Review of Stage Fright (1950) by Zoe M — 22 Aug 2008

Stage Fright is a black and white 50's film centering around the murder of Mr. Inwood, husband to stage actress Charlotte Inwood. Jonathan Cooper is the assumed murderer, and is hiding out with a friend, Eve Gill, and her father. Eve becomes Charlotte's dresser to try to get her to admit to killing her husband. A tangled mess of truth, lies, wrongful accusations and double personalities ensues.

For being so old, the film quality was very good, with little to no blotches or blurs on the film. The sound quality could have definitely been done better, but all in all, it was pleasant to look at, which is where some older films lack. I thought that the technical aspects of the film were good, but could have been improved. The music was very cliched, though I'm not sure if it became so before or after the 50's. The effect of the music was good, but the type of music used was fairly unoriginal.

The acting was passable. Nothing amazing, and flawed in some parts, particularly the opening flash-back sequence. Also, I found the expression Jane Wyman (Eve Gill) wore on her face for most of the movie was a little out of place. She looked sad for the entire thing. Miserable even. I was puzzled by this a few times, but I got used to it.

The main saviour of the film was the plot. It twisted and turned like a writhing snake. I was honestly surprised when the big twist kicked in. It brought the movie up a level for me. I was entertained the whole way through, and thrilled, once again, my Hitchcock's clear flair for suspense and mystery.

Overall, lacking in some of the execution aspects, but a good plot makes it an enjoyable see.

6/10.

Moo-girl.