Lady Vanishes (1938)

Rating:
Summary: If there's such a thing as a perfect movie...
Review: ...The Lady Vanishes is it.

I've probably seen "Rear Window" 20 times, "North By Northwest" 50 times, "Vertigo" 15 times, and so on. I had not spent any time absorbing the films Hitchcock made in the 30s, but I watched a rented copy of this edition of "The Lady Vanishes" last night. I knew nothing about it, so I was just like a member of the audience in 1938, following the movie as it moves from a particularly enjoyable series of character studies in an Alpine hotel, which ultimately plays out as a farce to what it then turns into.

I know it's too late to keep yourself from the basic plot structure if you've already read this far. Amazon's summary basically tells you how the film begins to twist and turn. But in the event you agree with all these rave reviews, and buy this, and then share it with someone who has never seen it, DON'T TELL THEM ANYTHING. Let it unfold. It's quite a treat.

Rating:
Summary: Perfect mix of mystery, romance and comedy
Review: I acquired The Lady Vanishes as part of the (now out-of-print) 5-film Criterion "Wrong Men and Notorious Women" box set. And since I was not familiar with the film, I eagerly devoured the other 4 (The 39 Steps, Notorious, Spellbound, and Rebecca) and let this one sit on the shelf for awhile.

Well, I've been kicking myself for that oversight, as The Lady Vanishes was simply wonderful! This is definitely one I will watch again and again. It's already my favorite Hitchcock British film (closely followed by 39 Steps). All of the hallmarks of the director's later, better-known American films are in there: suspense (including a surprisingly violent next-to-last scene), mystery, comedy (probably the most of any Hitchcock film) and a collection of memorable characters.

There's a dry but informative commentary track that provides insight into the film, as well as background on many of the actors. And of course, there's a typically beautiful restoration job by Criterion.

If (like I was) you're mostly familiar with Hitchcock's later films, I strongly urge you to pick up The Lady Vanishes.


Rating:
Summary: A Truly Brilliant Mystery Movie
Review: This is perhaps the most comprehensively delightful of Hitchcock's early movies. Or at least what we tend to think of as his early movies although this is in fact something like his 27th film! It's the tale of Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) who is travelling by train from central Europe back to England to marry some man she doesn't love for his money. She befriends a sweet old lady by the name of Miss Froy (May Whitty) who suddenly and unaccountably vanishes. The other passengers unanimously deny that any such person ever existed. Everyone thinks she has been seeing things and she is almost brought to the point of believing it herself. But of course she hasn't and it's all an evil and nefarious plot involving dastardly foreigners and stuff.

It is a train rich in character. Paul Lukas, Mary Clare and Philip Leaver are the main dastardly foreigners; Cecil Parker and Linden Travers are an adulterous couple whose relationship is visibly falling apart. Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, are the cricket-obsessed Charters and Caldicott, of all the comic touches in Hitchcok's films perhaps the most successful. And Michael Redgrave is Gilbert Redman, the hero who comes to Iris' aid. He is an intriguing hero, dashing, courageous and charming in the final scenes and yet, in the scenes at the hotel where we first meet him, a complete tosser, with the arrogant and obnoxious Englishman abroad's sense of complete entitlement to do whatever he pleases with no consideration for others at all. So that we are decidedly resistant later when we are expected to start liking the man.

In any case, this is one of the great high points in Hitchcock's career and one of the best mystery movies ever made. Worth watching again and again.

Rating:
Summary: Hitchcock learned from "The Thin Man"..... then kept going
Review: Hitchcock's accomplishments are legendary. In a career spanning over five decades he directed over fifty films, and a number of them show up on the most prestigious lists of "greatest movies ever". Because his career began in the silent era and concluded with "Family Plot" half a century later he saw more change in cinema than perhaps any director in history. As a result, his career has many eras. He began with silent films in Britain, naturally progressed to "talkies" and improved and honed his craft. "The Lady Vanishes" is the next to last of his "British" films - "Jamaica Inn" followed - and I've read many film historians who feel that "Lady Vanishes" is the film that prompted Mr. Hitchcock's subsequent move to Hollywood where he began that string of masterpieces that continue to be praised years after his passing: Rear Window, North by Northwest, Vertigo and Psycho were to follow.

