Mjeteconer
Just perfect...
Nicole
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
CinePete
This is Hitchcock-lite. The director takes a casual approach to his material, intended more as social satire than crime thriller. Filmed in London, Stage Fright owes as much to the Ealing Studio comedies of the period as it does to its famous director.A man has been murdered in the mansion of stage star Marlene Dietrich, and her boyfriend Richard Todd is the prime suspect. Coming to his rescue, loyal friend Jane Wyman, a dramatic arts student, disguises herself as Dietrich's personal maid to uncover evidence that will free Todd from suspicion.Several people take an interest in the murder investigation, but no one seems particularly alarmed or fearful - nor is anyone ever in a really perilous situation. Wyman seems emotionally removed from all that goes on, and her new boyfriend Michael Wilding, assigned to the case, has a debonair style, but no particular conviction as a detective.A central weakness in Stage Fright is the unfortunately under-written role for Marlene Dietrich, a supposedly "dangerous woman" who never poses much threat to anyone.It is Richard Todd who makes the strongest impact. He is responsible for the notorious "lying flashback" which opens the film (his version of the murder turns out to be a total fabrication). Stage Fright achieves its best Hitchcockian moments in the tense climax when Todd is cornered beneath an empty theatre stage, with glowing "psycho eyes," suddenly an actual, murderous threat to his supportive friend Wyman. Apart from Todd, the best part is Hitchcock's playful satire of British class types. Several British thespians upstage the principal actors: Alistair Sim as Jane's smuggler-father who joins the game for fun, Sybil Thorndike as her overly proper mother, Miles Malleson as an obtrusive masher in a pub, Joyce Grenfell as "Lovely Ducks," a carnival barker with a mordant sense of humour.Most engaging is Kay Walsh as Dietrich's chambermaid, a wry opportunist with schemes of her own. Ms. Walsh, as the conniving, ironically-named Nellie Goode, practically steals the picture from its more widely-known stars.There's an interesting theatre metaphor working itself out, beginning with the rise of a theatre safety curtain during the credits, and ending (most appropriately) in its deadly sudden fall. The murder investigation is a playful stage drama for the main characters, one reason perhaps why Stage Fright lacks the serious tone of other Hitchcock thrillers of the period.
SnoopyStyle
Eve Gill (Jane Wyman) is driving Jonathan Cooper who is on the run. He tells her about his affair with fellow actor Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich) and getting involved in covering up her killing of her husband. She had a bloody dress. He went back to her home to get a clean dress and manufacture a break-in only to be spotted by her assistant Nellie Goode. The police showed up at his place, and he escaped to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art to find Eve. The movie returns to its start as they drive to Eve's father (Alastair Sim) who notices problems with the bloody dress. Eve has a crush on Johnny and works to prove his innocence. She befriends a man who turns out to be Detective Inspector Wilfred O. Smith (Michael Wilding). She pretends to be a reporter and bribes Nellie to replace her as assistant to Charlotte.Director Alfred Hitchcock returns to work in Britain. It's a comedic thriller. Wyman does a two-minute bit with really thick glasses. She's very endearing and absolutely winning. She's a little Nancy Drew in this. I expected the unreliable narrator right away although the flaw could be either Johnny or Charlotte. There is something obviously wrong with Johnny's account. There is a few too many convenient times when Eve overhears a conversation. Eve sticks with Johnny a bit too long especially after he tries to force Charlotte to go with him. It's also somewhat a sitcom with the fake identity. Nevertheless, it works well enough as second tier Hitchcock.
Scarecrow-88
Hitchcock returns to London with this nifty variation on the "wronged man" formula. Instead of the innocent man pursuing to clear his name, in this film it is a woman in love with him. Robinson (Richard Todd) goes to Eve (Jane Wyman), a theater understudy in training, about his being trouble with the law due to trying to help his lover, a renowned stage actress, Mrs. Inwood (Marlene Dietrich) cover up the murder of her abusive husband. So she convinces her father (Alistair Sim) to hide Robinson until she can prove his innocence. Deciding to "go undercover" as a lowly maid, Eve convinces Inwood's current maid, Nellie (Kay Walsh), to allow her a chance to substitute for her. But when Eve meets a detective inspector in a pub, Smith (Michael Wilding), her life will become increasingly complicated.Excellent casting (especially Sim) top to bottom, typically magnificent camera-work (elaborating in a voice that speaks volumes when characters don't talk), exceptional lighting (especially at the end when Eve and Robinson are in hiding while police look for them in an abandoned theater building), and twisty conclusion make for a real Hitchcock gem that deserves re-evaluation. It certainly turns the *wronged man* plot on its head with that ending. Dietrich gets to sing and raise her iconic eyebrows during scenes where her diva character is trying to worm her way out of uncomfortable situations which could condemn her. Todd's teetering from one emotional place to another at the end, showing us a completely different side to his character is good stuff. Hitchcock brings back the umbrellas momentarily during the Garden party sequence which has a neat scene with Sim involving a doll, using a child to deliver it to a mortified Dietrich on stage performing in a tent. Wyman's soft-spoken, sweet character, juggling so many circumstances at once (including a blossoming romance with "Ordinary" Smith), is the right kind of heroine for this kind of Hitchcockian comedy thriller. She is driven, loyal to a fault, and trustworthy: Robinson could go to her and Inwood could confide in her. Sim's fragile relations with his estranged wife is a hoot. The taxi scene where Eve realizes her love for Smith, and he can't hold back his for her is a delight. I'm not a fan of Dietrich's singing, but her scene with the bloody dress doll is masterful. She gets a wonderful monologue at the end, too, when she understands she's an accessory. Because Hitchcock has so many classics, really good ones like "Frenzy" or "Stage Fright" often get overlooked. I think it is time Stage Fright gets its chance. Wyman is the lead all the way, in almost every scene, but it is clear Dietrich is the Movie Star; I think you can tell with how they are cast, that Dietrich's status was highly respected in a showy part while Wyman's cherubic heart-of-gold character is overwhelmed in comparison when the two appear together in scenes. None the more is this apparent than at the end when Eve tries to get a confession from Inwood; timidity is bruised by ego, as Eve is overpowered by Inwood when the two discuss what *really* happened to her husband. Sim is a joy to watch every time he appears. Witty, clever, wise, spirited, and given the best dialogue, this character Sim wears with kid gloves.
PimpinAinttEasy
Another mysterious, thrilling and violent comedic gem from HITCHCOCK. Here he is supported by a pretty stellar cast lead by the adorable JANE WYMAN. MICHAEL WILDING is really good as the slightly gullible but honest detective.Hitch really takes the audience for a ride with this one. I never thought directors in the 30s, 40s and 50s were this innovative with structure. Films from these three decades really are pleasant surprises. They did some pretty outrageous stuff with regard to structure and narrative back then.(8/10)
