1. How does Hitchcock introduce us to the two principle characters? Where do the scenes take place and how is the camera placed?
In the case of Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), her father’s prison sentence leaves her skeptical of others, yet longing for a new companion in her life. She has a reliance on alcohol to wash her troubles away. R. Devlin’s (Cary Grant) a stranger from the party, a very mystery man. The Party takes place at Miami, FL. The camera pans right across Cary Grant’s back and comes to rest behind his right shoulder. The camera is placed behind and to the right of Cary Grant who is sitting and facing away from the camera. In the immediate foreground masking out a small portion of the bottom left corner of the frame is the silhouette of Cary Grant’s right shoulder and part of his head. This establishes that it is a tacitly objective shot from the point of view of Cary Grant. As we move to the right though the frame in the foreground Ingrid Bergman is sitting facing towards Cary Grant and the camera at eye level. It is a medium shot from her navel up and she sits nearly in the center of the frame in front of Cary Grant. Their relation relative to each other is conclusive of a possible a romance and long lasting connection. In the background dividing the frame in half behind Ingrid Bergman is a couple dancing. Finally, in the foreground on the right side of the frame sits a man who is profiled and masks out about a third of the bottom half of the frame. The significance of the guests framed is they act as a sort of mask leading our eyes to Ingrid Bergman’s glances and expressions toward Cary Grant in the foreground of the frame. , the shot establishes Cary Grant’s role as a man of mystery and foreshadows an element of romance between Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant.
2. How does Hitchcock get us to identify with and care about the two lead actors Carey Grant and Ingrid Bergman? One scene that illustrates the tensions in