IMDb > Stage Fright (1950)
Stage Fright
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Stage Fright (1950) More at IMDbPro »

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Stage Fright (1950) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.0/10   4,131 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 2% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Alfred Hitchcock
Writers:
Whitfield Cook (screenplay)
Alma Reville (adaptation)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Stage Fright on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
15 April 1950 (USA) more
Genre:
Crime | Drama | Thriller more
Tagline:
Every time I'm beginning to think what color your eyes are, you disappear! more
Plot:
A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence when he's accused of murdering the husband of a high society entertainer. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 win & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Contributor's Crypt: Oh The Horror!
 (From Fangoria. 11 October 2009, 12:53 AM, PDT)

Fangoria Week in Review 09.20.2009
 (From Fangoria. 19 September 2009, 10:00 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Remember! The Curtain is there for your safety. more (65 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)

Jane Wyman ... Eve Gill (aka Doris Tinsdale)

Marlene Dietrich ... Charlotte Inwood
Michael Wilding ... Ordinary Smith
Richard Todd ... Jonathan Cooper
Alastair Sim ... Commodore Gill (as Alistair Sim)
Sybil Thorndike ... Mrs. Gill
Kay Walsh ... Nellie Goode
Miles Malleson ... Mr. Fortesque (also as Miles Mallison)
Hector MacGregor ... Freddie Williams
Joyce Grenfell ... 'Lovely Ducks'
André Morell ... Inspector Byard (as Andre Morell)
Patricia Hitchcock ... Chubby Bannister
Ballard Berkeley ... Sergeant Mellish
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright (UK) (complete title)
more
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
West Germany:16 (nf) | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (2004) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:16 | Canada:14A (video rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:G | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
It was Playwright James Bridie who suggested that Alfred Hitchcock cast Alastair Sim. James Bridie also contributed additional dialogue on the script of this film. more
Goofs:
Audio/visual unsynchronized: Eve reports back to her father in a call box having been unable to gain entrance to the murder house. "Oh don't be ridiculous father, the police won't let anyone near the place" - she actually mouths "near the house". more
Quotes:
Eve Gill: I'm afraid the murder might come here madam. Might get into the dressing room. Might even murder me madam. I'm surprised you're not a bit afraid yourself.
Charlotte Inwood: The theatre is the last place he would be seen. Now stop acting like a silly schoolgirl, the only murderer here is the orchestra leader!
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Usual Suspects (1995) more
Soundtrack:
Eve's Rhapsody more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
13 out of 14 people found the following comment useful.
Remember! The Curtain is there for your safety., 16 October 1999
8/10

What a great flick. At times ill-paced, but the performances more than make up for it. What's not to love? Doe-eyed Jane Wyman shifts effortlessly between the roles of aspiring dramatist to lovestruck protectress of Richard Todd to infiltrating false maid of Marlene Dietrich. Managing also to string along Michael Wilding, as the ubercool Inspector "Ordinary" Smith, she might sound like some cold calculating wench who uses up people like Marlene goes through hats. But that wouldn't be strictly accurate. Her Eve Gill is sweet and naive, but her gentler qualities are tempered with a genuine acting talent that allows her to juggle identities with the slyness of a fox-chameleon hybrid. The scene at the garden party when she switches from Dietrich's cockney maid to Smith's innocent date with every turn is delightful.

It is the masterful presence of the great Alastair Sim, however, that makes Stage Fright one of Hitchock's most enjoyable to watch. Few actors have his ability of making the most average of dialouges sound like a powerful oration, and as Eve's doting father, he makes the movie. His Commodore Gill is always at the ready to harbor a fugitive, clip off a snappy witicism, or scrounge blackmail money for his beloved daughter. He is equally at home playing comic relief as he is to serving as the plot glue that makes Eve's capers possible. But live with his wife? Thank you, no! He is content to live on his boat. Whether he is staging an amusing diversion to aid Eve, dispensing sage bits of fatherly advice, or merely strolling out in public, the man bleeds coolness with every move.

Some can argue that Stage Fright gives but an average treatment to the usual whodunnit murder-suspense formula that Hitchcock (and countless others) have used. This is perhaps true. But compared to the whole lot of crappy facsimile suspense films made since 1950, Stage Fright is quicker to entertain than most.

Be sure to check it out if you want to see Hitch cast his own daughter Patricia in the supporting role of "Chubby Banister." Is that some kind of sick joke or was that name flattering in the fifties?

P.S.-- I can't watch Marlene Dietrich anymore and not be reminded of Madeline Kahn's Teutonic Titwillow. Is there some free therapy I can get for this?

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more (65 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Stage Fright (1950)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
I don't like it very much egomacp
Menstrual imagery? Max_Planck
Ties To Blazing Saddles? apedone
Sound mistake in final seconds? (Spoiler) donrocin
Why would any modern day viewers feel cheated? (spoilers) AnthonyAmmo
theme music- repeated throughout film traversclifford
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