I've added "Notorious" to my list of playmates!

God Bless the “MacGuffin!” This most well known of director Alfred Hitchcock’s stylistic devices is the force thrusting us beyond the opening of Hitchcock’s 1945 classic “Notorious” starring Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant and Claude Rains. However, this trait almost derailed the entire picture; a project that would gain Hitchcock the authoritative power over his pictures he so desperately sought.

Prior to the filming of “Notorious” Hitchcock had collaborated only twice with his commanding producer David O. Selznick in the over half-decade since he had originally signed with the impresario. His most recent alliance with Selznick had been on “Spellbound”: a psychological thriller that Hitchcock cared less and less for as production continued. Hitchcock’s patience with his employers at Selznick Pictures International and his agents at the Selznick Agency had completely been worn out.

Following 1940’s “Rebecca”, Hitchcock had been- through his own tactical methods- attempting to avoid working with the controlling Selznick. He had been successful in gaining short-term contracts with RKO, Universal and most recently with Daryl Zanuck’s Fox Studio’s; which allowed him to complete the necessary work quotas set by Selznick within their gruelling contract, while staying away from the controlling wrath of Selznick.

Yet, after completing the intimate war film “Lifeboat” at Fox, Hitchcock had managed to tactfully re-work the terms of his contract with Selznick. In the period between “Lifeboat” and the making of “Notorious”, Selznick had grown more depressed and irrational. His brother and former Hitchcock agent, Myron, had died suddenly due to alcoholism. Selznick had also recently split from his wife after becoming smitten with actress Jennifer Jones. By the time Hitchcock had completed “Spellbound”, Hitchcock was more bankable than ever.

Other studios including Warner Brothers were consistently pursuing him. Selznick’s personal problems led to him feeling more paranoid about his underused prized director being stolen away from him. Hitchcock had used this paranoia to amend their often-revised contract to prevent Selznick from taking percentages of Hitchcock’s bonuses, provide a deserved compulsory elevated wage and to ensure his contract would be completed after his next two Selznick Pictures, whether they were for Selznick International or were loan-outs.

Hitchcock had been jaded with their previous collaboration “Spellbound”: a project Hitchcock selected primarily because of Selznick’s fondness for psychology. Hitchcock had appeased Selznick by submitting to his selection of actors (Oscar-nominee Gregory Peck over Joseph Cotten) and his consistent wrangling and tinkering with Hitchcock selected surrealist Salvador Dali and the (mis) use of his bizarre dream sequences.


By the time “Notorious” came around, Hitchcock was no longer willing to succumb to his fragile and suspicious employer. Selznick became greatly immersed in his new Jennifer Jones western “Duel in the Sun”: which he poured vast quantities of money in a futile attempt to replicate “Gone with the Wind.” With Selznick often absent, Hitchcock began to plan for one of his greatest “Hitchcock Originals.”

Hitchcock began working with the acclaimed (and expensive) screenwriter Ben Hecht. The pair got along famously and leisurely chalked up almost a year of pre-production work through heavy revising of their script. Just as when Zanuck returned from military duty to the set of “Lifeboat” and saw Hitchcock’s lengthy and costly pre-production manner during his brief loan-out to Fox, Selznick’s return produced similar stunned results.

But while Zanuck was taken aback and opted to confront Hitchcock in an attempt to dictate a smoother, quicker work rate, Selznick was no longer the strongman he once had been. While he did pressure Hitchcock to adjust elements of his script, he was no longer able to exert the dictatorial vigour he had deployed in the editing room and through limited chequebooks in creating “Spellbound”

Thrillers were not Selznick’s cup of tea, and “Notorious” would prove to be an exquisite Hitchcock thriller. He was deeply perplexed over Hitchcock’s casting choices, principally the expensive Cary Grant, the controversial script and particularly over the film’s “MacGuffin”.

