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 unlikely 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
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 unlikely 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