Stage Fright Storyboards sell for more than $40,000

July 12, 2011

Stage Fright Storyboards sell for more than $40,000

First, a little backstory . . .

Only Hitchcock Story Board Ever to Appear at Auction to be Sold at Bonhams

http://www.bonhams.com/books

A rare, hand written pre-production storyboard for one of Alfred Hitchcock's most problematic films, 'Stage Fright', of 1950 is for sale at the Bonhams Printed Books and Manuscripts sale in London on 7 June. It is estimated at £20,000-30,000.

The production files for all Hitchcock's films after 1940 are kept in the Hitchcock archives in Beverly Hills making this the only example ever to have come on the open market.

'Stage Fright' became notorious because of a 'false flashback' sequence which Hitchcock later described as one of the two biggest misjudgements of his career. Despite a star led cast by Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, Michael Wilding, Richard Todd and Sybil Thorndike it was not a success though it has undergone critical reassessment in recent years.

Hitchcock was notoriously prescriptive and used storyboards extensively, detailing each shot down to the camera angles and giving very precise instructions to the cast. From the 'Stage Fright' storyboard it is clear that many of the film's most memorable moments were carefully planned in advance. Equally there are enough significant differences from the finished film to show that the director amended, dropped or added scenes as he went along if the circumstances demanded.

The storyboard was owned by Jack Martin, the first assistant director on the film, who gave it to the current owner.

The auction took place June 7th--here is the catalog listing and the final sale price--about $45,000 for the lot. This was in line with Bonham's listed predictions.

Sale 18847 - Books, Maps, Manuscripts and Historical Photographs, 7 Jun 2011
New Bond Street
Important Notices and Collection Information

Back to catalogue

Lot No: 175^•

HITCHCOCK (ALFRED)

Autograph pre-production storyboard for his 1950 filmStage Fright, comprising preparatory sketches for some three quarters of the film, including the infamous "false flashback" initial sequence, the rest of the first half of the film, the garden party scene and the finale, 130 loose sheets, each with 3 rough pencil sketches within boxes drawn on the right-hand page (a few boxes left blank), the sketches numbered in the left-hand margin (1-152, 240-293, plus 8 sheets numbered in Roman at end, these showing the final chase in the theatre, culminating in the decapitation by the curtain, and the closing shot), autograph annotations, directions and revisions throughout, one or two 'camera angle' diagrams sketched out on left-hand pages, the last few leaves a little creased and frayed at eges, one or two dampstains, inserted into a black cloth spring binder, paper label on upper cover inscribed "J. Martin" (in red ink, faded), and '"Stage Fright" R. Todd/M. Dietrich/M. Wilding' (in blue ink), folio (sheets 266 x 190mm.)[c.1949]

Sold for £28,800 inclusive of Buyer's Premium

Footnote:
ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S ORIGINAL WORKING SKETCHES FOR 'STAGE FRIGHT'. Hitchcock had trained as a draughtsman and worked in advertising before turning to film, and his use of extensive storyboards is well-known. The sketches for Stage Frightinclude very precise directions for the actors, and for camera angles which would have left the crew with little room for imagination ("pan up from stain", "CU" (close-up), "Dolly in to a dolly", "Back to Eve. Pan then out until the couple are in waist-shot going through the door"). Some of the most memorable shots of the film were clearly planned in advance and can be seen here: the car driving up to the camera at the beginning, the first shot of Alistair Sim framed in a lead window, the blood-stained dress shots, the blurring as "Doris Tinsdale" tries on her glasses, the umbrellas at the garden party and the finale with the stage curtain. But at the same time there are significant differences from the finished film, and this storyboard demonstrates that sequences and shots were dropped, added or amended during production. It seems unlikely that any similar example of a storyboard will come onto the open market: the production files for all the other post-1940 films are in the Hitchcock Archives at the Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Beverley Hills.

Stage Fright was shot in London and Elstree in 1949, on a brief sojourn from California where Hitchcock had been working since 1940, and in some ways it was a return to the style (and humour) of his earlier British films. Starring Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding and Richard Todd, along with Alastair Sim, Sybil Thorndike, Kay Walsh, Hitchcock's daughter Patricia (in her movie debut) and Joyce Grenfell, it was much criticised on release for the extraordinary "unreliable flashback" scene, which Hitchcock considered his second greatest career mistake (after the death of the little boy in The Secret Agent). But posterity has been rather kinder: the device has influence later generations of filmmakers more interested in artifice than verité, and the film as a whole has seen a partial critical reassessment in recent years.

Provenance: Jack Martin (1899-1969, first assistant director onStage Fright, his credits also including assistant director on Moby Dick and production manager on This Happy Breed); presented by Martin in 1969 to the current owmer, his friend and colleague Hugh Harlow, assistant director and production manager on many films.