Notorious (1946)

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?

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writer:

Ben Hecht

Stars:

Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains

Top 250 #161 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Cary Grant	...	Devlin
Ingrid Bergman	...	Alicia Huberman
Claude Rains	...	Alexander Sebastian
Louis Calhern	...	Paul Prescott
Leopoldine Konstantin	...	Mme. Sebastian (as Madame Konstantin)
Reinhold Schünzel	...	'Dr. Anderson' (as Reinhold Schunzel)
Moroni Olsen	...	Walter Beardsley
Ivan Triesault	...	Eric Mathis
Alexis Minotis	...	Joseph (as Alex Minotis)
Wally Brown	...	Mr. Hopkins
Charles Mendl	...	Commodore (as Sir Charles Mendl)
Ricardo Costa	...	Dr. Barbosa
Eberhard Krumschmidt	...	Hupka
Fay Baker	...	Ethel

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

spy | wine cellar | wine | german | love | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Portuguese

Release Date:

6 September 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Notorious

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vanguard Films, RKO Radio Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alfred Hitchcock claimed that the FBI had him under surveillance for three months because the film dealt with uranium.

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Goofs

When Alicia and Devlin are flying to South America, the movement of the clouds makes it appear that the plane is flying backwards.

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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 ...

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Connections

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007)

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Soundtracks

"Carnaval, Op. 9, Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes: 'Chopin'"
(uncredited)
Written by Robert Schumann
Performed in the distance as Alicia enters Alex's house for the first time

User Reviews

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.