Without going into details, director Alfred Hitchcock's "Stage Fright" does something with a character's "point-of-view" that fatally flaws the film. By the last act, it will be obvious. It's surprising that so adept a director would "cheat" so ineffectively; especially, when the technique can (and has) be done so well elsewhere. Possibly, Mr. Hitchcock is deliberately misleading the viewer, when he should be ambiguous. The picture is, otherwise, enjoyable. Wilkie Cooper's camera performs expertly.
The cast, individually wonderful, never convincingly comes together. For example, it's difficult to believe Jane Wyman (as Eve Gill) is the daughter of Alistair Sim (as Commodore Gill) and Sybil Thorndike (as Mrs. Gill). Still, Mr. Sim and Ms. Thorndike provide for a wealth of dry Hitchcock humor. Ms. Wyman and Marlene Dietrich (as Charlotte Inwood) are, of course, a treat; and, they make the romantic entanglements as believable as possible. Leading men Richard Todd (as Jonathan "Johnny" Cooper) and Michael Wilding (as Wilfred "Ordinary" Smith) do their best opposite strong women and, especially in Mr. Todd's case, an unsure storyline. Kay Walsh (as Nellie Goode) leads the pack of smaller, delightful Hitchcock characters.
****** Stage Fright (2/23/50) Alfred Hitchcock ~ Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Todd, Michael Wilding
The cast, individually wonderful, never convincingly comes together. For example, it's difficult to believe Jane Wyman (as Eve Gill) is the daughter of Alistair Sim (as Commodore Gill) and Sybil Thorndike (as Mrs. Gill). Still, Mr. Sim and Ms. Thorndike provide for a wealth of dry Hitchcock humor. Ms. Wyman and Marlene Dietrich (as Charlotte Inwood) are, of course, a treat; and, they make the romantic entanglements as believable as possible. Leading men Richard Todd (as Jonathan "Johnny" Cooper) and Michael Wilding (as Wilfred "Ordinary" Smith) do their best opposite strong women and, especially in Mr. Todd's case, an unsure storyline. Kay Walsh (as Nellie Goode) leads the pack of smaller, delightful Hitchcock characters.
****** Stage Fright (2/23/50) Alfred Hitchcock ~ Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Richard Todd, Michael Wilding