Immediately citing these concerns Selznick tried to sell the product to Warners, but whereas Warner Brothers chairman Jack Warner had no qualms over the casting of Grant, but was just as worried about the notorious script and even more confused regarding the necessity of the “MacGuffin.”

Eventually Selznick sold the film to the fledging RKO studios for a lofty $800,000 dollars plus fifty-percent of the gross: eventually costing $2 million dollars and grossing four times that amount. At RKO, Hitchcock would be given creative control, as well as his pick of the studio’s top production talent. His creative power even elevated him to the credited position of producer for the first time.

Hitchcock quickly cast Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman in the film’s principal roles. Both actors had previously worked with Hitchcock within the past five years: Grant in “Suspicion” and fellow Selznick contracted employee and loather of DOS, Ingrid Bergman who previously appeared in “Spellbound.”

Alongside the casting of the suave Grant and Bergman, he also included the mercurial character actor Claude Rains; allowing Hitchcock to have finally amassed his preferred line-up. Bergman was particularly pleased with the role in that it allowed her to play a flawed, troubled human being rather than “the saintly roles” she felt she was regularly offered.

And Ingrid Bergman is hardly saintly in this role. In “Notorious,” Bergman plays Alicia Huberman: the daughter of the leader of a fifth column of American Fascists. The film opens in Miami, post-World War II. This is an interesting development, since the film was produced in 1945, but was created to provide a thriller that played on America’s fears of a fascist revival.

Hitchcock himself had been a leading figure in anti-fascist causes during the war on the screen (Foreign Correspondent, Saboteur and Lifeboat) as well as off-screen assisting the war effort wherever possible.

In the film’s opening Alicia’s (Bergman) father is shown being imprisoned for crimes against the American state in trying to rise up a fascist movement. Dejected by her father’s actions, Alicia takes to alcohol like fish to water. A debonair gentleman at one of her ongoing parties spots her raging alcoholism one evening. The gentleman’s name is Devlin played superbly by Cary Grant.

After Alicia takes Devlin on a wild, drunken ride in her convertible, she realizes that he is more than just a typical partygoer. Because Devlin is not one of her social butterflies, but rather a government agent who has been spying on Alicia for three months. Devlin informs Alicia that the government need her assistance in preventing a national security crisis. Alicia is confused, but Devlin informs her this is a chance to clear her name and do a patriotic act for her country following her father’s treason.

Alicia is told about a predicament in Brazil regarding Nazi escapees who have fled to South America in an attempt to rejuvenate and rearm the Nazi Wehrmacht. The group known as IG Farben is in the process of creating a dangerous weapon that will affect the future of the globe. High-ranking members of the group that the US government wish to capture were acquaintances of Alicia’s father and would provide the government with a spy both they and IG Farben can trust as being seemingly reliable. Alicia reluctantly agrees.

However in Rio de Janeiro, the real essence of the story begins. This is less a suspense adventure regarding Nazi saboteurs in Brazil, but rather of the combative and escalating relationship between Grant and Bergman. Whereas Bergman easily falls head over heels for the handsome Grant, he is seemingly reluctant to her advances.

Yet, when Devlin (Grant) hears about the true nature of Bergman’s job he his aghast. According to government intelligence, Alicia was the former love interest of a wealthy, high-ranking Nazi official named Alexander Sebastian, who also happens to be IG Farben’s head honcho. The government’s job for Alicia is too woo Sebastian and find out the secrets of his group’s intended plans.

Indeed the premise sounds trite and rather banally hackneyed. But through Hecht and Hitchcock’s chic script, the plot idea is transformed from lumpy sour milk into sparkling and dashing champagne. It is ironically through liquors and spirits that the slowly teetotal Alicia soon begins realizing there is something afoot at Alex’s house when one of his associates complains about a bottle of wine. This is the film’s notorious (no pun intended) and ingenious “MacGuffin.”

