CROSSING THE THRESHOLD

Hitchcock's Notorious (1946), starring Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, is quite possibly the English director's most darkly romantic film, and is thematically similar to Rear Window (1954) in the way both male protagonists are initially reluctant to commit to the women they love, even to the point of seeming almost willing to endanger their partners to test their own steadfastness.

Despite his initial coolness, U.S. government agent Devlin (Cary Grant) quickly falls fast and hard for Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), the daughter of a German war criminal. Yet he soon finds himself torn between her role as a spy and his increasing affection for her. The more successfully Alicia plays her part, becoming embroiled in infiltrating a Nazi organization run by Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains) in Brazil, the more cruelly and spitefully Devlin treats her, as if he wants to punish her for being so convincing. In his judgmental way, he sees her performance as a kind of unfaithfulness, even though he has had several opportunities to prevent her from being further imprisoned inside the proverbial lion's den.

It was certainly unusual for Grant to play a romantic role with such a complex and dark edge, though prior to Notorious he had already shown he could bring a duality of light and darkness in his first film with Hitchcock, Suspicion (1941).

Eventually, when Devlin realises that Alicia’s life is in serious danger due to her being poisoned by Alexander and his suspicious mother, who have discovered her double-crossing betrayal, he puts aside his conflicted feelings and saves her from her potentially deadly fate.

Considering that Alicia has already married Alexander Sebastian, it is beautifully ironic that it is the low-key Devlin who storms the staircase to their bedroom inside the Nazi’s home, finds her close to death, and brings her back to safety.

As Devlin finally acts with his heart rather than his knotted psychology toward Alicia, he proves that love saves the day. And as he carries the woozy Alicia down the winding staircase to his car, humiliating Alexander in front of his Nazi guests, it is almost as if he is crossing the threshold with Alicia in reverse: instead of entering their own home after a union, they are leaving Alexander’s home after his attempt on Alicia’s life.

Either way, the symbolism is the same, and we the audience believe that Devlin will never let Alicia endure such suffering again as a result of his own perverse selfishness.