"The Lady Vanishes" is an exciting, funny, entertaining film. It's a thriller, full of intrigue and sinister characters. But it also has many hilarious moments. I was going to write that the witty, breezy dialogue influenced the equally wonderful "The Thin Man". But a little research shows that "Thin Man" was released in 1934 while "Lady" came out in 1938. Like all the great directors, Hitchcock's work shows the influence of what came before, while still indelibly imprinting the film with his own style.

Margaret Lockwood plays Iris Matilda Henderson, one of those beautiful young spoiled globetrotting socialites. She's toured the world and now is engaged to some gentleman she doesn't seem to have any particular passion for. Michael Redgrave is Gilbert Redman, a witty young gent studying the folk music of Europe. They are snowed into a lodge in some fictional corner of Europe and immediately hate each other.

Stranded there with them are a collection of characters. Dame May Whitty as Miss Froy, a kindly old governess. Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford as a pair of Brits who surface periodically throughout the film for comic relief. Nothing on earth matters to them except getting back to England in time to see an important cricket match. It's a humorous look if you've ever observed and wondered about people who wrap all the important details in their life on the performance of their favorite sports team. Cecil Parker is on a trip with his mistress and wants to stay out of mysterious intrigues as much as possible.

All our characters finally board a train where Miss Henderson enjoys the pleasant company of old Miss Froy. When Miss Froy suddenly disappears Miss Henderson is at first perplexed. Her anxiety escalates as she searches the train. There is no sign of Miss Froy and all of the other passengers deny ever seeing the sweet old lady. The brash Gilbert she disliked so much back at the lodge becomes her only ally and they begin to uncover a plot of increasingly complex layers.

A fine romantic comedy, a good spy thriller, and a must for anyone who aspires to becoming a student of Hitchcock.

Rating:
Summary: Light, funny, and very entertaining!
Review: The Lady Vanishes is a wonderful introduction to the films of Hitchock. It's a funny, suspenseful, and fast-paced crime caper brimming with mystery and over-the-top situations. It starts as a cheery lightweight romp, becomes a suspense-filled mystery, and ends as an engaging, but implausible, thriller. Most movies nowadays get stuck in a rut and become nothing more than a run-of-the-mill action extravaganzas set in a simple plot which serve as a basis to get the characters on screen. Hitchcock did something else: He cared about the plot, stretched it out and made it elaborately intriguing, and then filled it in with the characters afterwards.

This is Hitchcock at his freshest and lightest, as he spoons out a mouth-watering mystery and spy adventure to go along with the snappy dialogue and screwball romantic-comedy antics. It was adapted from Ethel Lina White's novel The Wheel Spins, and screenwriters Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder provide a witty and fun-filled script. To give away the story ruins the fun, but this is a very light, fluffy and enjoyable accomplishment from Hitchcock. I absolutely adore it. This is definitely Hitchock's best British film and one of my favorites from the Master of Suspense. It's a crime for anyone not to see it.



Rating:
Summary: An Excellent criterion DVD -- but with a very slight flaw
Review: It appears that all the DVD editions of The Lady Vanishes available in the U.S. (sadly, including criterion) are missing a very brief moment that occurs early in the film, When the two men who are always hanging around together enter their room in the hotel, a moment later a maid comes in with some cloth and puts it in the closet, and later kneels down to get a hat from under the bed.. Well, in the criterion version just like in the rest of DVD editions (laselight, etc) we just see the maid enter the room and we immediately cut to see her gettting the hat from under the bed. This creates an awkward continuity error in which we never get to see what happens to the cloth. And the distance in which the men are standing when she first enters is changed. We see them distant to each other at first and standing next to each other in the next shot. However, it's a minor flaw that isn't really Criterion's fault. And the picture quality is incredible. Too bad they couldn't use an unedited print, especially considering there are two editions in europe which contain the scene intact). However you can download the missing clip from a site called daveyp (the video is in better quality than I expected). The omission of this very brief moment shouldn't stop anyone from buying the disc. It has a great Audio Commentary by a film historian and a restoration demonstration. Highly recommended