62
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The GuardianThe GuardianStage Fright has serious fun with the business of acting, a trade that calls for both the cold, calculating Charlotte and the committed, caring Eve alike to transform into other people. And Hitchcock appreciates the charged atmosphere of an empty theatre, as well as the frisson when the doors are closed, the lights go down and audiences wait expectantly in silence, never knowing quite what will happen next.
- 80The TelegraphThe TelegraphThis uneven but fascinating thriller from Alfred Hitchcock is good - how could it be otherwise - but it is not the director's best. [07 Aug 2010, p.31]
- The standard British murder mystery is raised to a higher plateau by Hitchcock in STAGE FRIGHT, but still falters in comparison to the best of the master's works.
- 70The New YorkerRichard BrodyThe New YorkerRichard BrodyAs deceptions and disguises pile up, the layers of mystery grow thicker, and the lurid symbolism of material objects is thrust to the fore.
- 70Time OutTime OutA fairly routine thriller, noted chiefly for its cheating flashback, though with much more to enjoy than its detractors - including Hitchcock - make out.
- 70Alfred Hitchcock doesn't stress melodrama throughout. He plays a surprising number of sequences strictly for lightness. Also, he has a choice cast to put through its paces, and there's not a bad performance anywhere [In this adaption by Alma Reville of a novel by Selwyn Jepson]. The dialog has purpose, either for a chuckle or a thrill, and the pace is good.
- 63Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonSo-so. [23 Jan 1997, p.9B]
- 60The IndependentThe IndependentThere are all kinds of deception being practised in this whodunit, then, not least by Alfred Hitchcock. [28 Feb 2009, p.48]
- 40Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenIt has a classic Hitchcock scenario in which a man is mistaken for a murderer, but the film lacks humor and suspense. Even the great cast is unable to make much headway with this torpid thriller.
- 40The New York TimesBosley CrowtherThe New York TimesBosley CrowtherStage Fright is dazzlingly stagy but it is far from frightening.