Stage Fright
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Short description
Stage Fright is a 1950 British thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It follows Eve Gill, a drama student who comes to the aid of her friend Jonathan Cooper after he is suspected of killing the husband of Charlotte Inwood, a celebrated stage performer. Jonathan insists that Charlotte is responsible, and Eve sets out to clear his name by going undercover in the actress's household. Her investigation is complicated by her growing feelings for the detective leading the case, and by the difficulty of separating the performances people give from what they are actually hiding.
The film stars Jane Wyman as Eve, with Marlene Dietrich as Charlotte, Michael Wilding as the detective, Richard Todd as Jonathan, and Alastair Sim and Sybil Thorndike as Eve's parents. Whitfield Cook wrote the screenplay, and Hitchcock produced as well as directed. It was his twenty-fifth film as director, coming between Under Capricorn and Strangers on a Train.
Made on a budget of about one million dollars, it took roughly twice that at the worldwide box office. It is a substantial production, with 57 credited cast members and 43 credited crew. On TMDB it holds a rating of 6.8 from 378 votes, while film critics gave it 7.1 from 24 reviews, a slightly warmer response than that of the wider audience.
What's left behind the scenes
- Hitchcock's cameo – he walks down the street and turns to look at Jane Wyman.
- Usually, Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980) strictly controlled all aspects of filming, but in this case, he (which was rare) gave Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) freedom and the right to make independent decisions, especially regarding lighting. Hitchcock knew that Dietrich had learned a lot from director Josef von Sternberg (1894-1969) and from cinematographer and director Günther Rittau (1893-1971), and he allowed her, along with cinematographer Wilkie Cooper (1911-2001), to independently choose the lighting and plan the scenes in which her character would be involved.
- Patricia Hitchcock (1928-2021), who played Chubby Bannister, bore a certain resemblance to Jane Wyman (1917-2007), so at the request of her father, Alfred Hitchcock, she stood in for Wyman in the driving scenes at the beginning of the film.
- Christian Dior (1905-1957) himself designed Marlene Dietrich's costumes for this film.
- One of the reasons Alfred Hitchcock wanted to film this movie was the opportunity it provided him to spend more time with his daughter, Patricia Hitchcock. Hitchcock had been living in California for some time, while his daughter was studying acting at the Royal Academy in London. By moving to London for the filming, he was able to see his daughter more often.
- Jane Wyman spent several weeks perfecting a common London accent, which she needed for just one scene. She was assisted in this by Kay Walsh (1911-2005), who also appeared in the film.
- According to Alfred Hitchcock himself, there were regular problems with Jane Wyman’s filming. In scenes where she played a maid, Wyman had to look tasteless and old-fashioned, which she frankly disliked – especially against the backdrop of the elegant and stylishly dressed Marlene Dietrich. As the director later recalled, there were times when the stunning Dietrich would appear on set, and Wyman would burst into tears because she felt she looked plain and unattractive. Wyman even secretly put on makeup at times and tried in other ways to enhance her appearance, which was completely inconsistent with the image of her character.
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