When I came across Pure Entertainment Preservation Society‘s Claude Rains Blogathon, I was intrigued. I’d only ever seen him in Casablanca so I was interested to see what else he was in. Add in Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant and I was sold on Notorious . Before this I’d only seen Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca and Gaslight, so I was interested to see more of her as well. Plus, I love Cary Grant.
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Synopsis
When Alicia{Bergman}’s father is convicted of treason, she meets U.S. government agent, Devlin {Cary Grant}, who enlists her to help spy on her father’s Nazi friends residing in Rio. They fall in love in the process, but her job leads her to marry Alex {Claude Rains} to gain more information. Alex’s feelings for her cloud his judgement, but he soon learns of her true intentions.
Ingrid Bergman
Berman was so fun to watch in this movie and I really liked her character. There was a lot of talk that hinted at her being promiscuous, but they didn’t really come right out and say it. I was really surprised when I first saw the scene below though and how cavalier they are about driving drunk. Sit down, Alicia, bad idea! I do like the line right after that when he asks if she needs a coat and she says, “You’ll do.” I really enjoyed how cheeky she is!
Cary Grant
What a different kind of role for Grant! He is usually so charming in all of his roles, but in this one, he is so cold. I found myself wondering what was wrong with him! His character seems to shut down so easily and has a hard time trusting and giving into his love for Alicia.
It just goes to show Grant’s skill. He is able to evoke different responses and I admire him even more as an actor after seeing him in this. You can tell how much he loves her in the end.
The Famous Kissing Scene
This scene has a really cool history behind it. I thought it was pretty sexy the way that they really nibble at each other. This was done because while they wanted to do a long kissing scene, they were restricted to kisses that lasted only 3 seconds because of the Hayes code. This scene is famous for skirting around the rules.
Claude Rains
This is the first time I’ve really seen Claude Rains in action. It’s been so long since I’ve seen Casablanca, I honestly don’t remember the extent of his role in that. He is great as a criminal, who wears his heart on his sleeve. He is so madly in love with Alicia that he can’t see that she doesn’t love him. The character is an interesting one as is his codependency on his mother.
I really enjoyed this Hitchcock movie and would highly recommend it. All of the actors give great performances and the characters themselves have great depth as well. They are complex and fun to watch.
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Dear Kristen,
This is a great article. I am glad that this blogathon gave you a reason to discover another Claude Rains film. He made so many great movies, and he was always wonderful in them! I know what you mean about Cary Grant in this film. He is surprisingly cold at times, but he grows on one. That kissing scene is nothing short of, well, notorious! Although many refer to the frequent breaking off of kissing as a way that the movie “got around” the Code, that isn’t accurate. The Production Code Administration actually had no limit on kissing time limits; they just forbade kissing being excessive and lustful. It was the studios themselves which formulated the time limit. This is less than a good Code film, one of the reasons why being the scene you mentioned. That nibbling is much too steamy!
This is a great article. Thank you for joining the blogathon!
Oh, interesting! I didn’t realize it was more the studio limits than the code!
Notorious is one of Hitchcock’s greats. We can say that about so many of his films. I would have liked to have seen more collaborations between the great director and the great actor, Claude Rains.
I agree! That would have been cool to see. He was great here.
Like you pointed out, Claude Rains is fa-bu-lous in this film. You actually feel a little sorry for him at the end, which is quite a talent on his part.
Really enjoyed your review of this film. 🙂
I’ve never actually watched this one, but it sounds intriguing. I feel a little bad for Claude’s character, though, even knowing almost nothing about the film. *sighs*
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