A spy story about a Nazi cabal in Rio plotting the restoration of the Reich, Notorious – written by the incomparable Ben Hecht – delivers several exquisite suspense sequences that revolve around one of Alfred Hitchcock’s most inventive MacGuffins. The film’s real subject, however, is a fraught love triangle between U.S. intelligence operative Devlin (Cary Grant), wealthy German industrialist Alex Sebastian (Claude Rains), and the object of their mutual desire, Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), the daughter of a high-ranking Nazi. Recruited to infiltrate the Nazis’ circle – the Americans know Sebastian was previously infatuated with her – Alicia travels to Brazil to serve as the enticing bait in a honey trap, but the growing attraction between handler Devlin and his asset threatens to upend the plan. Grant and Bergman make for a swoon-inducing couple – particularly during a deliriously extended kissing sequence – but Hecht and Hitchcock complicate any easy audience identification: Devlin, after all, essentially serves as a glorified governmental pimp, and Sebastian, who manages to win our begrudging sympathy, sincerely loves Alicia. Supporting the impossibly glamorous central trio of Grant, Bergman, and Rains is a faultless ensemble of European émigré actors led by an imperious Leopoldine Konstantin as Sebastian’s heartless, controlling mother.

To attend both the film screening and post-screening discussion, please purchase a ticket for the Thursday 1:00 PM screening. Discussions are offered exclusively at this Thursday matinee.

This presentation is part of the film & lectures series Getting Hitched in partnership with St. Louis Oasis. Thursday matinees for six of the films: Blackmail, The 39 Steps, Shadow of a Doubt, Notorious, Rear Window, and Vertigo. will be followed by a discussion of 30 minutes led by Cliff Froehlich, retired executive director of Cinema St. Louis and former film critic for The Riverfront Times.