{"id":20334,"date":"2011-11-02T11:41:02","date_gmt":"2011-11-02T18:41:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20334"},"modified":"2022-02-01T00:18:37","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T07:18:37","slug":"notorious-1946","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20334","title":{"rendered":"Notorious (1946)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;A man doesn&#8217;t tell a woman what to do; she tells herself.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Poster-194x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"194\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-20335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Poster-194x300.jpg 194w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Poster-83x128.jpg 83w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Poster.jpg 266w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 194px) 100vw, 194px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nThe American daughter (Ingrid Bergman) of a convicted Nazi criminal is recruited by an FBI agent (Cary Grant) to infiltrate a ring of Nazi leaders in Brazil &#8212; including a man (Claude Rains) who was once in love with her.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cary Grant Films<\/li>\n<li>Claude Rains Films<\/li>\n<li>Hitchcock Films<\/li>\n<li>Homicidal Spouses<\/li>\n<li>Ingrid Bergman Films<\/li>\n<li>Louis Calhern Films<\/li>\n<li>Nazis<\/li>\n<li>Nuclear Threat<\/li>\n<li>Romance<\/li>\n<li>Spies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary notes that this &#8220;favorite Hitchcock film&#8221; of many critics is, &#8220;unlike most of his other suspense films&#8221;, lacking in humor, given that its &#8220;characters are playing for keeps&#8221;. Indeed, <em>Notorious<\/em> is a surprisingly serious film about a &#8220;depressed, heavy-drinking young woman&#8221; (Bergman) who, given her &#8220;fervent loyalty to America&#8221;, agrees to take on a potentially lethal undercover assignment proposed to her by a suave stranger (Grant) at a party. Much of the film&#8217;s tension revolves around the fact that Bergman &#8220;has fallen for Grant&#8221; (who may or may not feel the same way in return); unfortunately, however, this critical narrative element is never sufficiently established. Bergman and Grant&#8217;s instant romance &#8212; epitomized by their early on-again-off-again kissing scene, which was strategically filmed to evade the Hayes Code stipulation that onscreen kisses couldn&#8217;t last more than three seconds &#8212; never really rings true, given that Grant offers precious little in the way of charm or charisma in his role here. (Indeed, as Peary notes, his character is actually &#8220;too serious and a bit of a lunkhead&#8221;.) While the film&#8217;s infamous, &#8220;extremely tense&#8221; ending does allow Grant to &#8220;prove himself to us and to Bergman&#8221;, this ultimately emerges as too little, too late.<\/p>\n<p>With that significant caveat out of the way, however, I&#8217;m ready to concede that <em>Notorious<\/em> remains one of Hitchcock&#8217;s most tightly crafted and suspenseful thrillers. Bergman is simply marvelous in the lead role, and Peary rightfully gives her the Best Actress award in his <em>Alternate Oscars<\/em> book, where he points out that Bergman &#8220;went against type&#8221; (having previously been viewed as &#8220;good, pure, and wholesome&#8221;) to play &#8220;a woman who [is] somewhat alcoholic, [has] slept around, and takes a sleazy job that requires that she give her body to a man she doesn&#8217;t love&#8221;. Nonetheless, her nuanced character here &#8220;has strength, resilience, and courage&#8221;; she&#8217;s someone who &#8220;refuses to hate herself or lose her self-respect&#8221;, despite the repeated &#8220;spite and condescension&#8221; she receives from Grant. She &#8220;sees no reason to defend herself&#8221;, instead &#8220;just carry[ing] on, doing what&#8217;s right and expecting nothing in return&#8221;. It&#8217;s a fascinating portrayal, to be sure. <\/p>\n<p>Claude Rains is note-perfect in the critical yet challenging supporting role as &#8220;one of Hitchcock&#8217;s most refined villains&#8221;, a man who allows lust and a serious crush to cloud his better judgment, only to realize far too late what a fool he has been. Meanwhile, Austrian actress Leopoldine Konstantin will probably be forever associated (by Americans, at least) with her role here as Rains&#8217; &#8220;venomous mother&#8221; (in real-life, she was only four years older than him, but so it goes); she&#8217;s the epitome of a truly nightmarish mother-in-law, and fits in nicely with the &#8220;slimy bunch&#8221; of Nazis Bergman must ingratiate herself with. While the film&#8217;s climactic (and controversial &#8212; see IMDb&#8217;s message board) ending is justifiably lauded, watch for the &#8220;even more exciting&#8230; party sequence in which lovers Grant and Bergman slip off to snoop in the wine cellar and the jealous Rains walks towards the cellar to get more wine&#8221;; as Peary notes, &#8220;it&#8217;s one of Hitchcock&#8217;s classic suspense scenes with action taking place all over the house&#8221;, and remains perhaps the film&#8217;s most memorable sequence. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ingrid Bergman as Alicia Huberman<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Bergman.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Bergman.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"608\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Bergman.png 608w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Bergman-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Bergman-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Claude Rains as Alexander Sebastian<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Rains.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Rains.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"608\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Rains.png 608w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Rains-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Rains-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Leopoldine Konstantin as Madame Sebastian<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Konstantin.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Konstantin.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"608\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Konstantin.png 608w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Konstantin-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Konstantin-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Ted Tetzlaff&#8217;s atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Cinematography.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"608\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Cinematography.png 608w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Cinematography-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Cinematography-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Masterful direction by Hitchcock<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Direction.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Direction.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"608\" height=\"464\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-20346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Direction.png 608w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Direction-128x97.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Notorious-Direction-300x228.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 608px) 100vw, 608px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as one of Hitchcock&#8217;s most highly regarded films. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Genuine Classic<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> (<span style=\"color:red;font-weight:bold;\">Listed in <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-static\/1001Movies.htm\"><em>1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die<\/em><\/a><\/span>) <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0038787\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/library\/film\/081646hitch-notorious-review.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/great-movie-notorious-1946\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.combustiblecelluloid.com\/classic\/notor.shtml\">Combustible Celluloid Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s201notorious.html\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.filmsite.org\/noto.html\">FilmSite Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/85282\/notorious#articles-reviews\">TCM Articles<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/63571\/notorious.html\">Time Out Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/YodzobiAP98\">Tired Old Queen at the Movies Video Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;A man doesn&#8217;t tell a woman what to do; she tells herself.&#8221; Synopsis: The American daughter (Ingrid Bergman) of a convicted Nazi criminal is recruited by an FBI agent (Cary Grant) to infiltrate a ring of Nazi leaders in Brazil &#8212; including a man (Claude Rains) who was once in love with her. Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors: Cary Grant Films Claude Rains Films Hitchcock Films Homicidal Spouses Ingrid Bergman Films Louis Calhern Films Nazis Nuclear Threat Romance Spies Response&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=20334\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20334"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":80841,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20334\/revisions\/80841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}