And here we are for my thoughts on the first new disc release of 2019 that I have had the chance to see, the 1946 Alfred Hitchcock movie Notorious, starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant.
After her father is convicted as a Nazi conspirator, Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman) meets T. R. Devlin (Cary Grant) at a party she is giving. He convinces her to come work with the government to help take down a few Nazis in hiding. She is asked to get close to Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains), a friend of her father’s who was infatuated with her. She is reluctant to do so, as she has also developed feelings for Devlin. He feels the same, but isn’t willing to admit to it, so that that she does the job. She ends up marrying Alex, and is then able to find out what he and his Nazi colleagues are up to.
Just a word of warning before I get any further: as a whole, I do not care for Alfred Hitchcock’s movies (outside of the four he made with Cary Grant), so don’t expect too many reviews of his films from me. That being said, I did enjoy this one. As I said, it’s Hitchcock, so he’s good at building up suspense, whether it be the pacing, the music or the performances of the stars. And such wonderful performances, too, whether it be Claude Rains, who gives us a very human Nazi that we ALMOST start to feel sorry for, or Ingrid Bergman as Alicia, who wants to help but feels conflicted about what she is being asked to do, especially with her newfound feelings for Devlin, or Cary Grant as Devlin, who does care for Alicia but is wary about letting his own feelings get in the way of stopping these escaped Nazis. This is a movie that I enjoyed very much, and would easily recommend it!
This movie is currently owned by Disney, and has been previously licensed out to MGM, who made made it available on Blu-ray and DVD. That license has ended, and now Criterion Collection has restored it and made it available on Blu-ray and DVD themselves, and their release is indeed a “wow!” as it looks so wonderful!
Film Length: 1 hour, 42 minutes
My Rating: 9/10
*ranked #8 in Top 10 Disc Releases Of 2019
List Of Actor/Actress Filmographies/Collections
The Bells Of St. Mary’s (1944) (original review of The Bells Of St. Mary’s) (update) – Ingrid Bergman
Once Upon A Honeymoon (1942) – Cary Grant – Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)
Phantom Of The Opera (1943) – Claude Rains
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Thoughts From The Music(al) Man 