Notorious (1946)
2.5/4
Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Madame Konstantin
Not Rated
Alfred Hitchcock is rightfully known as The Master of Suspense. Few filmmakers, either living or dead, are as uncannily skilled at raising the adrenaline in a viewer. He is not, however, known for his passionate romances (although they featured in many of his movies). This is perhaps the reason why his 1946 film, "Notorious" doesn't really work. It's not a bad movie by any means, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are consistently good and there is some definite suspense towards the end, but the majority of the film feels like a bad soap opera rather than a thrilling love story.
Shortly after World War II, a man named Huberman has just been convicted of treason against the United States. His daughter Alicia (Bergman) is celebrating with some friends when she starts talking to a man at the party. During a drunken joyride, he reveals himself to be named Devlin (Grant), and works for the US Government. The next morning, he explains his interest to her: there is a group of Nazi sympathizers in Rio de Janeiro who are trying to get the Third Reich back into power. He needs someone on the inside, and he thinks that Alicia's opposition to her father's politics make her the ideal lady. She agrees. When in Rio, she falls for Devlin and he for her, which makes things complicated when she has to seduce one of the group, a man named Alexander Sebastian (Rains) in order to find out what's going on.
The majority of the film is centered around the romance between Alicia and Devlin, and how her mission complicates it. That's all well and good; Grant and especially Bergman are good (the former has a stiff moment or two), and they share some chemistry with each other. But the script by Ben Hecht is pretty bad. The story isn't especially interesting, and there are plenty of howlers that the actors are forced to say. I was thankful that I was watching two supremely talented actors spout these lines. As Gong Li proved in "Memoirs of a Geisha," a great performance can make an audience take a bad line at least semi-seriously. There's nothing as bad as "I shall destroy you!" here, but there are some that come close.
The pairing of Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains brings to mind "Casablanca," and the connection only serves to make "Notorious" look that much worse. Granted, "Casablanca" is an undisputed classic, but still...the connection is there. Once again, Claude Rains practices the art of scene-stealing, and has what is the most interesting character. Sebastian is no Louis Renault, but Rains is still fun to watch.
The best performance is given by Madame Konstantin, who plays Sebastian's mother (echoes of Hitchcock's later, and arguably most famous, film, "Psycho"). She's chilling in the role, and does quite a bit with the meager material that she's given.
This is not a terrible movie by any means. But it is disappointing. Ironically, there is another, better movie about a woman undercover in the same time period. It is, of course, Paul Verhoeven's near-masterpiece, "Black Book." A film that Hitch would have enjoyed tremendously had he lived to see it.
Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Madame Konstantin
Not Rated
Alfred Hitchcock is rightfully known as The Master of Suspense. Few filmmakers, either living or dead, are as uncannily skilled at raising the adrenaline in a viewer. He is not, however, known for his passionate romances (although they featured in many of his movies). This is perhaps the reason why his 1946 film, "Notorious" doesn't really work. It's not a bad movie by any means, Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are consistently good and there is some definite suspense towards the end, but the majority of the film feels like a bad soap opera rather than a thrilling love story.
Shortly after World War II, a man named Huberman has just been convicted of treason against the United States. His daughter Alicia (Bergman) is celebrating with some friends when she starts talking to a man at the party. During a drunken joyride, he reveals himself to be named Devlin (Grant), and works for the US Government. The next morning, he explains his interest to her: there is a group of Nazi sympathizers in Rio de Janeiro who are trying to get the Third Reich back into power. He needs someone on the inside, and he thinks that Alicia's opposition to her father's politics make her the ideal lady. She agrees. When in Rio, she falls for Devlin and he for her, which makes things complicated when she has to seduce one of the group, a man named Alexander Sebastian (Rains) in order to find out what's going on.
The majority of the film is centered around the romance between Alicia and Devlin, and how her mission complicates it. That's all well and good; Grant and especially Bergman are good (the former has a stiff moment or two), and they share some chemistry with each other. But the script by Ben Hecht is pretty bad. The story isn't especially interesting, and there are plenty of howlers that the actors are forced to say. I was thankful that I was watching two supremely talented actors spout these lines. As Gong Li proved in "Memoirs of a Geisha," a great performance can make an audience take a bad line at least semi-seriously. There's nothing as bad as "I shall destroy you!" here, but there are some that come close.
The pairing of Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains brings to mind "Casablanca," and the connection only serves to make "Notorious" look that much worse. Granted, "Casablanca" is an undisputed classic, but still...the connection is there. Once again, Claude Rains practices the art of scene-stealing, and has what is the most interesting character. Sebastian is no Louis Renault, but Rains is still fun to watch.
The best performance is given by Madame Konstantin, who plays Sebastian's mother (echoes of Hitchcock's later, and arguably most famous, film, "Psycho"). She's chilling in the role, and does quite a bit with the meager material that she's given.
This is not a terrible movie by any means. But it is disappointing. Ironically, there is another, better movie about a woman undercover in the same time period. It is, of course, Paul Verhoeven's near-masterpiece, "Black Book." A film that Hitch would have enjoyed tremendously had he lived to see it.
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