When the husband of famous theatre actress Charlotte Inwood (Dietrich) is murdered, the prime suspect is Charlotte's boyfriend, Jonathan Cooper (Todd). However, Jonathan was only covering up the crime to protect Charlotte... and was discovered at the scene of the crime. He hides from the police with the help of an old friend, Eve Gill (Wyman). Eve realizes the only way to save Jonathan is to get Charlotte to confess.
With her father, Commodore Gill (Sim), watching Jonathan, Eve goes to the Inwood home to get close to Charlotte. She pays the maid, Nellie (Walsh), to take a few days off, and poses as Nellie's cousin and temporary replacement, Doris. Meanwhile, she stays with her clueless mother (Thorndike) and charms the head detective of the case, Wilfrid Smith (Wilding). Soon she is fighting to keep two realities / personas from intersecting... and trying to keep Jonathan from seeing Charlotte.
A little known classic, but worth the search! This film makes up for my lukewarm feelings about previous Hitchcock films (like The Paradine Case and Under Capricorn), and renews my confidence in future installments. I love the theater setting, even though that means the scenery isn't as exciting as other films. From the curtain opening during the beginning credits to the final curtain call, I was engaged and intrigued. The characters were funny (intentionally and unintentionally) and the story moved at a good pace.
Jane Wyman, who in my mind will always be "Aunt Polly" from Pollyanna, carried the film well and was convincing in her dual roles of Eve and Doris. And I was pleasantly surprised to see Michael Wilding, from Under Capricorn, embrace the role of the male romantic lead: charming and believable. While I've never really been a Marlene Dietrich fan, she's alright but I don't love her, she was great as the icy bitch. I have to say, it was incredibly difficult to keep a straight face while she was on stage singing... mostly because I kept picturing Madeleine Kahn in Blazing Saddles... but seriously, do people enjoy it when she sings?
Apparently people don't love Hitchcock's use of flashbacks in this film, as they are unreliable (no, that is not a spoiler).... but there are entire films centered around unreliable flashbacks / narrators. I don't see the problem. It makes the big reveal even more intriguing.
It may not be the easiest Hitchcock film to find, but definitely a worthwhile film.
Stage Fright (1950) 110 minutes
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Jane Wyman as Eve Gill
Marlene Dietrich as Charlotte Inwood
Michael Wilding as Wilfrid "Ordinary" Smith
Richard Todd as Jonathan Cooper
Alastair Sim as Commodore Gill
Sybil Thorndike as Mrs. Gill
Kay Walsh as Nellie Goode
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