The U.S. government are soon happily impressed by Alicia’s discoveries, but they desire her to continue pressing into the matter. This begins to upset both Devlin and Sebastian. Whereas Sebastian is fearful of the omnipresent Devlin stealing his love, Devlin is internally petrified over losing Alicia to the maniacal Sebastian.

Though Alicia’s excuse is that Devlin is romantically pursuing her ever since they met on the plane to Rio, Sebastian believes the pair is already amorously linked. In a sign of solidarity to him, Sebastian presses Alicia to marry him and the unsatisfied Devlin reluctantly agrees against Alicia’s wishes in order for the benefit of international affairs.

The events that follow are some of the great Hitchcock set pieces ever filmed. Hitchcock splendidly creates a rising aura of tension and apprehension that continues to escalate with greater intensity as the picture goes on. This is an excellent element of this film.

Despite Hitchcock abandoning his usual thrilling vehicular chases in “Notorious”: there is perhaps more genuine suspense and unequivocal desperation in Grant and Bergman’s duels with time in Sebastian’s mansion than in any of the lavish action-packed set pieces Hitchcock was so fond of in his other pictures.

The Ben Hecht script while being cinematic is adverse to the comic pleasures that are sprinkled throughout Hitchcock’s other pictures, most notably in the fine dialogue and script work penned by Thornton Wilder and Sally Gordon for “Shadow of a Doubt.” But while having a minimalist layer of humour embedded with “Notorious,” Hecht’s script allows Hitchcock to create a splendidly crafty thriller.

The film starts off slow, but begins to build up speed once in Rio before dashing in a controlled and pace-filled manner once Alicia weaves her way into Alex Sebastian’s life. The script also was highly controversial replete with sobered wit and menacing commentary. Even today it has its racy moments that flew under the radar of the Hays Office and the League of Decency.

The acting in this picture is first rate. While Grant is recognized by most modern audiences for this style of debonair work, he was more well known for his efforts in screwball comedy prior to working with Hitchcock in “Notorious” and “Suspicion.” Grant’s role as the refined and suave Devlin fits him like a glove and is pure Grant.

Grant plays the film with intricate layers of subtle mannerisms that acknowledge Devlin’s flawed persona. The contrast in his effortless charm is plagued by his inability to express his true desires for Alicia. This is done in a brilliant seamless fashion and creates one of his greatest performances: a true artistic achievement of great depth.

His rapport with Bergman is intriguing and beguiling. Note the intense and captivating sequence in which the pair secretly gathers at the racetrack. This entire scene is perhaps the film’s greatest achievement accomplished with refined acting and directorial skill. It’s intimate, emotive and REAL. This alone is unadulterated and indisputable CINEMA, not just film, but CINEMA!

Here Grant plays it cool with an aura of distinguished refinement and professionalism. Bergman is tense and quiet. But when she informs Grant of something he would be happy to know, she quotes the incomparable line “You can add Sebastian’s name to my list of playmates.” Hitchcock luminously cuts to a shot of Grant that reveals under that tanned, charming playboy persona is a man broken and crippled by her comment. This is one of the film’s greatest scenes; splendidly established in a film that indulges and responds with regular doses of brilliant cinema.

Bergman too is mesmerizing as Alicia. When we first meet her she is a gin-soaked wild child cynical of the authority of the world. Yet, when in Rio her attitude towards authority is less sober and more emotional. She understands the importance of her job, but also the detriment it carries by discarding the one she loves (Devlin) for a diabolic source of devilish evil (Sebastian).

In Alicia, Bergman presents an individual as frail and flawed as Devlin: desperately seeking true love and satisfaction in life, even at a cost. It too is one of her finest performances with a level of anguish and necessity that is not as profound as in her other excellent performances in films such as “Casablanca” Claude Rains as usual provides the consummate, professional character actor done with finesse and vast attention for detail. A superb talent in his own right, this too must be pronounced as one of his finest efforts.

