Back Stage (2013) - Standing Ovation: Claude Rains in "Notorious"
Details
- magazine article: Standing Ovation: Claude Rains in "Notorious"
- author(s): Diana Bertolini
- journal: Back Stage (31/Oct/2013)
- issue: volume 54, issue 44, page 48
- journal ISSN: 1930-5966
- publisher: e5 Global Media, LLC
- keywords: Alfred Hitchcock, Cary Grant, Claude Rains, Ingrid Bergman, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Leopoldine Konstantin, Notorious (1946)
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Claude Rains in "Notorious"
Until you've seen Claude Rains in "Notorious," you might think it impossible for an actor to make a Nazi into a dangerous villain, a creepy lecher, an insecure, lovesick boy, a dangerous villain, and a vulnerable, tortured man. Best known for his memorable turn in "Casablanca," Rains began as a stage actor and teacher (his pupils included John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier) before he became one of the most prolific character actors to flourish under the studio system, finding his greatest role as Alexander Sebastian in Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film.
In it, Ingrid Bergman stars as Alicia Huberman, the daughter of a Nazi, who has been coerced by government agent (and lover) Cary Grant into seducing her father's old pal, Alex Sebastian, who's had a crush on her for years. Even among the likes of Grant, Bergman, and scene-stealer Leopoldine Konstantin (as Sebastian's formidable mother), Rains' performance stands out.
Over dinner, Sebastian tries to woo Alicia with several approaches. He starts by self-deprecatingly fishing for a compliment ("The worst thing about business is that it makes you feel old and look old") with a sad half smile. Then he tries casual flattery, happily assuring her-with a genuine smile-that she "always affected [him] like a tonic." Then he turns a little bit sleazy, lowering his voice to seductively say, "Perhaps I can help you to forget," but, catching his own earnestness, he raises his eyebrows and modifies his boldness with a hesitant disclaimer: "I'd ...
