7:15 am PST – Notorious (1946) – A U.S. agent recruits a German expatriate to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring in Brazil. Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Louis Calhern Dir: Alfred Hitchcock BW-101 mins, TV-PG
Not only is “Notorious” my favorite Hitchcock film, it’s one of my steady top fives of all time. If there’s ever been a more complicated relationship created for the screen than the emotional wringer Hitchcock and his screenwriter (and genius) Ben Hecht crafted to put Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman though, I’ve yet to see it. Both leads are ridiculously gorgeous and Grant’s standout performance is ablaze with equal parts pride, jealousy, resentment and longing.
The film’s climax ranks as one of the most satisfying in screen history when two men, Grant and Claude Rains, both come to separate realizations (and fates) driven by their love for Bergman (whose character is the inspiration for the title). Oh, yeah, and there’s some suspense and intrigue that goes on, as well.
“Notorious” is also a deeply patriotic film, a theme found in much of Hitchcock’s work, but rarely discussed by Those Who Write about the Movies.
One of the “Wrestler” review readers responded to my complaint about that film’s climax with, “[t]he hokey ending would have been [the Mickey Rourke character] quitting and setting off on a new life with Tomei and reconnecting with his daughter.”
With all due respect: Rubbish. What a false choice.
“Hokey” isn’t the result of a story point, “hokey” is the result of the execution of the story point, something “Notorious” proves definitively.
Why have we allowed ourselves to buy into the idea that uplifting endings are old-fashioned and “hokey?” Nihilism may never be hokey, but it sure can be lazy. Ending a film on a downer and calling it complicated and nuanced requires almost no work compared to crafting a climax that lifts the human spirit.
“Notorious” ends on an emotional triumph that requires a genius for mature filmmaking that’s all but vanished. Irony and nihilism have their place but too often they’re a refuge for mediocrity.
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