tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post7803087324524291323..comments2024-03-08T18:49:51.289-05:00Comments on Classic Film and TV Café: Stage Fright: Hitchcock, Lovely Ducks, and a Controversial FlashbackRick29http://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-58832821561808809402017-04-08T07:21:02.386-04:002017-04-08T07:21:02.386-04:00I really enjoyed the movie. Alastair Sim is amazin...I really enjoyed the movie. Alastair Sim is amazing. Marlene Dietrich is the perfect prototype of the femme fatale. The only one I don't like is Jane Wymam, I agree that Teresa Wright would be better. Fun fact, about Marlene Dietrich, Hitchocock said "Marlene Dietrich was the best director I've ever worked with." (Marlene would change the light and modified the place of the cameras and Hitchcock said she was always right).Claudionoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-32841404657171542312012-07-31T10:41:41.524-04:002012-07-31T10:41:41.524-04:00I had no idea of the lying flashback the first tim...I had no idea of the lying flashback the first time I saw the film, and I LOVED it. I'm fascinated by narrative tricks like that, and unreliable narrators are the best kind. I don't know of other examples this far back in Hollywood narrative that had as blatant an example of an unreliable narrator (if there are some, tell me, so I can go watch them!), and I love the film for that. It's not quite as big a shift as Rashomon, because we do eventually find out for sure what did happen, but at the same time, it's kind of trickier because you don't expect a flashback in a Hollywood film to lie to you.<br /><br />Aside from that, Dietrich and the supporting cast are a ton of fun, but I kind of agree that I would've preferred someone a bit more, I don't know, charismatic in the lead role than Jane Wyman. Wyman is fine, but who's going to notice her when Dietrich is around? I guess that's part of the point, but still, it made her parts of the film rather dull.Jandyhttp://www.the-frame.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-25100360249073962682012-07-30T07:05:01.983-04:002012-07-30T07:05:01.983-04:00She seems to be having a grand time with the part....She seems to be having a grand time with the part. However, I think she's even more fun in WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-26730050497714198162012-07-30T07:03:50.447-04:002012-07-30T07:03:50.447-04:00Dame Sybil was perfect in her part; I love her rea...Dame Sybil was perfect in her part; I love her reaction when she sees Eve practicing her initial disguise as a maid. I wonder if Charlotte would have been in the movie so much if the role had been played by an actress of lesser stature.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-85810741261495421292012-07-30T07:01:28.668-04:002012-07-30T07:01:28.668-04:00Eve, I could easily see Teresa Wright as Eve (not ...Eve, I could easily see Teresa Wright as Eve (not you, but Ms. Gill). However, I did like Jane Wyman in the part. It would have been more fun if she had worn her initial disguise--imagine the shock then when Freddie sees her dressed up at the garden party! As for Todd, I thought he was very good, but he's just not in the movie enough to make a strong impact. He really only has significant scenes at the beginning and ending.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-10407870564492033032012-07-30T06:57:53.528-04:002012-07-30T06:57:53.528-04:00CW, I love Sim and was surprised to learn that Hit...CW, I love Sim and was surprised to learn that Hitch (and Trauffaut) thought he was miscast as Eve's father. I thought he provided a delightfully deft touch of humor.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-70754965572179455272012-07-30T05:56:49.110-04:002012-07-30T05:56:49.110-04:00I adore "Stage Fright" and the first tim...I adore "Stage Fright" and the first time I was hoodwinked I thought "serves me right". Always had a thing for Richard Todd and adore Jane Wyman. I love the relationship between the Commodore and Eve. When isn't Sim the most watchable thing in any movie? I maybe could do with a little less singing from Marlene, but it doesn't keep me from enjoying the movie.Caftan Womanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05936895555808823221noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-53137533619406862522012-07-29T23:57:09.141-04:002012-07-29T23:57:09.141-04:00Rick - Great review of an underrated Hitchcock. I ...Rick - Great review of an underrated Hitchcock. I have no trouble with "the lying flashback" - and actually think it's a fascinating concept. My primary criticism of "Stage Fright" is the casting of two key roles - Jane Wyman (admittedly not my favorite actress) as Eve and Richard Todd as Jonny. I've read that Hitchcock had not been that keen to cast Wyman (maybe he already knew of young Grace Kelly) and later had problems with her. Apparently she was flustered at how plain she appeared next to Dietrich and began to wear more and more makeup in an effort to appear more glamorous - even though her character was pretending to be Dietrich's maid. I can't help but imagine Teresa Wright in the role. As charismatic killers go, Richard Todd is no Joseph Cotten, Robert Walker or Anthony Perkins (I wonder if Richard Burton was available). That said, I agree with your take on the film and "Stage Fright" is making its way up my list of Hitchcock films, too.The Lady Evehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11963115499930520653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-22243151895570729042012-07-29T21:05:52.294-04:002012-07-29T21:05:52.294-04:00I think this is my favourite Dietrich film. I abso...I think this is my favourite Dietrich film. I absolutely adore her in this movie.Silver Screeningshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04955048716754142299noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-807059720431946812012-07-29T19:07:06.762-04:002012-07-29T19:07:06.762-04:00I'd add Sybil Thorndyke's performance as W...I'd add Sybil Thorndyke's performance as Wyman's mother as one of this film's acting delights.