Even if the M-G-M version could have been cut somewhat—Gregory’s assaults on Paula’s sanity do border on overkill—there is George Cukor’s direction. He isn’t a “woman’s director” for nothing, and Ingrid benefits immensely from his care and sensitivity. His many flattering, yet often askew close-ups of her, sometimes from low angles by master cinematographer Joseph Ruttenberg, are reminders of the care Alfred Hitchcock took in photographing all his leading ladies but especially his favorite actress—and nowhere is Ingrid more lovingly caressed by Hitchcock’s camera than in Notorious.
Which all adds up to that one crucial ingredient the 1940 British Gaslight lacks—the luscious Ingrid Bergman.