Stage Fright (1950)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Whitfield Cook (screenplay)
Alma Reville (adaptation)

Release Date:

15 April 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Every time I'm beginning to think what color your eyes are, you disappear!

Plot:

A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence when he's accused of murdering the husband of a high society entertainer.

Plot Keywords:

Actress | Police | Friend | Singer | Love

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Jane Wyman	...	Eve Gill (aka Doris Tinsdale)
Marlene Dietrich	...	Charlotte Inwood
Michael Wilding	...	Ordinary Smith
Richard Todd	...	Jonathan Cooper
Alastair Sim	...	Commodore Gill (as Alistair Sim)
Sybil Thorndike	...	Mrs. Gill
Kay Walsh	...	Nellie Goode
Miles Malleson	...	Mr. Fortesque (also as Miles Mallison)
Hector MacGregor	...	Freddie Williams
Joyce Grenfell	...	'Lovely Ducks'
André Morell	...	Inspector Byard (as Andre Morell)
Patricia Hitchcock	...	Chubby Bannister
Ballard Berkeley	...	Sergeant Mellish

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2004) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:16 | Canada:14A (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Marlene Dietrich demanded to be costumed exclusively by fashion design house Dior. Dior demanded a screen credit and Paramount demanded and received a 25% discount.

Goofs:

Continuity: The way that Johnny carries Charlotte's blue dress changes between shots.

Quotes:

Det. Insp. Wilfred 'Ordinary' Smith: I once had a cousin who had an ulcer and an extremely funny face, both at the same time. Everybody laughed at him when he was telling his symptoms. His name was Jim.
Eve Gill: That must've been terrible!
Det. Insp. Wilfred 'Ordinary' Smith: Oh, I don't know, Jim is quite a common name.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Destination Hitchcock: The Making of 'North by Northwest' (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

Eve's Rhapsody

Criminally undervalued

"Stage Fright" has become one of my favourite Hitchcock movies. Even though it's not in the same league as "Psycho" or "Rear Window", it's still an extremely delightful piece of film making.

What makes it so enjoyable is the wonderful cast, which was mostly unknown to me before. Jane Wyman makes a lovely heroine for the audience to care about, and Marlene Dietrich is a riot as the stage diva, although I was a bit skeptical toward her at first. The scenes between Alastair Sim and Sybil Thorndike as Wyman's eccentric parents are hilarious. Richard Todd is perhaps a bit weak as the suspected murderer, but not distractingly so.

All in all, I find this a far more preferable watching experience than some of his more acclaimed films like "Notorious" or "The Birds" which are kind of cold and sterile. See it if you have the chance.