Notorious (1946)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writer:

Ben Hecht (written by)

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 | Wine Cellar | Wine | German | Key

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

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:

Director Trademark: [Alfred Hitchcock] [stairs]Final scene takes place on stairs.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Alicia and Devlin are riding their horses (and about to meet up with Sabastian), the shadow of the microphone boom can clearly be seen as it passes over Alicia's face when they ride out from under the trees.

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 'Topaz': An Appreciation by Film Critic/Historian Leonard Maltin (2001) (V)

Bergman and Grants chemistry goes unsurpassed

Bergman and Grant are the true romantics of cinema. They move throughout the film as if they were acting naturally toward one another. Hitchcock puts them both in closeups especially the illuminating Bergman, capturing the power of the medium.

When Bergman says "Oh, you love me-you love me" in that wonderful close up I have to think to myself, how much I look forward to becoming a film maker. Why can't Hollywood capture moments like these in today's features?

Note how long the kiss lasts as Bergman and Grant move from the balcony to the living room. The lighting and camera positioning are phenomenal. Do not expect the typical Hitchcock here but then again it is hard to say what a typical Hitchcock is. Each of his films contain so many different elements yet, at the same time possess the true signature of an auteur.