Stage Fright
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Movie Reviews of Stage Fright
Movie Review: If You Think Hitch Is Tricky . . .
Summary: 4 Stars
People who feel betrayed & bewildered by the false flashback obviously haven't seen _Rashomon_!Movie Review: That damn flashback! (Ending revealed)
Summary: 3 Stars
"Stage Fright" was only mildly successful when it was first released in 1950, and there are even ardent Alfred Hitchcock fans today who consider the film a grave mistake. Now that it is released on DVD, both admirers and antagonists can closely evaluate the artistry as well as the controversy. Most of the controversy centers around the infamous "false flashback", a flaw which is discussed frankly by critics and historians as part of the DVD's extras. Any question of a surprise ending is now completely gone, so the revealing of plot elements is immaterial. Here it is: A London drama student Eve Gill (Jane Wyman) is infatuated with an ex-chorus boy who in turn is involved with a glamorous and married music hall star Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich). He tells Eve (and his story is shown on the screen, not simply narrated) that Charlotte has murdered her husband in their home and, her dress splattered with blood, has come to the young man for help. He goes into their Mayfair residence to procure a new dress for her and "arrange" a burglary scene; but he is spotted by Charlotte's dresser and is now being pursued by the police as the killer. All this Eve accepts, but in the film's climax it is revealed that actually he killed the star's spouse -- he is, in fact, a psychopath. Critics chided Hitchcock harshly for showing a lie on the screen and encouraging audiences to accept it as truth. Technically, they said, it was an act of dishonesty and betrayal.I have two objections to the movie's flashback, both of them artistic rather than technical. One, a flashback one minute into the story is awkward and dramatically unsatisfying. Two, the entrance of the woman of mystery played by Dietrich would be more effective if she were simply talked about for the first forty minutes, then initially seen in her boudoir, sardonically modeling her weeds. (By then Eve Gill, posing as a Cockney maid, has presented herself as Doris, so Dietrich calls her Phyllis, Elsie, anything but Doris.) The cast of "Stage Fright" is eclectic, to put it mildly. Dietrich is (what can one say?) Dietrich. Jane Wyman as Eve is about as English as a hot dog stand, and she doesn't really get into the masquerade elements of the role. (One can only dream of Glynis Johns in the part.) Her eccentric father is delivered with droll exaggeration by my favorite Scrooge, Alastair Sim, and her dotty mother is Old Vic veteran Sybil Thorndike. Richard Todd, a leading man of Irish temperament, plays the chorus boy with just the right amount of tics and tension. A detective investigating the case (and with whom Eve falls in love) is played by the extremely bland Michael Wilding, whose main claim to fame in Hollywood seems to have been as the second husband of Elizabeth Taylor. The best performance comes from the character actress Kay Walsh as the vulgar, grubbing Nellie Good. Quite versatile, she had been Nancy in David Lean's version of "Oliver Twist", but she could also play elegant types. Undoubtedly, "Stage Fright" has its defects, but there is the witty script by Whitfield Cook, bolstered by Leighton Lucas's very dramatic score. And first and foremost the picture reveals the director's love for the legitimate theatre: the music hall backstage, where you can almost smell the dust and grease paint; the R.A.D.A., where students are threatened with the displeasure of Sir Kenneth Barnes; and the theatrical garden party, where (of course) it's raining cats and dogs.Movie Review: Interesting But Extremely Uneven
Summary: 3 Stars
In the late 1940s and early 1950s Alfred Hichcock went through what his supporters refer to as "a transitional stage" and what his critics call "a few years when he turned out one stinker after another." 1950 he released the film STAGE FRIGHT--and both audiences and critics of the day were greatly ticked off about it.
STAGE FRIGHT is often described as "significant" because it was the first mainstream film to break the screen convention that neither director nor camera could actively lie to the audience--mislead, certainly, but not flatly lie, and not only does this occur in STAGE FRIGHT, the lie in question is the pivot on which the entire film rests. Over the years this convention has been thrown out the window by a number of notable films; as such, modern audiences are likely to think twice about the thing but instead simply kick themselves for being so silly.
They might also want to kick themselves for bothering with the film in the first place, for STAGE FRIGHT tends to divide Hitchcock fans. You either like it a lot or not at all, and while I see much to admire in isolation, I fall among those who don't.
