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Classic Hitchcock movie starring Jane Wyman & Marlene Dietrich. Jonathan Cooper is wanted by the police who suspect him of killing his lover's husband. His friend Eve Gill offers to hide him and Jonathan explains to her that his lover, actress Charlotte Inwood is the real murderer. Eve decides to investigate for herself, but when she meets the detective in charge of the case, she starts to fall in love.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Stage Fright is directed by Alfred Hitchcock and collectively written by Whitfield Cook, Ranald MacDougall, Alma Reville and James Bridie, it's based on the novel "Man Running" written by Selwyn Jepson. It stars Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd and Alastair Sim. Plot sees Wyman as drama student Eve Gill, who is asked by friend Jonathan Cooper (Todd) for help because he is on the run for the alleged murder of Charlotte Inwood's (Dietrich) husband. He swears his innocence and with Eve's father (Sim) also in tow, they set about trying to prove Jonathan's innocence.
It kind of goes without saying, since 90% of other reviews for Stage Fright have made the point, but Stage Fright is a lesser Hitchcock movie in terms of quality. In fact, watching it now upon revisits, it's actually, well, a bit of a bore. Yes it finds the directing maestro dallying in the realm of acting = deception, himself the deception puppet master, and the cast can't be faulted for quality of performance; notably Wyman who leads the film as a heroine taking on a number of different guises to a number of different people. But it lacks menace, it lacks sardonic humour and after playing the audience like an appropriately named fiddle, the pay off lacks dramatic impact or surprise. It has a bit more to it than merely being one for Hitchcock completists, for one thing fans of British cinema get a nice cameo from the wonderful Joyce Grenfell, but unlike a good portion of Hitchcock's work, this one doesn't hold up on repeat viewings. Decent but not actually very good. 6/10
It kind of goes without saying, since 90% of other reviews for Stage Fright have made the point, but Stage Fright is a lesser Hitchcock movie in terms of quality. In fact, watching it now upon revisits, it's actually, well, a bit of a bore. Yes it finds the directing maestro dallying in the realm of acting = deception, himself the deception puppet master, and the cast can't be faulted for quality of performance; notably Wyman who leads the film as a heroine taking on a number of different guises to a number of different people. But it lacks menace, it lacks sardonic humour and after playing the audience like an appropriately named fiddle, the pay off lacks dramatic impact or surprise. It has a bit more to it than merely being one for Hitchcock completists, for one thing fans of British cinema get a nice cameo from the wonderful Joyce Grenfell, but unlike a good portion of Hitchcock's work, this one doesn't hold up on repeat viewings. Decent but not actually very good. 6/10
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd) is in trouble. The police think he murdered the husband of famous actress Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich). And so he does the only thing he can think to do, run to Eve Gill (Jane Wyman) for help. Eve has a bit of a crush on Jonathan, so she quickly spirits him out of town and puts him in hiding.
Befriending Detective Inspector Wilfred Smith (Michael Wilding), Eve learns that the police aren't even looking for another suspect, so she goes undercover as Charlotte's new maid to try to prove the actress killed her own husband. Can she keep up her undercover identity without being discovered? Can she prove that Charlotte really killed her husband?
This lesser known Hitchcock film is still quite good. The pacing is off, and some scenes seem rather pointless and slow to me. But that's my only complaint. The story kept me guessing until the end. I was never on the edge of my seat, but I was certainly engaged. The acting was good. The characters are there to tell the story, but the actors did a good job of bringing them to life with the material they had.
I was a little surprised the film is in Black and White. Shows how little I know about when films became color, I guess. Still, I was engrossed within five minutes, and never noticed again. The film is set in London, so getting to see bits and pieces of that city from the late 40's is interesting as well.
Like many older films, this isn't as slick and dazzling as today's movies. But don't let that stop you. This is a good mystery that will entertain you for a couple hours.
