Notorious (1946)

 Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious"

For the first time in his Hollywood career, Alfred Hitchcock was able to get out from under the thumb of producer David O. Selznick and be a producer of his own work. Although originally a Selznick-produced piece, 1946's "Notorious" was conceived by Hitchcock, written by Ben Hecht with the assistance of Hitchcock, cast by Hitchcock, and directed by Hitchcock with no over-the-shoulder producers to edit over his work. As King Vidor's "Duel in the Sun" was taking up too much of Selznick's financing and attention, he sold the rights to the script for "Notorious" to RKO, with Hitchcock and Ingrid Bergman attached. Now backed by RKO, Hitchcock was able to be his own producer for the first time. He polished the script, negotiated post-production details, and demonstrated his skill as an executive. With this newfound freedom, Hitchcock was able to film exactly how he wanted. An example of this was his choice to film every scene on RKO sound stages, even the 'exterior' scenes which were shot with a rear projection process. He even got to hire who he wanted, like stars Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains. He also hired Edith Head to create Ingrid Bergman's gowns.  Hitchcock's full artistic control is typically noted by film scholars, as many claim the film to be an artistic watershed that represents his ascendance to thematic maturity. 

The film follows a U.S. government agent named Devlin, played by Grant, who enlists Ingrid Bergman's Alicia, a daughter of a convicted German war criminal to infiltrate a circle of executives hiding in Rio de Janeiro after the war. However, things get complicated when Devlin and Alicia fall in love. On top of this, Devlin's duty gets complicated when he is instructed to drive Alicia into the arms of Alex Sebastian, an executive who had previously been in love with her. Their relationship becomes strained the more Alicia has to get closer to Sebastian. That is, until Sebastian catches on and begins to poison Alicia, requiring Devlin to come to her rescue.

The primary themes of the film stem from the relational conflicts caused by the relationship between the three principle characters. More specifically, Alicia is the subject of much of the thematic conflict, as she is prostituted by the U.S. government. On top of this, she becomes defined by her pervious promiscuity, as it becomes an issue for Delvin. She is ultimately trapped by the situations the men place her in throughout the film. "Notorious" is also the first film to feature an overbearing mother figure in the form of Sebastian's ever-present mother. Hitchcock's own mother had died in September of 1942, something he would continue to be haunted by due to their complicated relationship. Throughout his filmography, the mother figure would come to be used by Hitchcock to explore his feelings of anger, guilt, resentment, and depressive yearning over his mother. In "Notorious," despite being a powerful executive, Sebastian still looks to his mother for guidance and problem-solving. Much of the film's themes deal with the relationships between people and how complicated those relationships could get.

"Notorious" was an official selection at the very first annual Cannes Film Festival. It premiered in the U.S. at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on August 15, 1946. The reception was of unanimous praise. It became on the highest grossing films of the year, as well.

Viewers notes: Despite being a classic Hitchcock film and considered one of his best, I felt the film was an average-everyday-run-of-the-mill espionage romance story. Despite its big lead stars, I did not feel won over by their relationship. The spy elements of the film were middling at the beginning. However, it does get interesting when Sebastian and his mother begin to suspect Alicia. Overall, it was mildly amusing entertainment with stretches of intrigue.