Notorious (1946) – Following her father’s conviction for treason, American intelligence recruits Alicia Huberman to infiltrate a circle of her father’s former colleagues. When she falls in love with the agent handling her assignment, everything gets more complicated. Can she find the evidence to stop the group before they discover who she’s working for?
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
Why I Liked It – A tense espionage thriller with a side of doomed romance.
This movie should have been titled “Betrayal” because that’s at the heart of the story. Self betrayal, familial betrayal, and betrayal of country and cause will impact every major character, directing their every decision. It’s Hitchcock’s proof that he’s finally put everything together. The movie is filled with his trademark tracking shots, movement, and slow burning intensity. He builds the tension with small events piling inexorably on top of one another. Working with a legendary team (Ben Hecht writing, Greg Toland’s photography, Grant, Bergman and Claude Rains acting), he created a movie that earns the tag “classic”.
Alicia Huberman’s(Bergman) father was a German spy who was convicted of treason. The resulting constant harassment by the press pushes her to despair. She flees into a life of alcohol and casual sex for escape. It’s at that point that the American government enters the scene. They need a disposable young woman to seduce a member of her father’s old comrades. The hope is that she will deliver information to destroy the last remnants of the German ring. Agent Devlin (Grant) recruits and then handles Alicia’s assignment in Brazil. All of this becomes complicated as the attraction between the two grows. Alexander Sebastian (Rains) falls for the “honey trap”, and marries Alicia. His jealousy of his young and beautiful wife will be the first strand to fail in the careful plan.
The first thing that struck me was how the casting made me uncomfortable. These are not typical roles for either of the leads. Grant’s Devlin in cold and often cruel. He has an assignment to complete, one that is important and dangerous. That it requires a personal betrayal that pains him greatly must be pushed aside. Meanwhile, Bergman portrays a broken young woman, desperately trying to find a rope to pull her out of a whirlpool of despair and self-destruction. When she thinks she’s found one, it’s yanked away from her. As the movie went on, I realized that the discomfort was perfect. These are characters with decency inside them, but they are forced to shove it aside to survive. You want to like them, but it’s hard. While the Devlin’s superiors live in a smug, self-satisfied black and white morality, they force the others to inhabit a world of infinite grays.
The movie has strong (for the time) sexual underpinnings as well. Alicia is chosen for this role because she’s a “notorious” woman. Devlin’s boss and colleagues see no reason to waste any time or concern on her. They view her through that lens of black and white morality. They would never consider asking their wives or daughters, all women of “good character”, to consider such an assignment. Alicia has no value, and is therefore easily tossed away. Yet, another betrayal for the young woman. The movie is famous for a scene between Bergman and Grant. It’s a kissing scene that runs two and a half minutes. The Production Code of the day did not allow kisses to last longer than three seconds. What results is long series of kisses, nibbles, nuzzles and other caresses that fell within the technical requirements while offering a clear view of the passion between the characters. It’s fascinating.
I have to give a quick nod to Claude Rains. Alexander is an outwardly smooth but inwardly brittle character. He has been trained to appear to be a master of his own fate, but is easily manipulated by his co-conspirators and his mother. His shallowness will be the vehicle of his ultimate demise. It’s easy to dismiss the character as a bit of nothing on the screen, but I’d invite you to watch the scene near the end when he’s descending the stairs. Rains’ work showing the collapse of the character’s world, frozen between betrayals. Just for your amusement, watch the walking scenes when Bergman and Grant are with him. Rains was significantly shorter than either star. They could fudge it when they were just standing, but walking created problems. He goes from roughly equal in height in some scenes to a full head shorter in others! Again, a wonderful and too often under appreciated performance.
Combine Hitchcock’s stylistic storytelling with great writing, cinematography, and this incredible acting and you get a masterpiece. The end of the movie is the final perfect stroke, with one final, gut wrenching betrayal. A classic movie, indeed.
Rating – ***** Highest Recommendation
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