Notorious (1946)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writer:

Ben Hecht (written by)
(more)

Release Date:

6 September 1946 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | 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 | Love

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bernice Barrett	...	File Clerk (uncredited)
Bea Benaderet	...	File Clerk (uncredited)
Candido Bonsato	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Charles D. Brown	...	Judge (uncredited)
Eddie Bruce	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Paul Bryar	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Aileen Carlyle	...	Woman at Party (uncredited)
Beulah Christian	...	Woman (uncredited)
Richard Clarke	...	Man (uncredited)
Tom Coleman	...	Court Stenographer (uncredited)
Alfredo DeSa	...	Ribero (uncredited)
Ben Erway	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Bess Flowers	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Almeda Fowler	...	Woman (uncredited)
Gavin Gordon	...	Ernest Weylin (uncredited)
William Gordon	...	Adams (uncredited)
Virginia Gregg	...	File Clerk (uncredited)
Harry Hayden	...	Defense Counsel (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man Drinking Champagne at Party (uncredited)
Art Howard	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Warren Jackson	...	District Attorney (uncredited)
Ted Kelly	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Reporter (uncredited)
James Logan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Leota Lorraine	...	Woman (uncredited)
George Lynn	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Frank Marlowe	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Thomas Martin	...	Butler (uncredited)
Frank McClure	...	Man Walking Through Door Leaving Courtroom (uncredited)
Francis McDonald	...	Man (uncredited)
Tina Menard	...	Maid (uncredited)
Howard M. Mitchell	...	Bailiff (uncredited)
Bert Moorhouse	...	Diner Extra / Party Guest (uncredited)
Antonio Moreno	...	Senor Ortiza (uncredited)
Sandra Morgan	...	Woman (uncredited)
Howard Negley	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Ramon Nomar	...	Dr. Silva - Brazilian Official (uncredited)
Fred Nurney	...	John Huberman (uncredited)
Garry Owen	...	Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited)
Jeffrey Sayre	...	Party Guest (uncredited)
Louis Serrano	...	Brazilian Official (uncredited)
Patricia Smart	...	Mrs. Jackson (uncredited)
Dink Trout	...	Court Clerk (uncredited)
Lenore Ulric	...	Horsewoman with Sebastian (uncredited)
Emmett Vogan	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Friedrich von Ledebur	...	Knerr (uncredited)
Peter von Zerneck	...	Wilhelm Rossner (uncredited)
John Vosper	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Alan Ward	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Lillian West	...	Woman (uncredited)
Frank Wilcox	...	FBI Agent (uncredited)
Elizabeth Wilson	...	Woman at Party (uncredited)
Herbert Wyndham	...	Mr. Cook (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Ben Hecht		(written by)
John Taintor Foote		story "The Song of the Dragon" (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock		screenplay contributor (uncredited)
Clifford Odets		dialogue: love scenes (uncredited)

Produced by
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Roy Webb

Cinematography by
Ted Tetzlaff		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Theron Warth

Art Direction by
Carroll Clark
Albert S. D'Agostino

Set Decoration by
Claude E. Carpenter		(set decorations) (as Claude Carpenter)
Darrell Silvera		(set decorations)

Makeup Department
Mel Berns	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
William Dorfman	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Terry Kellum	....	sound
John E. Tribby	....	sound
Clem Portman	....	sound re-recordist (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Paul Eagler	....	special effects
Vernon L. Walker	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Chris Crowell	....	digital compositor (restored version) (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Capa	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Gregg Toland	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Edith Head	....	gowns designer: Miss Ingrid Bergman
Eugene Joseff	....	costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department
C. Bakaleinikoff	....	musical director
Gil Grau	....	orchestral arrangements

Other crew
Barbara Keon	....	production assistant
Dorothy Barton	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Betty Brooks	....	stand-in: Ingrid Bergman (uncredited)
Dan Cassell	....	stand-in: Cary Grant (uncredited)
J. Dodds	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	....	stand-in (uncredited)
Bill Porter	....	publicity writer (uncredited)
Ruth Roberts	....	dialogue director (uncredited)
Leo Snell	....	stand-in (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Vanguard Films (uncredited) (for)
• RKO Radio Pictures

Distributors

• RKO Radio Pictures (1946) (USA) (theatrical)
• Meteor Film Productions (1947) (Netherlands) (theatrical) (as Meteor Film)
• Radio Filmes (1947) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• RKO Radio Pictures (1948) (France) (theatrical)
• Selznick Releasing Organization (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (as A Selznick Release)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1973) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• CBS/Fox (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Key Video (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Videosonic Arts (1997) (Greece) (VHS)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Dutch FilmWorks (DFW) (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (Canada) (DVD)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino International (theatrical)
• New Star (2012) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Continental Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

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:

Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | Germany:16 | Peru:14 | South Korea:15 (DVD rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:U (video rating) (1986) (1992) (1996) (2000) | USA:Approved (PCA #11261) | Spain:18 | Iceland:L | UK:U (re-release) (re-rating) (2000) (2008) (2012) | Norway:16 (1947) | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1947) | Portugal:M/12 (Qualidade) | USA:Unrated | UK:A (original rating) | UK:U (tv rating)

Filming Locations:

Beverly Hills, California, USA

Company:

Vanguard Films

Trivia:

Leopoldine Konstantin played the mother of Claude Rains but in real life she was only 4 years older than Rains.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When drunken Alicia is struggling with Devlin in her car at the beginning of the movie. After he causes her to pass out, Ingrid Bergman can be seen sliding over in the car seat to make room for Cary Grant.

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 This Means War (2012)

Soundtrack:

Carnaval, Op. 9, Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes: 'Chopin'

The Genius And His Stars

Hitchcock introduces his stars with a cinematic blow that makes the opening of this dark, scrumptious thriller a monumental treat. He uses their star personalities and turns them round to dislocate us, teasing us with his unmistakable touch. The absurdity of the plot becomes totally plausible and the suspense is not merely unbearable but thrillingly entertaining. All of Hitchcock's favorite emotional and visual toys are present here. The icy blond, the sexual tension, the weakling villain with a castrating mother. A legendary kiss and a happy ending. Whenever I meet someone who hasn't seen any Hitchcock movies - and there are people in this world, believe it or not, who hasn't - I show them Notorious and always without fail, they are hooked forever. Just the way I was, I am and, I suspect, will always be. Cary Grant is allowed a dark unsmiling romantic hero and Ingrid Bergman lowers her strength to become a woman in love and in jeopardy but unwilling to appear as a victim. This gem of a film can be seen again and again without ever becoming tired or obvious. I'm sure you guessed it by now, this is one of my favorite films of all time.