Notorious is a 1946 American spy film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock. It stars Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains. The story is about three people whose lives get closely connected during a spy mission.

In April 1946, Alicia Huberman, the daughter of a Nazi spy who was sent to prison, is asked by a U.S. government agent named T. R. Devlin to help spy on a group of Nazis who escaped to Brazil after World War II. At first, Alicia says no. But then Devlin plays recordings of her arguing with her father, where she says she loves America. This helps convince her to join the mission.

While waiting to learn the details of her mission in Rio de Janeiro, Alicia and Devlin fall in love. Later, Devlin is told to ask Alicia to get close to Alex Sebastian, a rich businessman and her father’s old friend. Devlin tries to stop this order, saying it’s too much to ask of her. But his bosses say coldly that Alicia is the kind of woman who would do such a thing. They also know Sebastian once loved Alicia.

Devlin hides his true feelings and tells Alicia about the new mission. Alicia wrongly believes that Devlin never really loved her and was only pretending as part of his job.

Devlin arranges for Alicia to meet Sebastian at a horse-riding club. Sebastian is happy to see her and says he always believed they would end up together. He invites her to a dinner party at his house with some business friends. Devlin and Captain Paul Prescott from the U.S. Secret Service tell Alicia to remember the names and nationalities of all the guests.

At the dinner, Alicia sees one guest become nervous when he sees a certain wine bottle. He is quickly taken out of the room. Later, when the men are alone, the same guest tries to leave early, but another man says he will drive him home. This hints that the nervous man is going to be killed because he can’t be trusted.

Soon, Alicia tells Devlin, “You can add Sebastian’s name to my list of lovers.” Later, she tells Devlin and Prescott that Sebastian has asked her to marry him. Devlin hides his feelings and acts like he doesn’t care, so Alicia, feeling hurt, marries Sebastian.

After her honeymoon, Alicia tells Devlin that the key ring Sebastian gave her is missing a key, the one to the wine cellar. Devlin suggests she host a big party and invite him, so they can look inside. Before the party, Alicia quietly takes the cellar key while Sebastian is getting dressed.

Later, Alicia and Devlin secretly go into the wine cellar. Devlin accidentally breaks a wine bottle, and they find black sand inside. It is later confirmed to be uranium ore. Devlin quickly cleans the mess and locks the door again.

Just then, Sebastian comes down to get more champagne. To distract him, Devlin kisses Alicia. Alicia pretends that Devlin is drunk and bothering her, and says she brought him to the cellar to keep him from embarrassing her in front of the guests.

Sebastian notices that the cellar key is missing from his key ring. But the next morning, he sees that Alicia has put it back during the night. He goes to the cellar and finds pieces of broken glass and black sand. He realizes what happened and understands that Alicia is a spy.

Sebastian knows he has to get rid of her, but he can’t tell the other Nazi men, because then they will find out he married an American agent a big mistake. If they find out, they will likely kill him.

Alicia meets Devlin on a bench in Rio, where their ironic, tense exchange touches on her drinking, loneliness, and hidden pain. She returns his scarf as a quiet farewell, then staggers off, leaving Devlin worried something deeper is wrong.

Sebastian talks to his mother, and she suggests that Alicia should be slowly poisoned to death. Soon, Alicia becomes very ill, and her condition deteriorates. Weak and exhausted, she collapses near the grand staircase and is carried upstairs, where Sebastian orders the telephone removed so she can have “absolute quiet.”

Eventually, she remains confined to her room, too weak to escape. With time, Alicia realizes that they are fully aware of her true identity

Meanwhile, Devlin waits in vain for her at their meeting spot, uneasy about her supposed drinking. Convinced she wasn’t drunk but ill, he debates with Prescott, who warns him not to interfere so close to closing the case. Still worried, Devlin insists on visiting Alicia under the pretext of being a family friend, despite the risks.

Devlin arrives at Sebastian’s house, where Joseph tells him Alicia is gravely ill and confined to bed. Left waiting in the hall, Devlin grows uneasy while Sebastian, displeased, learns of his visit during a meeting with his associates.

