On This Day...Notorious (1946)

Today, in 1946, Cary Grant's 49th full length feature film was released...Notorious!

In his second of four film collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock, Grant played agent T.R. Devlin.

Ingrid Bergman plays Alicia Huberman, who agrees to infiltrate a German chemical cartel.

She gets close to the organisations head man (Claude Rains); eventually she marries him. 

The problem; she is in love with Devlin.

"With a highly polished script by Ben Hecht, and with Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant to bring glamour and sultry vitality to the leads, Mr. Hitchcock has fashioned a film in the supercharged American idiom of the sort that made Casablanca popular." - Theatre Arts Magazine

There are a few interesting facts about Notorious.

Ian Flemimg, having seen the film was inspired to create his James Bond character, based on Cary Grant.

Years later, Grant would turn down the role as Bond in Dr. No, because he didn't want to sign up for a multi-picture deal.

 

Another point of interest is the nearly three minute kissing scene, shared by Bergman and Grant.

Why interesting? Well the filmmakers were under the Hays Code.

(see previous blog: Cary Grant and the Pre-code Era)

This meant that a kiss could not be open mouthed or last for longer than three seconds.

Hitchcock was able to get around this by having the kiss interrupted, but for only the shortest length of time. It therefore gave the impression of a much longer kiss.

Cast:

Devlin                             Cary Grant

Alicia Huberman             Ingrid Bergman

Alexander Sebastian       Claude Rains

Paul Prescott                  Louis Calhern

Mme. Sebastian              Madame Konstantin

"Dr. Anderson"               Reinhold Schunzel

Walter Beardsley            Moroni Olsen

Eric Mathis                     Ivan Triesault

Joseph                            Alex Minotis

Mr. Hopkins                    Wally Brown

Ernest Weylin                 Gavin Gordon

Commodore                    Sir Charles Mendl

Dr. Barbosa                     Ricardo Costa

Hupka                             Eberhard Krumschmidt

Ethel                               Fay Baker  

With Ingrid Bergman, Madame Konstantin and Claude Rains.

On set with Alfred Hitchcock and Ingrid Bergman.

Lobby Cards:

Media Release:

Directed and Produced by Alfred Hitchcock.

Distributed by RKO Radio.

Running Time: 103 minutes.

On This Day...North By Northwest (1959)

North By Northwest was Cary Grant's 66th full length feature film and for me the best!

Cary Grant plays a business executive, Roger Thornhill, who is mistaken for a secret agent and kidnapped. 

And what more can I say ...action and thrills from the UN Plaza, Grand Central Station, Mount Rushmore and crop dusters.

Production picture.

This film has everything!! From the opening titles by Saul Bass and Bernard Herrmann's score to the film's final scene on Mount Rushmore.

So hopefully the selection of pictures will convey what my words can not!!

With Eva Marie Saint as Eve Kendall.

With Adam Williams and Robert Ellenstein.

"Cary Grant performs with the polish that movie-goers have for long come to expect of him." - Look Magazine

With Jessie Royce Landis, Robert Ellenstien and Adam Williams.

"If it does nothing else (but it does, it does), North By Northwest resoundingly reaffirms the fact the Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock are two of the very slickest operators before and behind the cameras. Together they can be unbeatable." - Newsweek

With James Mason, Eva Marie Saint and Martin Landau.

With Philip Ober.

"Mr. Lehman not only provided Hitchcock with exactly the right kind of story to take advantage of his skills, but he has written that rare thing these days - a screen original." - Saturday Review

On Location.

With the crop duster....classic scene!

The scene was a combination of on-set back projections and on location shots. 

With Leo G. Carroll

Mount Rushmore: On set.

Grand Central Station: Behind the scenes.

Final destination:

With Eva Marie Saint.

Cast:

Roger Thornhill                    Cary Grant

Eve Kendall                          Eva Marie Saint

Philip Vandamm                   James Mason

Clara Thornhill                     Jessie Royce Landis

Professor                              Leo G. Carroll

Lester Townsend                  Philip Ober

Handsome Woman                Josephine Hutchinson

Leonard                                Martin Landau

Valerain                                Adam Williams

Victor Larrabee                     Edward Platt

Licht                                     Robert Ellenstein

Auctioneer                            Les Tremayne

Dr. Cross                               Philip Coolidge

Chicago Policeman                Patrick McVey

Capt. Junket                         Edward Binns

Chicago Policeman                Ken Lynch

Behind the scenes with James Mason and Eva Marie Saint.

Publicity shot with Eva Marie Saint.

With Eva Marie Saint, Alfred Hitchcock and James Mason.

Lobby Cards:

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Running time: 136 minutes.

And finally...check out my other North By Northwest related posts, "My Favourite Film of the 1950's", "He's a Well Tailored One, Isn't He, by clicking on the labels below!

"Lights, Camera...Action!" - The Directors - Part 2

After Howard Hawks' five films with Cary Grant, there were two directors who completed four films each with Grant...Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Donen.

Alfred Hitchcock:

13th August 1899 - 29th April 1990

"Hitch and I had a rapport and understanding deeper than words. He was a very agreeable human being, and we were very compatible. I always went to work whistling when I worked with him because everything on the set was just as you envisioned it would be. Nothing ever went wrong. He was so incredibly well prepared. I never knew anyone as capable. He was a tasteful, intelligent, decent, and patient man who knew the actor's business as well as he knew his own." 

- Grant on Hitchcock

Suspicion (1941)

On set with Joan Fontaine.

His appearance in the film.

Notorious (1946)

Hitchcock's appearance in a scene with Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman.

To Catch A Thief (1955)

 

On film with Grant.

On set with Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.

North By Northwest (1959)

An early appearance in the film.

                                                           

On set and behind the scenes with Cary Grant, Eve Marie Saint and James Mason.

"Cary is marvelous, you see. One doesn't direct Cary Grant, one simply puts him in front of a camera. 

And, you see, he enables the audience to identify with the main character. I mean by that, Cary Grant represents a man we know. He's not a stranger."

- Hitchcock on Grant

To be continued...The Directors - Part 3 - Stanley Donen.