A more entertaining film that
reputation would have it, STAGE FRIGHT is nevertheless marred by Alfred
Hitchcock's decision to break one of his cardinal rules for suspense
films: always let the audience know more than the characters on the
screen know. When it's revealed late in the film that an early
flashback scene was the fabrication of an unreliable narrator, it
doesn't play so much as a plot twist as it does a copout on the level
of a dream ending. But it's an enjoyable ride up to that point. The
tale of a young actress (Jane Wyman) who tries to protect and conceal
an actor (Richard Todd) suspected of murder, the film is engrossing and
contains plenty of the director's trademark black humor. The characters
may not be typical "Hitchcock types," but they're a colorful and
endearing lot. One of the more enjoyable mid-level Hitchcocks. ½ -
JL