UK 97m Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Key Cast: Margaret Lockwood
The Lady Vanishes was one of Alfred Hitchcock's final British films before he made the move to Hollywood and the first of his films that found notable success.
A falling object hits Iris (Margaret Lockwood) as she is about to board a train but the kindly Miss Foy (May Whitty) helps her onto the train. Iris wakes from a sleep to discover Miss Foy has vanished but none of the other passengers can confirm she ever existed. Aided by fellow passenger Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), Iris sets out to find her.
The film is wonderfully well structured. The first part introduces us to all the characters as they spend the night at a hotel. There's a lot of comedy here, as there is throughout the film- indeed rarely does a film manage to successfully be both a comedy and a genuine thriller.
Soon we're on the train and into the mystery. For a while there's a question about Iris' sanity. Did she just imagine Miss Foy, did we see what really happened? It's cleverly done and a great piece of psychological drama.
There's the great idea too that many of the characters have completely individual motives for denying Miss Foy's existence. There's Mr and 'Mrs' Todhunter (Cecil Parker and Linden Travers) who don't want to get caught up in an enquiry for fear it might reveal their affair. There's also Charters (Basil Radford) and Caldicott (Naunton Wayne), a pair of cricket loving Englishmen who just don't want their train delayed, characters so good that they appeared in other films afterwards. None of these characters and subplots are really important for the plot but they add to the comedy and help to weave a more convincing story.
The final act is probably the first of Hitchcock's brilliant tension-building scenes. The passengers are stranded on the train with a group of armed men outside. A gunfight is inevitable and most directors would have delighted in getting quickly to it. Hitchcock delays it for ages, allowing the characters to discuss their situation and the viewer to be filled with suspense.
The notion of a group of largely Englishmen fighting a group of what appear to be Germans is also appropriate in a 1938 film when tensions were building in Europe. There's an inevitably about it and as a modern viewer it feels natural to see the two sides fighting in a film of the period.
One of the few things I have to criticise are some of the supporting cast. The main cast are all superb and I thought May Whitty as Miss Foy was especially good- even in 2022 there are limited good roles for older actors but The Lady Vanishes shows a great older character being brought wonderfully to life. Some of the supporting actors overact terribly though but fortunately there are only a handful of suspects.
The film is undeniably great though. A clever plot, superbly tense yet genuinely funny with great characters played by great actors and a satisfying ending. It's no wonder Hitchcock went on to be successful in Hollywood with the potential he showed here.
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