A welcome revival of one of Monta Bell's best films, Upstage stars Norma Shearer as a small-town girl with theatrical ambitions who becomes conceited when she and her partner perfect a spectacular number. Bell's feeling for backstage intrigues and the brilliant shooting of the stage acts give it a rich and peppy surface. Shearer contributes one of her most detailed performances-calm and assured in the famous "making up" scene shot straight to camera and richly emotional in the final knife-throwing act. -John Gillett, NFT