Comments on: Stage Fright (1950) http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/10/17/stage-fright-1950/ Film reviews and commentary tonight, before I forget tomorrow Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:40:00 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Rio http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/10/17/stage-fright-1950/comment-page-1/#comment-7841 Rio Wed, 17 Feb 2010 13:33:36 +0000 http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/10/17/stage-fright-1950/#comment-7841 "A weak script and poorly miscast performers strand this movie in a ditch, where it resides among Hitchcock’s worst movies." What? Are we REALLY talking about Dietrich and Wyman? Gosh, I'm afraid to check your opinion on the other Hitchcock's movies... AWFUL review. “A weak script and poorly miscast performers strand this movie in a ditch, where it resides among Hitchcock’s worst movies.” What? Are we
REALLY talking about Dietrich and Wyman? Gosh, I’m afraid to check your opinion on the other Hitchcock’s movies… AWFUL review.

]]> By: Joe Valdez http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/10/17/stage-fright-1950/comment-page-1/#comment-1873 Joe Valdez Thu, 18 Oct 2007 05:27:42 +0000 http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/10/17/stage-fright-1950/#comment-1873 Damian: I know that many Hitchcock scholars feel the same way you do about the "false flashback" in <em>Stage Fright</em>. Actually, I didn't mind it at all, and yeah, the final two or three minutes set in the empty theater are pretty good, the best thing in the film. In my opinion, absolutely nothing else works at all. Damian: I know that many Hitchcock scholars feel the same way you do about the “false flashback” in Stage Fright. Actually, I didn’t mind it at all, and yeah, the final two or three minutes set in the empty theater are pretty good, the best thing in the film. In my opinion, absolutely nothing else works at all.

]]> By: Damian http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/10/17/stage-fright-1950/comment-page-1/#comment-1866 Damian Thu, 18 Oct 2007 04:35:46 +0000 http://thisdistractedglobe.com/2007/10/17/stage-fright-1950/#comment-1866 I don't know that there isn't "one decent set piece in the entire film." I think the climax in the theatre works rather well. Plus, I think one could argue that the film does deal with the duplicity of theatre and, ironically, film in a manner that sort of got Hitch in trouble back when he made it. *SPOILERS* The fact that early on in <i>Stage Fright</i> Hitchcock shows the audience a version of the events that never actually happened (i.e. that shows Richard Todd as being innocent) is an illusion, an act of deception because we find out at the end that he's really guilty. So the "falshback" isn't really one; it's just a visual depiction of his version of story. At the time people were angry with Hitchcock thinking that was essentially a "cheat," but in our post-<i>Rashomon</i> and <i>Usual Suspects</i> era, it's not quite so maddening. Hitch later said that there were two decisions he regretted making in two of his movies because they so enraged audiences. One was that he killed the little boy with a bomb explosion after an extended suspenseful sequence in <i>Sabotage</i>. The other was that he simulated an imaginary occurrence (that is imaginary from within the story) in <i>Stage Fright</i>. In the case of the former I can understand why people would be upset, but in the case of the latter, I think Hicth was just, once again, ahead of his time. I don’t know that there isn’t “one decent set piece in the entire film.” I think the climax in the theatre works rather well. Plus, I think one could argue that the film does deal with the duplicity of theatre and, ironically, film in a manner that sort of got Hitch in trouble back when he made it.

*SPOILERS*

The fact that early on in Stage Fright Hitchcock shows the audience a version of the events that never actually happened (i.e. that shows Richard Todd as being innocent) is an illusion, an act of deception because we find out at the end that he’s really guilty. So the “falshback” isn’t really one; it’s just a visual depiction of his version of story. At the time people were angry with Hitchcock thinking that was essentially a “cheat,” but in our post-Rashomon and Usual Suspects era, it’s not quite so maddening. Hitch later said that there were two decisions he regretted making in two of his movies because they so enraged audiences. One was that he killed the little boy with a bomb explosion after an extended suspenseful sequence in Sabotage. The other was that he simulated an imaginary occurrence (that is imaginary from within the story) in Stage Fright. In the case of the former I can understand why people would be upset, but in the case of the latter, I think Hicth was just, once again, ahead of his time.

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