The Worst Film Ever

Purely Joyful Movie!

Don't Believe the Hype

best movie i've ever seen.

While the leads are excellent and there is sufficient suspense, this one of Hitchcock's lacks both a sense of humour which marks much of his best work and feeling.

I didn't know what I was getting into when I watched this film but i'm glad I didn't because it was a shockingly great film. The leads are great in their respective roles and Claudia Raines is damn near perfect as a villain. Go watch this film. You will not regret it, it is suspenseful and dramatic.

After Alicia Huberman's father is jailed for being a Nazi agent shortly after the war she is approached by government agent T. R. Devlin who wants her to help uncover a Nazi cell in Rio de Janeiro. She isn't keen at first but he manages to persuade her; not only that by the time they get to Rio it is clear that they both have feelings for each other. Once there Devlin learns more details of the operation; the cell is led by Alex Sebastian, a friend of Alicia's father who clearly fancied her in the past. She is to meet him again, seduce him if necessary and find the identities of his associates and details of what they are doing. She agrees but is clearly a bit disappointed and assumes he must have just pretended to be in love to recruit her; he in turn is upset that she didn't refuse and assumes she doesn't truly love him. The operation goes ahead and Alicia does indeed get close to her target; so close that he proposes. She still isn't totally trusted though; Alex's mother never trusted her and keeps a keen eye on her. As she learns more the danger only increases; will Devlin be able to save her or will he even want to?This classic from director Alfred Hitchcock is a fine mix of romance and thrills. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman have a great chemistry as Devlin and Alicia; it is easy to believe their characters really are in love. Claude Rains also impresses as Alex Sebastian; rather than the stereotypical 'evil Nazi' he is a largely sympathetic character which makes him more plausible. Both the romance and the thriller elements work very well; things get particularly tense as the film approached its finale. There is no real violence on screen but the threat is definitely real; there is a sense of helplessness when Alicia is exposed. Overall this is definitely worth watching if you enjoy classic cinema.

In many of Alfred Hitchcock's wartime pics (from WWII to the Cold War era), the master of directing is a bit too heavy in the "rah rah America" department for the films to truly stand the test of time. They played very well for their era, but don't necessarily thrill as much today. Luckily, thanks to some tremendous acting, "Notorious" holds up much better.For a basic plot summary, "Notorious" sees an undercover agent named Devlin (Cary Grant) recruit a young lady (Ingrid Bergman) to infiltrate the home of a suspected German subversive (Claude Rains) setting up a base in the United States.In terms of overall plot, this movie is "three star" all the way, as it is a quite average story. It has the typical Hitchcock "MacGuffin" that drives the action, and the ending is not satisfying whatsoever.However, there are two factors that make this movie very watchable:1. Great acting. Rains is spot-on as the villain of the tale, while Grant & Bergman have incredible chemistry with each other. When the general storyline fails to excite from time to time, the acting carries the proceedings.2. Genuine suspense. There are a couple of scenes in this film that deftly show off the "Hitch touch" in the realm of edge-of-your-seat drama/suspense.Overall, a more accurate rating of "Notorious" would be 3.5 stars. It isn't in the highest echelon of Hitch films, but it is very watchable and never ever outright boring. It suffers from diminishing returns from repeated viewings, but "Notorious" holds it own in the Hitch canon.