Notorious

Part of the Avalon’s Hitchcock/Truffaut Film Festival, May 5-7

Thursday, May 5 at 7:45pm
Friday, May 6 at 3:15pm

The sizzling chemistry between Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant makes Notorious a highlight of Hitchock’s 1940s oeuvre. The stars’ 2 ½ minute kissing scene early in the film circumvented the Production Code’s ban on kisses longer than three seconds by having the actors disengage every three seconds to murmur dialogue before resuming their embrace. The film also contains prime early examples of key Hitchcock trademarks: dazzling camera shots – in this case, an incredible zoom-in from a high crane shot to an extreme close-up of a key in Bergman’s hand – an over-adoring mother character, and the “MacGuffin,” a plot device that motivates the characters and advances the story while being ultimately unimportant to the audience.

Alicia, a beautiful woman with a tainted past (Ingrid Bergman), is enlisted by American agent Devlin (Cary Grant) to spy on a ring of Nazis in post-war Rio. After Alicia marries the most debonair of the Nazi ring, Alex (Claude Raines), her espionage work becomes life threatening when he discovers her deception. Only Devlin can rescue Alicia, but to do so he must face his role in her desperate situation and acknowledge that he’s loved her all along. 1946.

The Avalon is presenting film classics from directors Alfred Hitchcock and Francois Truffaut before the theater’s spring benefit event “The Genius of Hitchcock,” on Sunday, May 8. Learn more about the event & buy tickets.