Notorious
2 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
Rent/Purchase
In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.
What critics thought
Near-universally regarded as one of Hitchcock's finest achievements, Notorious earns its reputation through a rare fusion of romantic tension and espionage thriller mechanics, with critics consistently singling out its emotional intelligence alongside its suspense craft. The lack of solemnity — what Pauline Kael called its playful, inventive quality — is frequently cited as what lifts it toward art rather than mere genre exercise.
“Mr. Hecht has written, and Mr. Hitchcock has directed in brilliant style, a romantic melodrama which is just about as thrilling as they come—velvet smooth in dramatic action, sharp and sure in its characters, and heavily charged with the intensity of warm emotional appeal.”
Bosley Crowther·The New York Times
“Notorious lacks many of the qualities which made the best of Alfred Hitchcock's movies so good, but it has more than enough good qualities of its own.”
James Agee·The Nation
“the most elegant expression of the master's visual style”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
Genres
Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery
Cast & Crew
DirectorAlfred Hitchcock
StarringCary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin
ComposerRoy Webb
Notorious
2 Oscar Nominations·National Film Registry
In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian, a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.
What critics thought
Near-universally regarded as one of Hitchcock's finest achievements, Notorious earns its reputation through a rare fusion of romantic tension and espionage thriller mechanics, with critics consistently singling out its emotional intelligence alongside its suspense craft. The lack of solemnity — what Pauline Kael called its playful, inventive quality — is frequently cited as what lifts it toward art rather than mere genre exercise.
“Mr. Hecht has written, and Mr. Hitchcock has directed in brilliant style, a romantic melodrama which is just about as thrilling as they come—velvet smooth in dramatic action, sharp and sure in its characters, and heavily charged with the intensity of warm emotional appeal.”
Bosley Crowther·The New York Times
“Notorious lacks many of the qualities which made the best of Alfred Hitchcock's movies so good, but it has more than enough good qualities of its own.”
James Agee·The Nation
“the most elegant expression of the master's visual style”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
Genres
Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery
Cast & Crew
DirectorAlfred Hitchcock
StarringCary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern, Leopoldine Konstantin
ComposerRoy Webb
Rent/Purchase