Evening star., 1950-04-17

the master VINO mas been rather
aristocratic corpses. It would b
had been sharper in his editin
even though this might have slicet
away some corking acting inter
walls by glittering cast.
The latter. indeed. is an all-sta
affair with Jane Wyman an6 Mar
lene Dietrich heading an American
contingent balanced off agajns
such brilliant English players a!
Michael Wilding. Richard Todd
Alastair Sim and Dame Sybi
Thorndyke.
Hitchcock's direction brings out
the best in each of these and that's
an aggregate Of good acting which
does a lot to atone for the over
length and casual tempo of "Stage
Fright"
1t is comedy, not melodrama
that Hitchcock chooses to accent
In stage Fright"
This is the smart thing to do
since the corpse is the husband of
a notoriously amorous actress
Obviously. no one could take that
kind of dead body seriously and
certainly no one does in Stage
Fright" True. it stirs an coca
sional vapor of suspense, which
the Hitchcock formula must have
but these are mostly Incidental.
Miss Dietrich, the most ageless
woman anyone ever saw, plays the
fiamboyant musical comedy star
She is introduced clad in a blood
stained frock which she wears to
the apartment of her young para
mour in the hope that-he will get
rid of the dress and the other
evidence which might interfere
with her career.
This is sound assumption or
her part. The lad. played by
Todd, is so willing to help that
he recruits Miss Wyman to assist
She, a stage-struck girl with a
fancy for the lad herself, adds her
indulgent. irresponsible father
(AlaStair Sim) to the group trying
to shield Miss Dietrich from this
exaggerated effect of her merry
promiscuity.
Once he gets this defense team
organized. Hitchcock brings in
Scotland Yard, never more deb
onairly than in the person OF
Actor Wilding.
* *&
Selwyn Jepson's novel, adapted
for the screen by Whitfield Cook,
is pat enough to have been writ
ten with Hitchcock film ver-
sion as the authors purpose. 1t
has all of the basic ingredients
Of one Of the masters scripts.
These include a f1ashy west-end
theater where Miss Dietrich can
sing such torchy song as 1.-The
LATEST Girl in Town." her FASH
1onable house which makes g
corpse look especially dramatic
an easy-going pub full of Hitch.
cock characters, a lonely house
on a spit of land, and any Other
background man could want
The characters are even more
ideally suited to their purposes in
stage Fright"
Miss Dietrich's amorous actress
Is a woman clearly born to in
spire homicide. And. having in
spired 1t, she carries it off with
an easy grace which makes il
seem bad manners that Scotland
Yard should bother her about it
1t has been a long time since
she has had such a grateful role
but good as she is, it does not let
her walk away with the picture
Miss Wyman's blundering
stage-struck girl who fancies her.
self as being able to outwit Lon
don's most expert crime hunters
is a refreshing heroine who more
than holds her own in the compe-
tition. She and the urbane Wild
ing have a field day with some of
the best comedy dialogue that
moviegoerS have had in a long
time.
Todd. as the hunted man, adds
another lustrous bit, and the
droll Sim plays a philosophic IA
ther who is as surely to be re-
n1embered as some of the detec-
tives he has impersonated in the
past. Dame Sybil gives an acting
lesson to those other actresses
you have seen lately trying te
portray feather Drained elderly
wives.
Stage Fright" covers a lot o1
territory before the corpse /.
avenged, most of It at a slower
pace than is customary in Hitch.
cock pictures. Each of it's scene.
is a polished gem, rain.
drenched garden party here,
nonsensical tea gathering there
and q fine menacing sequenc,
just before the fadeout.
Even Hitchcock could not max,
up his mind which ones NIGH
be sacrificed. Stage Fright
would have been better could h,
have done 80.