‘Notorious’: This Classic Thriller Landed Alfred Hitchcock on The FBI’s Watchlist

Alfred Hitchcock was never one to shy away from pushing artistic boundaries, whether through depictions of violence, obsession, or coded sexuality. Known as the Master of Suspense, Hitchcock built his reputation on thrillers and mysteries that defied conventional cinematic structures and character archetypes. His films, such as ‘Rear Window,’ ‘Vertigo,’ and ‘Psycho,’ brought complex, provocative ideas to mainstream audiences.

Though his movies appeared as accessible, romantic thrillers with social commentary, their deeper, more provocative nature became evident through his skilful direction. Despite his daring vision, drawing the attention of federal authorities was likely never part of his plan. Yet, his film ‘Notorious’ reportedly landed him on an FBI watchlist.

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After establishing himself with successful thrillers in Britain, Hitchcock arrived in Hollywood in the 1940s, collaborating with producer David O. Selznick on acclaimed films like ‘Rebecca,’ ‘Spellbound,’ and ‘The Paradine Case.’ Despite ‘Rebecca’ winning Best Picture, Hitchcock disowned it due to creative clashes with Selznick. ‘Notorious,’ originally a Selznick project, was sold to RKO, allowing Hitchcock greater creative freedom.

‘Notorious,’ featuring Cary Grant as American agent T.R. Devlin and Ingrid Bergman as Alicia Huberman, the daughter of a German war criminal, marked Hitchcock’s debut as an unfettered visionary. The film, a sophisticated espionage thriller, introduced Hitchcock’s concept of the MacGuffin, a plot device with little importance used to drive the story. In this case, the MacGuffin was a cache of uranium, significant not for its role in the plot but for the romantic and national conflicts it incited.

The timing of ‘Notorious’ coincided with the Manhattan Project, the secret U.S. operation to develop the nuclear bomb. Hitchcock’s use of uranium as a plot device during such a sensitive period raised concerns. According to the book ‘Hitchcock/Truffaut,’ Hitchcock and screenwriter Ben Hecht sought advice from a scientist at the California Institute of Technology about uranium, inadvertently drawing the FBI’s attention. Although the surveillance did not result in any legal action, it underscored the tension surrounding nuclear research at the time.

Hitchcock’s inclusion of uranium was almost incidental; his primary focus was the complex relationship between Devlin and Alicia. He famously reassured a sceptical producer that the uranium was merely a plot device, insisting that the story was about love and intrigue, not atomic science. This focus on character dynamics over plot details became a hallmark of Hitchcock’s work, evident in the sizzling chemistry between Grant and Bergman in ‘Notorious.’

–Farheen Ali