Yet, one can easily notice the absurd height differential between Bergman and Rains that was “eradicated” by inserting wooden planks on the floor. This doesn’t make a difference though as it is plainly obvious Rains is walking up an incline. But this does not detract anything from the film.

Perhaps the best of the fine supporting roles is by Czech actress Madame Konstantin as Alexander Sebastian’s overbearing and all-pervading mother. Despite this being Konstantin’s only American film performance, it is a memorable one that simply and amusingly predates and anticipates the arrival of Mrs. Bates in “Psycho.” Mrs. Sebastian’s consistent efforts to control her son’s romantic and political affairs and their behind closed door arguments are extremely enthralling, even more so for the Hitchcockphile.

Hitchcock’s direction in this film is spectacular. In “Notorious”, Hitchcock eschews the majority of the visual trickery and grandeur of “Spellbound” and “Shadow of a Doubt” in favour of a more narrative method focussing less on the artistic medium and more on directing marquee performances from the cast at hand. Yet despite this Hitchcock neatly establishes a definitive “Hitchcockian” piece complete with inserted “MacGuffin” and unforgettable imagery.

I found Criterion’s DVD presentation of “Notorious” to be both exemplary and understated. The film’s transfer is very good: dynamic, but overall not truly spectacular. There are moments of visual wear and tear with a dotting of nicks and scratches in various places. The sound is crisp, but not overly forceful. I found the features, as with most Criterions, to be its greatest asset.

Criterion have assembled a collection of varied features ranging from the succinct in short promos and trailers up to the highly commendable in the presentations of RKO’s Lux Radio Theatre adaptation of “Notorious” read by Bergman and Joseph Cotten. Criterion’s often-good work with extras should be the industry standard particularly in dealing with classic films, though even Fox’s budget Studio Classics line is often overly gratifying in the extras department given their lower advertised costs. But here Criterion has done a remarkable job in even including an isolated music and effects track as well as well as alternate and deleted script excerpts, production correspondence and stills among other things.

The film also contains two abundant and satisfying commentaries. The first by Hitchcock film scholar Marian Keane often treads on being overly philosophical or overly tedious: I still find it hard to believe the amount of commentaries that inform the viewer of the EXACT action that is happening on the screen without speaking of its purpose. I found the commentary of Selznick biographer Rudy Behlmer to be much more enjoyable. His track is authoritative and factual, preferring to historical over abstract. However, Criterion’s ability to provide two splendid tracks will satisfy both the film metaphorist and the film history scholar.

Overall despite it slow first fifteen minutes, I found Notorious to be another magnificent Hitchcock classic. This is a splendid example of the correct methods required to foster a genuine suspense story. But through their genius, Hecht and Hitchcock have sown a clever two-level story: part active suspense thriller; part stimulating love story. While it is arguable whether this is Hitchcock’s greatest thriller, it is unquestionably his greatest love story.

The superior acting blessed by the bond between Grant and Bergman and the friendly relationships Hitchcock fostered with both off-screen gives the film that extra level of realism within a strange storyline. Grant gives one of his most brisk and sensitive performances, whilst Bergman digs deep and breathes life into the broken Alicia. Hitchcock’s direction is smartly restrained but allows him to create a personable and energetic romantic-adventure-thriller: that carefully unwinds the story to reveal deep character traits and levels of suspense.

“Notorious” is an absolute classic and arguably his greatest accomplishment of the forties. While not a “duck and cover” or “wrong-man” thriller that Hitchcock built a career upon, this film is easily one of his most enjoyable, inclusive and thrilling pieces. Sadly, with Hollywood’s lack of critical respect for crime pictures, Hitchcock, Bergman and Grant did not receive the acclaim and accolades they definitely deserved for this exquisite piece. But even so this film is a necessity for followers of Hitchcock, Grant and cinema in general.

Notoriously recommended, “MacGuffin” or no “MacGuffin”