Review of Stage Fright (1950) by Cherrytea J — 25 May 2009

Despite the novelty of a flashback that "lies," this is minor Hitchcock. From an academic standpoint, you could probably make a mountain of that flashback molehill--something along the lines of suggesting that the unreliable narrator destabilizes the idea of "truth" across the entire film.

Doing so, though, wouldn't change the fact that the film lacks the interest and emotional punch of Hitchcock's best work. What I'm more intrigued by, here, is my continued indifference to Marlene Dietrich.

I realize now, however, why I envisioned Madeline Kahn playing Dietrich's role in a remake of "The Scarlet Empress": Kahn's role in "Blazing Saddles" is, in part, a parody of Dietrich (see, for example, the way Dietrich pronounces the word "quarrel" in this film).

Anyway, I have almost no response to Dietrich on screen. She was obviously past her prime by the time she appeared in "Stage Fright," but that's not really an explanation. There are some similarities between Dietrich's part in this film, and Davis's in "All About Eve," but the latter is certainly more compelling.

That may have something to do with the screenplay, of course, but I just find Dietrich to be a blank slate, which might explain why von Sternberg loved her so, and why he was famously considered her Svengali (which I desperately want to spell Svenjolly).