The story concerns London drama student Eve Gill (Jane Wyman), a young woman who is hopelessly in love with Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd)--who is too preoccupied with stage star Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich) to care much about Eve one way or another. At least, not until Inwood's husband is murdered and the police focus their attention on Jonathan, who knows who the killer is Charlotte herself but can't prove it and can't get the police to believe him. Eve agrees to exercise her acting talent: she will pretend to be a maid and will go to work for Charlotte in order to get the proof to clear Jonathan's name.
This all sounds very good in theory, but there are some big problems in actual fact. The cast is somewhat less than one could wish: Dietrich comes off very well playing what is essentially a riff on her own screen image, but both Jane Wyman and Richard Todd seem fundamentally miscast. But the real stumbling block is the film's uneven pace. Hitchcock was a master at building tension through a juxtaposition of long takes and flash cuts, but something has gone astray in his work on this film, and STAGE FRIGHT seems slightly clunky and unduly slow; I kept wanting to tell the actors to "get on with it!"
The DVD transfer is what you might call very good instead of excellent, and the DVD comes with a number of bells and whistles, mostly focusing on the "the director and camera lie to you!" issue--which is, as I've said, largely a non-issue from a modern point of view. If you are a Hitchcock fan, you'll want to see STAGE FRIGHT, but bear in mind that you'll probably fall hard on one side of the fence or the other in response.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Movie Review: A gem in Hitch's jewel box of films
Summary: 3 Stars
Although not highly regarded by many Hitchcock scholars (or fans for that matter), "Stage Fright" is a journey down memory lane. The style and location recall Hitch's work before he came to the states in films like "The 39 Steps", "The Lady Vanishes" and "Murder" but with more self assured direction and risks.
When Jonathan Cooper(Richard Todd) who is having an affair with stage star Charolette Inman(Marlene Dietrich), discovers the body of her husband, he knows he'll be the prime suspect in his murder. Turning to his friend drama student Eve Gill (the wonderful Jane Wyman), he appeals for help. Eve is determined to prove that her friend is innocent and that the real murderer is Inman. She goes undercover relying on her acting skills to help uncover the real murderer.
A small gem of a film, "Stage Fright" relies on a narrative trick that no one had ever thought of before to clue the audience in as to the identity of the real murderer. Shot in England (the opening shots features a section of London's theater district which were still bombed out when the film was made), it's one of two films Hitch shot in England after coming to America (the other was "Frenzy"). The witty dialogue and humor of the film overcomes some of the problems in the plot.
This is the first time "Stage Fright" has been released on DVD and, while not a perfect release, it looks pretty darn good. There's noticeable analog artifacts at the beginning and periodically throughout the film. We get a terrific featurettte on the making of the movie as well as the original theatrical trailer for the film. "Stage Fright" provides a pleasing stroll down memory lane to a time in Hitchcock's career when grand statements had yet to be made and the thriller was the thing.
Movie Review: STAGE FRIGHT (WARNER BROS. PICTURES/1950)
Summary: 3 Stars
REVIEW: Although Hitchcock later denounced it (and the "trick" played upon the audience which he felt ruined the film): "STAGE FRIGHT" can still be considered a moderate success. The story concerns one of the director's typical "innocent-man-on-the-run" episodes in which a frightened Richard Todd falls under the spell of the sultry actress Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich) whom he says murdered her husband and is now trying to frame him for it. Once our protagonist escapes from the law he seeks out his friend Eve (played with superb romantic/comic skill by Jane Wyman) for help. She hides him out at her father's boathouse, and then decides to pose as a substitute maid in order to spy on Dietrich. To make things even more complicated: Eve finds herself torn between her loyalty to her old flame, Jonathan Cooper (Todd); and the charming, handsome private detective (Michael Wilding) who is investigating the Inwood murder case. But after a daring confrontation between Eve and Mrs. Inwood: the curtain (literally) falls on a truly psychotic killer. Yet in spite of the "flaw" in the storytelling (which could have been fixed): "STAGE FRIGHT" will be remembered more so for the top-notch acting (Sim and Thorndike are especailly good as Wyman's mother and father) and the exquisite camera work rather than the ins-and-outs of a standard mystery thriller. HITCHCOCK CAMEO ALERT: the Master Of Suspense himself appears about forty minutes into the flick as the gentlemen who passes Jane Wyman on the street as she is talking to herself. Also look for his daughter Pat in the role of "Chubby" Bannister.