Sightlines · reception
How Notorious was received
1946 · Alfred Hitchcock · Notorious on Sightlines
The arc
A hit and critically admired on release in 1946, it's since climbed even higher — what was once 'a great Hitchcock thriller' is now routinely called his most perfect film, with Truffaut crowning it the quintessence of his style.
What’s debated
The evergreen fan debate: is this — not Vertigo, Rear Window, or Psycho — actually Hitchcock's best, the connoisseur's pick over the famous ones?
Its footprint
Its two escapes from the censors are legend: the marathon kiss that dodged the Production Code's three-second rule by breaking into a chain of little kisses, and the swooning crane shot that plunges from a ballroom balcony down to the key in Ingrid Bergman's hand — one of the most imitated camera moves ever. Mission: Impossible II openly recycled its central premise.
Where it stands
Top-shelf canon Hitchcock — the 'trust me, this is the one' recommendation cinephiles hand to people who've only seen Psycho.
Did you know? The Production Code capped on-screen kisses at three seconds, so Hitchcock staged Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman's embrace as a nearly three-minute string of brief kisses — nuzzling, talking, crossing the room — without ever technically breaking the rule.