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Genres
Drama | Noir | Romance
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Country
USA
Cast
Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, LEopoldine Konstantin, Louis Calhern, Moroni Olsen, Ricardo Costa, Reinhold Schünzel, Ivan Triesault, Eberhard Krumschmidt, Alexis Minotis, Wally Brown, Fay Baker
Storyline
After her father is convicted for treason, Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) is approached by Government agent T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant) who asks her to spy on a group of her father's Nazi friends in South America.
Opinion
It has been more than a year since I last saw an Alfred Hitchcock film and it was the rather disappointing "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", a film I would have never expected from the master of suspense. Undoubtedly recovered from that shock I watched "Notorious", and while it isn't one of Hitchcock's greatest films it still is an intriguing and quite tense spy film.
At first, I have to say I wasn't very happy with the plot; I was simply worried it was going to be as silly as it usually gets in spy films - and that kind of happened because there's some nonsense about uranium ore in wine bottles I didn't (and still don't) get quite well - but Hitchcock makes the difference. He is able to transform a ridiculous, absurd plot into a plausible one and he does that by delivering some good suspense and thrills. The storytelling is so good, the story moves slow but you won't even notice it.
The weird thing about "Notorious" is that it is a middle way between an espionage thriller and a romantic drama, but it's all so well blended it actually works. For this very reason, the film is able to capture and hold the attention of a wider audience without letting anyone down.
To make the romance memorable there's Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, both charming, both playing their characters beautifully and sharing a fantastic chemistry.
However, the film does have some flaws. I did really miss Hitchcock's witty and sharp dialogue - no kidding, there are no great, memorable lines here -, and the musical score wasn't that striking either.
At first, I have to say I wasn't very happy with the plot; I was simply worried it was going to be as silly as it usually gets in spy films - and that kind of happened because there's some nonsense about uranium ore in wine bottles I didn't (and still don't) get quite well - but Hitchcock makes the difference. He is able to transform a ridiculous, absurd plot into a plausible one and he does that by delivering some good suspense and thrills. The storytelling is so good, the story moves slow but you won't even notice it.The weird thing about "Notorious" is that it is a middle way between an espionage thriller and a romantic drama, but it's all so well blended it actually works. For this very reason, the film is able to capture and hold the attention of a wider audience without letting anyone down.
To make the romance memorable there's Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, both charming, both playing their characters beautifully and sharing a fantastic chemistry.
However, the film does have some flaws. I did really miss Hitchcock's witty and sharp dialogue - no kidding, there are no great, memorable lines here -, and the musical score wasn't that striking either.
Wow...this is considered one of his better films and one of the few I have not seen! One day I will see it. I can't remember if you reviewed this one yet but check out Strangers on a Train....one of my favs.
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