Befriending Detective Inspector Wilfred Smith (Michael Wilding), Eve learns that the police aren't even looking for another suspect, so she goes undercover as Charlotte's new maid to try to prove the actress killed her own husband. Can she keep up her undercover identity without being discovered? Can she prove that Charlotte really killed her husband?
This lesser known Hitchcock film is still quite good. The pacing is off, and some scenes seem rather pointless and slow to me. But that's my only complaint. The story kept me guessing until the end. I was never on the edge of my seat, but I was certainly engaged. The acting was good. The characters are there to tell the story, but the actors did a good job of bringing them to life with the material they had.
I was a little surprised the film is in Black and White. Shows how little I know about when films became color, I guess. Still, I was engrossed within five minutes, and never noticed again. The film is set in London, so getting to see bits and pieces of that city from the late 40's is interesting as well.
Like many older films, this isn't as slick and dazzling as today's movies. But don't let that stop you. This is a good mystery that will entertain you for a couple hours.
Format:DVD
Anyone wanting to know about the film itself can look up opinions elsewhere. I just wanted to let others know that, although Amazon gives the aspect ratio as 16:9 (and the DVD case says so too!), the DVD is correctly presented in the 4:3 aspect ratio in which the film was made. The DVD case even claims the film is in colour, which it is not! I put off buying it for a long time believing the top and bottom had been cut off (as they have on Dial M for Murder [1954] [DVD]) to please the dopes who 'can't stand black bars' on the sides of their widescreen TVs, but was pleasantly surprised to find the picture all there!
The picture and sound quality are nothing special, but perfectly acceptable, and I enjoyed the film.
The picture and sound quality are nothing special, but perfectly acceptable, and I enjoyed the film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Theatre crime drama with humorous hints
Stage Fright (1950) is another Hitch crime film with a very strong cast, including Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding and Richard Todd. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Profr R. Cohenalmagor
Death disguised as love
Looks like "The laziest gal in town"; Charlotte Inwood (Marlene Dietrich) may be framing the high-strung Jonathan Cooper (Richard Todd). Read more
Published on 8 April 2010 by bernie
Enjoyable if inconsistent Hitchcock mystery
Eve Gill (Wyman) attempts to help her friend Jonathan Cooper (Todd) who has assisted his lover, high actress Charlotte Inwood (Dietrich), in covering up a brutal murder. Read more
Published on 5 Dec 2009 by Stampy
STAGE FRIGHT
A very good little known movie from hitchcock stars Jane Wyman,Marlene Dietrich,Richard Todd and Michael Wilding. Read more
Published on 4 Sep 2009 by ciaran moore
Stage Struck on Stage Fright
A start that seems slow but the build-up is terrific with a TOTALLY unexpected plot twist for the grand denouement. Read more
Published on 3 April 2009 by Sam
Every time I'm beginning to think what color your eyes are, you...
One of the more "controversial" films in the Hitchcock cannon, this one certainly gets some critics under the collar. Read more
Published on 16 Aug 2008 by IWFIcon
Languages and subtitles availables
Stage Fright (1950)
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
(zone 2)
Languages: ENGLISH - FRENCH - ITALIAN
Subtitles: ENGLISH - FRENCH - ITALIAN - DUTCH - ARABIC -... Read more
directed by Alfred Hitchcock
(zone 2)
Languages: ENGLISH - FRENCH - ITALIAN
Subtitles: ENGLISH - FRENCH - ITALIAN - DUTCH - ARABIC -... Read more
Published on 6 Nov 2007 by Mauricio Dupuis
Disjointed and forgettable Hitchcock film
"Stage Fright" is a film that never really manages to generates any excitement and suspense despite possessing an impressive cast; namely Marlene Dietrich,Jane Wyman and Alastair... Read more
Published on 18 Jun 2006 by L. Davidson
Fools in love
This isn't one of Hitches best, have to say. The basic premise is that a very young Jane Wyman, who is "2nd fiddle" to Ms. Read more
Published on 1 May 2006 by duirsgrove
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