<br /><br />You make a good point about Todd not being in the film enough. He was a wonderful actor; and maybe his ambiguity as a character (and his flashback) would have been bolstered if he had more presence in the film - perhaps showing him making other, ambivalent, possibly lying statements. There's a lot of focus on Dietrich and her own alibi, so maybe that's why Todd seems shortchanged.Grand Old Movieshttp://grandoldmovies.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-65890208195258417742012-07-29T16:31:22.741-04:002012-07-29T16:31:22.741-04:00Patricia is quite fun in her small role. She was a...Patricia is quite fun in her small role. She was attending the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts at the time. I believe the other young women in the garden party scene were her classmates.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-48375202842403009962012-07-29T16:30:12.140-04:002012-07-29T16:30:12.140-04:00R.D., you make an interesting point in that seeing...R.D., you make an interesting point in that seeing STAGE FRIGHT not knowing about the lying flashback--and prior to RASHOMON--could make for a different experience. Yes, I've often read where Hitchcock regretted the bomb explosion in SABOTAGE, but--in retrospect--it's what made the movie interesting. Other filmmakers would have opted for the last minute escape.Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-85630296347357463542012-07-29T16:23:25.473-04:002012-07-29T16:23:25.473-04:00Mothers are always interesting in Hitchcock pics, ...Mothers are always interesting in Hitchcock pics, so it's nice that the father plays a important role in this one. I, too, adore both Dame Sybil and Alastair. She has one of the best lines of the movie when she introduces the Commodore to Inspector Smith: "This is Eve's father. We see him now and again."Rick29https://www.blogger.com/profile/08358116647815569722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-81312510806401893092012-07-29T16:14:16.052-04:002012-07-29T16:14:16.052-04:00*D-OH!!!* I was so caught up in singing the praise...*D-OH!!!* I was so caught up in singing the praises of STAGE FRIGHT's wonderful character actors that I forgot to praise Marlene Dietrich's superb performance as the sexy suspect! Just seeing her go to pieces at the sight of the blood-stained doll is worth the price of admission, so to speak! Who'd have thought Dietrich would be upstaged by a doll? :-)DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-6324421609367220812012-07-29T16:08:37.122-04:002012-07-29T16:08:37.122-04:00Rick, I'll admit I used to turn up my pert lit...Rick, I'll admit I used to turn up my pert little nose at STAGE FRIGHT because that notorious "lying flashback" annoyed the heck out of me! However, over time this movie has grown on me, in large part because of the wonderful cast of memorable, often-endearing eccentrics, including Alastair Sim, Joyce Grenfell, and Hitchcock's winsome and talented daughter Patricia Hitchcock as Jane Wyman's pal Chubby Bannister, whom Hitch wittily described as "a girl you can lean on." :-) Very enjoyable review, Rick, as always!DorianTBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01357778472575080022noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-12977133801496663892012-07-29T14:26:35.693-04:002012-07-29T14:26:35.693-04:00Rick, it's good to see someone writing about a...Rick, it's good to see someone writing about a lesser-known Hitchcock film. I think "Stage Fright" has been unfairly put down. It may not be of the same caliber as his masterpieces, but it does have quite a bit to offer even if it doesn't hang together as a whole the way his best films do. Any movie with Alistair Sim and Joyce Grenfell is worth watching! And then there's Marlene Dietrich singing "The Laziest Gal in Town" in such an enervated style. <br /><br />I knew about the false alibi and how Hitckcock felt about it before seeing the film so wasn't really able to judge it objectively. I think this might have worked better if Richard Todd had just told his version of events and they hadn't been shown like a flashback. Given audience expectations of this type of movie, it encouraged the wrong reaction, and while audiences loved Hitchcock's devices for creating suspense, they didn't expect to be misled. <br /><br />I do know that Hitckcock was always cognizant of how well his movies did at the box office and when they didn't do well looked for an explanation. I've always wondered if he seized upon this as a convenient explanation. The other time I recall his saying he had made a strategic mistake that harmed the movie is when Sylvia Sidney's little brother is blown up by the bomb in "Sabotage."R. D. Finchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05045080274131718843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5344878851139332715.post-75280234851161009832012-07-29T14:12:09.774-04:002012-07-29T14:12:09.774-04:00Insightful piece on one of my favourite Hitchcock ...Insightful piece on one of my favourite Hitchcock films. Love the relationships between Eve and her parents. They clearly adore her, and she them. Dame Sybil Thorndike is a treat to watch. Thanks for the post, going pull out the dvd tonight!wimseybynaturehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14556927481754480178noreply@blogger.com