulah Christian	...	Woman (uncredited)
Richard Clarke	...	Man (uncredited)
Tom Coleman	...	Court Stenographer (uncredited)
Alfredo DeSa	...	Ribero (uncredited)
Ben Erway	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Almeda Fowler	...	Woman (uncredited)
Gavin Gordon	...	Ernest Weylin (uncredited)
William Gordon	...	Adams (uncredited)
Virginia Gregg	...	File Clerk (uncredited)
Harry Hayden	...	Defense Counsel (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man Drinking Champagne at Party (uncredited)
Art Howard	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Warren Jackson	...	District Attorney (uncredited)
Ted Kelly	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Reporter (uncredited)
James Logan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Leota Lorraine	...	Woman (uncredited)
George Lynn	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Butler (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Man Walking Through Door Leaving Courtroom (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Man (uncredited)
Tina Menard	...	Maid (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Diner Extra / Party Guest (uncredited)
Antonio Moreno	...	Senor Ortiza (uncredited)
Sandra Morgan	...	Woman (uncredited)
Howard Negley	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Ramon Nomar	...	Dr. Silva - Brazilian Official (uncredited)
Fred Nurney	...	John Huberman (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Louis Serrano	...	Brazilian Official (uncredited)
Patricia Smart	...	Mrs. Jackson (uncredited)
Dink Trout	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Lenore Ulric	...	Horsewoman with Sebastian (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Knerr (uncredited)
Peter von Zerneck	...	Wilhelm Rossner (uncredited)
John Vosper	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Alan Ward	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lillian West	...	Woman (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Herbert Wyndham	...	Mr. Cook (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
John Taintor Foote		(story "The Song of the Dragon") uncredited
Ben Hecht		(written by)
Alfred Hitchcock		(screenplay contributor) uncredited
Clifford Odets		(dialogue: love scenes) uncredited

Produced by
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Ted Tetzlaff		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Theron Warth

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Claude E. Carpenter		(as Claude Carpenter)
Darrell Silvera

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Dorfman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Terry Kellum	....	sound
John E. Tribby	....	sound
Clem Portman	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Paul Eagler	....	special effects
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Chris Crowell	....	digital compositor (restored version) (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Capa	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Gregg Toland	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	gowns designer: Miss Ingrid Bergman

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Gil Grau	....	music arranger: orchestral arrangements

Other crew
Barbara Keon	....	production assistant
Dorothy Barton	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Betty Brooks	....	stand-in: Ingrid Bergman (uncredited)
Dan Cassell	....	stand-in: Cary Grant (uncredited)
J. Dodds	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Bill Porter	....	publicity writer (uncredited)
Ruth Roberts	....	dialogue director (uncredited)
Leo Snell	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Vanguard Films (uncredited) (for)
• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Selznick Releasing Organization (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Videosonic Arts (1997) (Greece) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Kino International (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Radio Filmes (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Portuguese

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Spain:18 | Iceland:L | UK:U (2008) | Norway:16 (1947) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:16 | Peru:14 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:Approved (PCA #11261)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Vanguard Films

Trivia:

Leopoldine Konstantin played the mother of Claude Rains but in real life she was only 4 years older than Rains.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Devlin and Alicia go to find Sebastian riding horses, when viewed from the front Alicia is nearest to the rails. When viewed from behind their positions are reversed and Alicia's horse has changed from chestnut to dapple gray.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Title card]: Miami, Florida, Three-Twenty P.M., April the Twenty-Fourth, Nineteen Hundred and Forty-Six...
[reporters and photographers converse amongst themselves outside the courtroom]
Judge: Is there any legal reason why sentence should not be pronounced?
District Attorney: No, your honor.
John Huberman: Yes, I have something to say. You can put me away, but you can't put away what's going to happen to you, and to this whole country next time. Next time we are going...
Defense Counsel: [whispering] I wouldn't say any more. We'll need that for the appeal.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Splendor (1989)

In My Top Ten!

As a young woman, back in the "olden days" days before video, DVD and TCM, I was always fascinated by this film, though it came and went on more obscure T.V. channels, with no clue of when it would return. Notorious has everything...inimitable Hitchcock moments, mystery, suspense, personal drama, high romance, passion, great character development, international espionage, nuanced acting, a visually stunning foreign locale, post-war period mystique, patriotism, fine supporting cast, a charmingly evil Claude Rains, a most sinister Mme. Konstantin, Grant at his most enigmatic and romantic, and Bergman her most alluring and luminous. As in all great films, it is a spot-on rendering of its own unique story in the ambiance of its own time, but timeless in its portrayal of human character and emotion. Like a handful of others, it is as satisfying a movie experience now as it was 40 years ago...probably more so...whether on first viewing or 40th.