Cinemas Greatest Scenes: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman’s Notorious Kiss.

The film is Notorious (1946). 101 Min. B&W and one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best films. In fact Notorious has the dual recognition of being one of his best spy thrillers and without a doubt his most romantic movie. The scene in question here (for this series) is one of Hollywood’s most memorable kisses, still today occasionally mistaken and celebrated as ‘the longest kiss in movie history’. (That honour today goes to the teenage comedy Kids in America (2005), which sees Gregory Smith and Stephanie Sherrin on-screen kiss lasting just over six minutes during the end credits.) But while it might not hold that distinction anymore (as the longest kiss), what makes it memorable is the on-screen chemistry between Grant and Bergman and what makes it work is Hitchcock’s tenacity and brilliance behind the camera to work within the confines of the Hays Code (1930-68) where “scenes of passion” were censored and screen kisses limited to only a few seconds.  

Behind the scenes, before David O. Selznick sold the rights to Notorious to RKO, Joseph Cotton was originally meant to star as Devlin (Grant’s character). Like Grant the 1940s proved to be Cotten’s most successful years. Both were hot property but with Grant a bona fide star, after paying his dues as a studio-player in the 1930s, and two Academy Award nominations under his belt in dramatic roles for Penny Serenade (1941) and None but the Lonely Heart (1944), Hitchcock was correct to cast the tall, dark and handsome leading man. In fact, it is said Grant was almost always considered as Hitchcock’s first choice for every project including Rope, which Grant turned down. As for Bergman she was apparently never in doubt to star alongside Grant. Hitchcock was extremely smitten with Bergman and was eager to work with her for a second time, especially after the financial and critical success of Spellbound. Interestingly, Hitchcock and Bergman would only make 3 films together: Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946) and Under Capricorn (1949), but it was enough to cement her status as one of Hitchcock’s greatest leading ladies. (While they would never work together again after Under Capricorn, they would remain lifelong friends.)    

The screenplay for Notorious finds Grant and Bergman caught up in a tragic love triangle entangled in an espionage operation in which no one knows how its deadly game will play out. In short, Bergman as Alicia Huberman is bullied into infiltrating a Nazi group hiding out in South America. But while down South, she unintentionally falls in love with her handler, US Special Agent T.R. Devlin (Grant). Things get complicated soon after when Devlin asks Alicia to seduce Alex Sebastian (Claude Raines) to discover what their Nazi spy racket is up to. Interestingly, here because of Alicia’s well-earned reputation as a party girl, we are led to believe it won’t be difficult for her to manipulate Sebastian. For all intents and purposes Alicia is “pimped out” in an attempt to secure the downfall of Sebastian, whom she weds to secure his trust. Buts soon after things turn deadly when Sebastian suspects Alicia is a double agent and begins poisoning her. 

The most interesting, if not troublesome aspect, of Notorious early scripts, according to Joseph Breen, the Hays Code administrator, was the very strong “immoral” characterisations of Alicia. The Hays Code’s rigid moral scrutiny of “don’ts” and “be-carefuls” meant that Hitchcock and his screenwriter Ben Hecht were forced to water down any direct reference to Alicia being a morally compromised woman. (Strangely one of the early “don’ts” included a heroic death for Alicia but was later changed so she could live and run off with Delvin.) To get around other Production Code regulations, which included the film’s passionate love affair between Bergman and Grant, Hitchcock bent the rules to his advantage. In the famous love scene that went on for some two and a half minutes Hitchcock told Grant and Bergman to exchange a series of interrupted kisses with improvised dialogue. Hitchcock didn’t care what they talked about, so as long as they didn’t kiss any longer than three seconds. As we know they ended up nuzzling, kissing and talking about chicken dinner and washing dishes for several minutes even while on the phone.

This wonderful screen moment from Hitchcock’s Notorious is one of the most talked about scenes from any one of his films. It comes early in the film when Devlin and Alicia have fallen in love. It starts out on the Rio hotel balcony and ends up inside as Devlin makes a telephone call to check in with his superior.

The best lines occur late in the scene when Alicia says, “This is a very strange love affair.” Devlin in-between kisses replies, “Why?”  To which Alicia answers, “Maybe the fact that you don’t love me.” For a moment he doesn’t refute her claim somewhat distracted while talking to someone on the phone. He pauses to reply, “If I don’t love you, I’ll let you know.” Unfortunately its not the answer Alicia is looking for. “You haven’t said anything.”  A second later Devlin doesn’t hesitate to say, “Actions speak louder than words.” Alicia is thrilled by his answer. She kisses him and gently brushes her soft cheek against his.

But little do they know things are about to change when Devlin makes his way to the door and agrees to meet up with her later. In the scenes that follow Devlin is ordered by his superiors to make Alica seduce Alex Sebastian in an attempt to extract information from him about his spy operation. The news is devastating to Alicia who comes to the conclusion that Devlin’s feelings for her were not real, an act to merely gain her cooperation as part of his job.