Devlin finds Alicia bedridden and learns she’s being poisoned by Sebastian and his mother. Confessing his love, he helps her up and urges her to keep awake as they try to leave. At the top of the stairs, Sebastian confronts them, but Devlin threatens exposure, forcing him to let Alicia go.

Devlin rescues the weakened Alicia, guiding her down the staircase while Sebastian and his mother struggle to maintain appearances before their watchful associates. Though shaken, Sebastian is forced to support Devlin’s story that she is being taken to the hospital. Outside, Devlin locks Alicia safely in his car, where she smiles faintly at him, reassured by his presence. Left behind, Sebastian pleads desperately to go along but is denied, and as Eric and Rossner summon him back inside, the closing door seals his fate.

Hitchcock used Cary Grant’s star power in a clever way. In Grant’s first scene, the camera only shows the back of his head as he watches Alicia closely. This creates a feeling of mystery. The next morning, the camera shows a close-up of a glass of fizzing aspirin beside Alicia’s bed. This shows how much she drank the night before. The scene from Alicia’s point of view Devlin (Grant) appears upside down and backlit, showing how dizzy and confused she feels.

One of the most famous shots in the film happens at Sebastian’s mansion in Rio de Janeiro. The camera starts high above the entrance hall, then slowly moves down to show Alicia’s hand, nervously twisting the key. This long and smooth camera movement, shot by Ted Tetzlaff, builds tension and shows how afraid Alicia is at that moment.

Cary Grant plays T. R. Devlin, a U.S. government agent sent to recruit Alicia Huberman to spy on former Nazis in Brazil. Grant’s performance is marked by subtlety and restraint, reflecting Devlin’s internal conflict between duty and love. He conveys intelligence, charm, and emotional depth while keeping his feelings hidden, creating a tension-filled, compelling portrayal. His charisma and screen presence make Devlin both authoritative and relatable, anchoring the film’s suspense and romance.

Ingrid Bergman as Alicia Hubermand is the American daughter of a convicted Nazi spy. She is known for drinking and partying, but deep down, she wants to do something meaningful. She agrees to help the U.S. government spy on Nazis, and falls in love with Devlin. When she’s told to seduce and marry Sebastian, she feels betrayed but follows through. Her character is brave, vulnerable, and emotionally rich. Alicia’s party dress was designed by the famous costume designer Edith Head.

Claude Rains as Alexander Sebastian is a wealthy Nazi sympathizer hiding in Rio de Janeiro after World War II. He is part of a secret Nazi group and once had feelings for Alicia. When she enters his life again, he falls in love with her and marries her, not knowing she is a spy. When he finds out the truth, he is trapped, he can’t reveal her without exposing himself. His role is tragic and complex, as he is both a villain and a man in love.

The love theme in Notorious, composed by Roy Webb, is a typical Hitchcock-style romantic theme but it is not used in the usual romantic way. Even in the scene where Alicia and Devlin walk up a hill, enjoying a beautiful view and sharing a romantic moment, the music only plays briefly and softly, not as a loud, emotional love theme like in Spellbound.

Most of the time, the love theme appears at unexpected moments and in troubled-sounding versions. This shows the emotional tension between the couple: Alicia’s hurt feelings and deep, hidden love, and Devlin’s fear, jealousy, and hesitation.

There is also a bit of Hitchcock’s dark humor in the music. For example, when Alicia first enters Sebastian’s mansion, filled with dangerous Nazis, classical music by Schumann is playing. It’s as if Hitchcock is saying: “Yes, they’re evil—but they have good taste in music.”

Biographer Patrick McGilligan wrote that in Notorious, the story about smuggled uranium and the romantic pairing of Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman was so strong, it promised to be a huge success at the box office like an atomic explosion.

In 2006, the film was chosen to be saved in the United States National Film Registry because it was considered culturally, historically, or artistically important.

Photos courtesy Google. Excerpts taken from Google.