(5 votes, average: 4.6 out of 5)
Loading …Rent Movie.com movie reviews presents Notorious movie review a 1946 film starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and directed by Alfred Hitchcock 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? Following the conviction of her German father for treason against the U.S., Alicia Huberman takes to drink and men. She is approached by a government agent (T.R. Devlin) who asks her to spy on a group of her father’s Nazi friends operating out of Rio de Janeiro. A romance develops between Alicia and Devlin, but she starts to get too involved in her work. One of Alfred Hitchcock’s classics, this romantic thriller features a cast to kill for: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, and Claude Rains. Bergman plays the daughter of a disgraced father who is recruited by American agents to infiltrate a post-World War II spy ring in Brazil. Her control agent is Grant, who treats her with disdain while developing a deep romantic bond with her. Her assignment: to marry the suspected head of the ring (Rains) and get the goods on everyone involved. Danger, deceit, betrayal–and, yes, romance–all come together in a nearly perfect blend as the film builds to a terrific (and surprising) climax. Grant and Bergman rarely have been better. –Marshall Fine
Comment by Michael K. Beusch
# January 2, 2007,
I’ve always liked Notorious, but, until recently, it hasn’t been one of my absolute favorite Hitchcock films. However, recently I’ve gained an appreciation for Alfred Hitchcock’s more personal films. Lighter, more humorous films like The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Strangers on a Train, Rear Window, North By Northwest, Psycho (Hitch called this a black comedy), The Birds and Frenzy, to name a few, are masterpieces and rank among my favorite films of all time. But the films I have gained much more appreciation for in the past few years are those like Shadow of a Doubt, Vertigo and Notorious. Shadow of a Doubt showed that monsters can live among us, even in the most innocuous of settings and may even be someone we care about. Vertigo showed obsessive love taken to the extreme with deadly consequences. And Notorious shows just how hard it can be for someone to express love for another.
Like in many of Hitchcock’s films, the central point of the story is masked by a plotline of suspense and intrigue. In this case, Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) must marry Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains), an ex-Nazi in exile in Brazil, in order to infiltrate his organization. With the help of U.S. agent Devlin (Cary Grant), she finds out that Sebastian is stockpiling uranium (the MacGuffin). On the surface, it’s a straightforward espionage tale.
However, the film, at its very core, is a tale of frustrated love. Specifically, Devlin can’t bring himself to express what he feels for Alicia and must watch helplessly while she marries Sebastian. Devlin knows that he would jeopardize the entire mission if he tells Alicia he loves her and this repression begins to eat him up inside. Even at the beginning of the film when Alicia has fallen deeply in love with Devlin and tell him so, he can’t bring himself to return that love, even though he feels just as she does. Cary Grant, usually charming, plays one of his darkest roles brilliantly. He shows his longing for Alicia in every expression on his face. Ingrid Bergman, likewise, shows the frustration of having to marry a man she despises while pining for the affections of the man she truly loves — a man she thinks doesn’t love her. The emotions onscreen are sometimes so raw its almost painful to watch. When Devlin finally tells Alicia how he really feels about her at the climax of the film, the scene ranks as one of the most emotional in screen history.
The movies often make it seem so easy to find true love. In Notorious, however, Alfred Hitchcock shows how painful and just how difficult it is to just say, “I love you” to someone you care about. Everyone has had situations where they were too afraid to tell someone they cared about that they loved him/her and have wondered what would have happened had they done so. It’s agonizing to think that you may have missed your chance for happiness with someone who loves you as much as you love them. Alfred Hitchcock brilliantly recognizes those feelings in Notorious — that’s what makes this one of his best.
Comment by T O’Brien
# January 2, 2007,
Notorious is a classic romantic thriller that should not be missed by movie fans everywhere. Set after WWII, the story follows the efforts of a team of American agents trying to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring in Brazil. An American agent, T.R. Devlin, recruits the beautiful Alicia Huberman to try and rat out the spies since she was romantically linked with one of them in the past. Upon arriving, she discovers there is much more going on than what they thought. All the while, Devlin and Alicia begin to fall in love as the danger gets worse and worse. Hitchcock made a true classic with this one. A great story, excellent cast, and ground-breaking camera work all help make Notorious a can’t miss film. Watching this you can also see how John Woo was influenced by this movie when he made Mission: Impossible 2. The stories are almost identical.
Notorious boasts an excellent cast full of Hollywood’s big stars. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman star as T.R. Devlin and Alicia Huberman and are great together. There is an obvious chemistry between the two of them as they realize that they have fallen in love with each other. Claude Rains is equally good as Alex Sebastian, Nazi spy and romantic link with Alicia. Even though he is the bad guy, you can’t help but feel bad for him since Rains is so likable. Louis Calhern also stars as the leader of the American agents in Brazil and is very good. I won’t go through all the extras on the Criterion Collection DVD, but I will say that if you like this movie then you’ll love all of the included extras. For movie fans everywhere, go check out Notorious!
Comment by ehakus
# January 2, 2007,
Notorious is truly one of Hitchcock’s greatest films. In addition to combining incredible suspense with romance, it features excellent black-and-white cinematography and a phenomenal cast. This movie is a must-see!
Anyhow, Notorious is basically the story of Alicia Hubermann (Ingrid Bergman), a young woman of questionable morals, whose father is revealed to be a Nazi agent. When he dies in prison, Alicia is hired by the US government to help investigate another agent, Sebastian (Claude Rains). To do her job, she must work with Devlin (Cary Grant), a mysterious and seemingly unfeeling American agent - who she falls in love with. The movie deals with the investigation of Sebastian’s plans AND with the romance between Alicia and Devlin, which is hurt greatly (surprisingly enough) by Alicia’s marriage to Sebastian (done in the name of duty).
Hitchcock uses the interesting plot to build almost unbearable suspense and to present an interesting romance between Alicia and Devlin, who at first does everything to ignore his love for Alicia. The acting is truly amazing: Ingrid Bergman is perfect as Alicia, Cary Grant reveals his darker side as Devlin, and Claude Rains makes Sebastian charming in an evil sort of way. Ingrid and Cary are perfectly matched - in real life, they were very close friends, and their mutual respect and warmth is evident in their love scenes, which are amazing (especially the famous scene in which they kiss nonstop while picking up the phone, etc, etc.).
This movie is perfect - every scene is breathtaking! If you haven’t already seen this 1946 classic, what are you waiting for? The DVD is excellent and has many special features - but you don’t need to buy it on account of that - the movie alone is a must-have!