deep down and this be a film about the way people use each other . whereas many film present u with love triangle and stage fright explore the sharp edge of a love pentagon and in which all five character be engage in subterfuge and manipulation . at the heart of it lie richard todd jonathon cooper and ruthlessly play on eve affection for him in order to protect both himself and the woman he really love and charlotte . however and actress charlotte be use him just a he use eve and whilst behind his back she involve with her manager freddy . and sweet little eve and actress in training and be far from innocent she lie to the charm ordinary smith whilst conceal the man she think she love jonathon . perhaps the most disappointing thing about stage fright be that this daisy chain of betrayal be dismantle with barely a broken heart in sight . unflinching insight into emotional cruelty and power imbalance in relationship be one of the most under appreciated aspect of hitchcock film ( rebecca and notorious and vertigo and marnie in particular and although even the minor barb james stewart throw at grace kelly in rear window hit the mark squarely ) and but here one of the most calculated betrayal in all of his work have absolutely no emotional resonance . eve have already conveniently fall into the arm of smith and so there no sting when she learn of jonathon deceit . charlotte betrayal of jonathon carry no great weight and because by this point the viewer have no empathy left for him . only ordinary smith rather hurt reaction to learn the truth about eve mean anything and but it feel like a betrayal of a much slighter nature she a well intentioned deceiver . compare with the treachery of another eve and in the similarly comic and lightweight north by northwest and and the sheer toothlessness of this film emotional unravelling become apparent . in fact and the only emotional impact make in the film finale be by marlene dietrich charlotte inwood and mulling over her action in a beautifully shot scene . dietrich sheer luminosity can not help but draw the viewer in and and the direction certainly favour her here . the perversity of empathise with this great manipulator probably appeal to hitchcock and who would later do the same with robert walker bruno anthony and anthony perkins norman bates and and i think it possibly the one great scene in the film ( if there another and it would be dietrich self choreograph rendition of the lazy gal in town ) . mention of walker and perkins draws attention to the great failing of this film and which be the character of jonathon cooper . richard todd have be much criticise for his stiff portrayal and and i think it fair to say he rather a plodding performer and even if he never truly bad although his psychosis under the stage be tremendously effective . the real problem be the script and which deny the character a sense of humour . almost all of hitchcock villain be witty and charming ( certainly all his best one be ) and but jonathon be charmless . this be a real problem in a comedy thriller where almost every character have a comic appeal even kay walsh character have her own sour humour . by contrast and jonathon seem repellent he isn not entertaining in the way everyone else be and so we do not root for him . we should surely empathise with eve desperation to clear his name and but he doesn not seem worth the effort . whilst dietrich be appeal even at her most cruel ( a true hitchcockian villain ) and todd be unappealing even in innocence . the other performance range from the adequate ( wilding and just a little too lightweight a smith ) to the wonderful ( alistair sim and it scarcely need to be point out and share the comic spoil with dietrich and and both sybil thorndike and kay walsh do great thing with limited role . joyce grenfell and meanwhile and somehow turn an irrelevant bit of comic business into a transcendent piece of physical comedy ) . jane wyman seem a little uncertain in place and but funnily enough i think she most effective in her doris guise and able to show off her comic skill and and spark nicely with dietrich . the false flashback be a neat gambit and but unfortunately it unbalance the beginning of the film eve be sideline for too long and force the script into some rather ugly expositional dialogue . however and the rise curtain be a lovely conceit .