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The Lady Vanishes
1938 Comedy / Thriller / Drama
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Credits
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Director: Alfred Hitchcock
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Script: Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder, based on the novel “The Wheel Spins” by Ethel Lina White
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Photo: Jack E. Cox
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Music: Louis Levy, Charles Williams
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Cast: Margaret Lockwood (Iris Matilda Henderson),
Michael Redgrave (Gilbert Redman),
Paul Lukas (Dr. Hartz of Prague),
Dame May Whitty (Miss Froy,
Governess),
Cecil Parker (Eric Todhunter),
Linden Travers ('Mrs.' Margaret Todhunter),
Naunton Wayne (Caldicott),
Basil Radford (Charters),
Mary Clare (Baroness Isabel Nisatona),
Emile Boreo (Boris the Hotel Manager),
Googie Withers (Blanche),
Sally Stewart (Julie),
Philip Leaver (Signor Doppo),
Selma Vaz Dias (Signora Doppo),
Catherine Lacey (The Nun),
Josephine Wilson (Madame Kummer),
Alfred Hitchcock (Man in London railway station)
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Country: UK
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Language: English
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Runtime: 97 min; B&W
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Summary
A group of British travellers are stranded in a hotel in a remote European country.
After holidaying with some friends, Iris Henderson is on her way back home to get married.
She meets a kindly old lady, Miss Froy, a former governess who is sad to leave the country
she has made her home. Iris’ sleep is disturbed by Gilbert Redman, a musician
who is making a study of European folk music. The next day, the railway tracks have
been cleared and the group can continue their rail journey back to England. Iris
meets up with Miss Froy once more on the train, but when she awakes after a short nap
the old lady has mysteriously disappeared. Worryingly, when Iris asks the other
passengers what has happened to Miss Froy, everyone denies ever having seen her on the
train. The only person who believes her is Gilbert. Together, they attempt
to unravel the mystery of the vanishing lady…
Review
Considered to be the best of Alfred Hitchcock’s British films (or, at the very least,
a close second to his The Thirty Nine Steps),
The Lady Vanishes was the last film but one he
made before his move to Hollywood. The film skilfully combines suspense thriller
and black comedy, making this one of Hitchcock’s most entertaining – and unpredictable
– films. It was also a welcome commercial success after the failure of his
previous couple of films.
The film’s cast is as perfect as its direction and scripting. Margaret
Lockwood makes a terrific Hitchcockian heroine – resilient, vulnerable and attractive;
her pairing with the great Michael Redgrave is a stroke of genius. This is just
one of the many well-formed double acts the film has to offer – the most memorable
being Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as the cricket-obsessed Charters and Caldicott.
These latter two proved to be so popular that they re-appeared in a number of subsequent
films.
The more shocking sequences in The Lady
Vanishes are offset by some superlative – and wonderfully downplayed –
comedy, which curiously adds to the suspense. There are even a few nice expressionist
touches, notably the sequence when Iris struggles to hold onto her consciousness as the
train begins its nightmarish journey. The film’s strengths – particularly
in its characterisation and atmosphere – manage to carry it through its weaker moments
(an unconvincing model shot at the start of the film, and a needlessly drawn-out shoot-out
sequence near the end). On a bigger budget, Hitchcock would undoubtedly have managed
to make a more polished production, but it is doubtful that he would have improved upon
the film he did make, the compelling and irresistibly funny The
Lady Vanishes.
© James Travers 2004
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