Notorious (1946)

The film is praised as hard to beat for pure, polished entertainment despite not being as complex as later Hitchcock works. The pairing of Grant and Bergman, Rains's nuanced villainy, and one standout crane shot are singled out.

Ebert calls Notorious the most elegant expression of Hitchcock's visual style, praising its precise plotting, innovative camera work including the famous key shot and extended kiss sequence, and the way it builds sympathy for the characters while delivering suspenseful payoffs.

This is described as Hitchcock's swooning, often cruel 1946 masterpiece, with the director's accuracy, efficiency and control dovetailing the thriller and romantic elements to unique effect. The script, cinematography, and especially the lead performances, particularly Grant's troubled portrayal, are highlighted.

The critic calls Notorious a perfect film and Hitchcock's gravest, saddest and most perverse offering, an agonised love story rather than a standard spy thriller. The performances by Bergman, Grant and Rains, along with the famous party sequence and extended kiss, are singled out for praise.

The critic calls Notorious a pivotal Hitchcock work that blends control and precision from his earlier films with the feverish pathos of his later period, centering on a neurotic, power-imbalanced romance that anticipates Vertigo. Praise is given to the masterful long takes, symbolic use of objects, and the way the spy plot serves as a metaphor for male jealousy and emotional manipulation.

The critic describes the film as a brilliantly crafted and deliciously entertaining espionage thriller full of suspense and erotic tension, with no on-screen violence. Ingrid Bergman's outstanding performance is singled out for particular praise.

The critic highlights the film's technical mastery, including a standout crane shot over a party and the audacious extended kiss, while defending its moral complexity and strong villain performance by Claude Rains against charges of amorality.

The review highlights Notorious as a supreme example of Hitchcock's artful variation of points of view through camerawork and praises its focus on human fallibility, with the director showing compassion for characters caught in authoritarian traps rather than the judges.

The piece presents the film as more bleak romance than thriller, calling it one of Hitchcock’s strongest Forties works and an intriguing precursor to Vertigo, with Ingrid Bergman atoning for her father’s treason amid romantic tensions with Cary Grant and Claude Rains.

The critic praises Notorious as a superior spy movie made with superb slickness and expert casting, noting Hitchcock bearing down effectively on a standard plot and delivering exciting suspense tricks alongside strong performances, especially Bergman's drunk sequence.

Praises the sexy scene between Grant and Bergman that defies the Production Code, gorgeous cinematography, and how the romance takes center stage over the thriller elements.

The critic praises the perfect chemistry between Bergman and Grant, and highlights Hitchcock's masterful direction in building suspense through a witty script and gradually tightening plot.

Describes it as one of Hitchcock's most well-rounded films, a cracking spy thriller and steamy romance, with explosive chemistry between Bergman and Grant, and clever direction around censors.