Stage Fright

Eve, a drama student, learns her friend Jonathan is accused of murder. He tells her his lover, the celebrated stage star Charlotte Inwood, killed her husband and that he only helped. Eve believes him, disguises herself as Charlotte's maid and sets out to find the truth. The film is not interested in the murder. It is interested in acting: almost everyone here is playing a part, Eve included, and it is unclear who is genuine and when. Hitchcock pushes this one step further by building the opening flashback on a lie. That scene was argued over for years; an image shown to the audience being allowed to lie was taken as breaking the rules, and the director later admitted it was a mistake. The form is British studio work: theatre dressing rooms, a garden party, foggy streets and a backstage chase in the final section. Alfred Hitchcock directed; it is one of the films for which he returned to London in the middle of his American period. Jane Wyman plays Eve, Marlene Dietrich plays Charlotte and Michael Wilding the policeman. Dietrich sings her own numbers and the most memorable scenes are hers. Who it is for: viewers who like the less-discussed Hitchcock and Dietrich. Who it is not for: anyone expecting his best. The pace is low, the romance is unnecessary, and the lying flashback still annoys some viewers today.