20 Spy Movies You Must See Before You Die

Hitchcock's second spy masterpiece to make the list is Notorious, which is just about as perfect a motion picture experience as you could ever ask for.

Cary Grant? Check! Ingrid Bergman? Check! Already that should have your mouth watering, of course, but Notorious has even more to offer: not only is this one of Hitchcock's most inherently thrilling pictures, but it's also arguably the most romantic and emotional effort in his entire canon. Credit to the brilliant screenplay, then, but also to the palpable chemistry shared by the film's two lead actors.

The plot hones in on Bergman's undercover spy, Alicia, who finds herself recruited by Cary Grant's government agent, Devlin, to infiltrate a group of Nazis who have escaped to Brazil in the aftermath of World War II.

Notorious is as much of a film noir as it is a spy flick, and under Hitchcock's elegant, tight control these genres come together with aplomb. This is the movie, after all, that really put its director on the map; the picture at which critics started to take notice of the man behind the camera, and the name Alfred Hitchcock began to resonate. Watch the opening scene of Notorious and you'll see why.