Rating: 
Summary: Witty Comedy, Taunt Suspense, And A Hitchcock Classic
Review: Although Hitchcock was noted for his wit and often sprinkled his films with wickedly funny moments, he seldom gave comic elements such a free reign as he did in THE LADY VANISHES, which is among the most memorable of his early British films. Charmingly cast with Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, and Dame May Whitty in the leads, the extremely witty script mixes 1930s romantic froth with increasingly tense suspense in the story of sharp witted young woman (Lockwood) who befriends an elderly lady (Whitty) during a train journey--and is extremely disturbed when, as the title states, the lady vanishes.Many regard this as the best of Hitchcock's early work, and it is easy to see why: the film demonstrates his growing talent for building suspense from an unlikely mix of the commonplace and the incredible. He is also remarkably blessed in his cast, with Lockwood and Redgrave possessing considerable chemistry and Dame May Whitty particularly endearing in one of the character roles at which she so excelled; the supporting cast is also particularly memorable. Hitchcock guides them all with never a misstep through a complex script that progresses from very lighthearted to extremely sinister and then back again, and the result leaves audiences with both the satisfaction of a well-made thriller and the glow of a romantic comedy. Although it lacks the subtle tones of his later work, THE LADY VANISHES is among my own favorites by Hitchcock, and fans who have never seen it are in for a real treat. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Superb Witty Suspense!
Review: An avalanche has delayed a trans-European train in a nameless village in an eastern European country some time before World War II. In this village there is chaos due to the sudden over crowding, which leads to a shortage of hotel rooms where visitors meet new people. At the end of the night someone is murdered under peculiar circumstances, however, the murder remains unknown to the people in the village. In the morning of the very next day someone pushes a pot that happens to land on the head of Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), and she suffers from lightheadedness. A polite old lady, that Iris met the night before due to a disturbing musician, offers to help her on board the train and to take care of her. When Iris wakes up at a later occasion it seems like the old lady has vanished, and no one seems to know who she was. She desperately seeks aid from the very same musician, Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave), who disturbed her sleep the previous night. These two characters set out to find out what has happened to the lost lady. Lady Vanishes is a quick humorous thriller that offers both deep belly laughs as well as exhilarating suspense. There are moments where the humor turns to slap-stick humor that seems to go overboard, yet it balances well with the daft lead of Iris. In the end, the combination between the absurd and the serious provides a clever satire that offers an exceptional cinematic experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Vintage Hitchcockian whodunit
Review: An avalanche in a small European mountainside village causing train delays thrusts an odd conglomeration of travelers together in a rustic inn. While waiting for the tracks to be cleared of snow, Margaret Lockwood playing a devil may care, soon to be betrothed young socialite befriends a sweet old matronly English governess, Miss Froy, played by Dame May Whitty. Lockwood also has a rather unpleasant interaction with a boisterous and rambunctious music student played by Michael Redgrave. Once the transcontinental train is ready to embark, Lockwood and Whitty agree to travel together. Prior to boarding Lockwood mysteriously gets clunked on the head by a wayward flowerpot causing a mild concussion. Whitty attends to her in the train compartment coaxing her to fall asleep. Lockwood awakens to find that the dear Miss Froy has apparently vanished. Shockingly the passengers sharing her compartment disavow any knowledge of Miss Froy's existence. Startled, Lockwood implores the obnoxious Redgrave to help her unravel the disappearance.
Paul Lukas playing a Czech brain surgeon assures Lockwood that the episode is a mere figment of her imagination. In reality Miss Froy is an undercover British agent in possesion of sensitive pre-war military secrets. Lukas is the foreign spymaster attemting to kill her before the message can be delivered. Although not one of Hitchcock's super classics, The Lady Vanishes is a wonderful example of his genius. He nimbly transforms what begins as a screwball madcap comedy into a tension filled suspense thriller. His camera angles are unparalleled. The revelation of the face an imposter dressed exactly in Miss Froy's clothes when you expect to see the face of Whitty is a vintage Hitchcock twist
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to get carried away, but...
Review: Being a Hitchcock fan to the core, it's easy to get whipped into a frenzy and proclaim nearly all of this great director's films before 1963 as being "masterpieces or cinematic jewels." They are not. In my view, this is particularly true for films Alfred Hitchcock made before Selznick put him under contract to direct "Rebecca," his first American film after saying goodbye to Mother England in 1939. For me, the DVD version of "The Lady Vanishes" is the best of Hitch's films from England. Yet saying that it's the best of a rather mediocre lot may seem insulting to some, but this is how I feel. Nearly all of Hitchcock's British Gaumont films appear overrated to me in nearly every respect, hampered by the technological constraints and the primitive tools of the time. Why people fall all over themselves for films like "The 39 Steps," for example, puzzles me. It's a klinker of the highest order devoid of much if any heart-pounding suspense. "The Lady Vanishes" is the only film in my view that somewhat overcomes these constraints, greatly due to a witty script, engaging actors and an element of suspense that is of the tepid variety but interesting enough to keep you from hitting the "stop" button and coming back to it on another day. Margaret Lockwood is a fetching heroine, beautiful and smart, and Michael Redgrave, after you get past his annoying antics in the first 20 minutes, evolves into an interesting leading man, somewhat dashing and funny, perfectly cast. But it is not fair to compare "The Lady Vanishes" to the true, timeless masterpieces that the master of suspense created later in his career, when the world of cinema and improving technology freed him to turn out a kaleidescope of stories that are far superior to this rather lightweight film. Criterion has done a superb job once again, presenting a near pristine transfer and good commentary and production notes. It's a great product. But the film is, well, another matter. The only scene that comes close to being a harbinger of things to come with Alfred Hitchcock, a scene that bears his familiar "stamp," is a very short sequence involving Michael Redgrave climbing out of a window of a moving train to get into another compartment, and in doing so, hangs onto dear life as an oncoming train passes him with lightning speed. Other than that, there are no thrills or spills or anything close to what Hitchcock accomplishes later in his career. And this makes total sense. As you get older and more sophisticated, you're supposed to get better. In "The Lady Vanishes," Hitch doesn't even use music as an integral element of the cinematic process the way he used it later in his career. I don't even think he thought it to be very important yet. Oh, music does turn up here and there, but when it does, it does nothing to enhance what could have have been a more nail-biting film. There is much that is primitive and elementary in the finished product of "The Lady Vanishes" that it should be regarded as no more than the following -- a good film from a legendary director, not a great one comparable to his dazzling output that started (if one discounts "Rebecca" as an aberration due to the "hands-on" treatment Selznick applied to all of his films, especially after his success with "Gone with the Wind" the year before) with the masterful "Shadow of a Doubt" in 1942 (and not "Foreign Correspondent" or "Saboteur," or even the slightly better "Suspicion"), picking up speed with "Spellbound" (which is quite laughable in parts, unintentionally, however), "Notorious" and then knocking out a few duds like "The Paradine Case" before finally hitting the jackpot with "Strangers on a Train," continuing on sporadically until he hit full stride in the mid-to-late 1950s through the early 1960s. Is this product worth buying? No. Not unless you're a "completist." Is it worth watching? Definitely yes, more so than any of Hitchcock's other early British films. Is it a waste of 97 minutes? No, but don't force yourself to proclaim that it's a fabulous picture in every respect, and don't use the technological constraints of the 1930s as a post to lean back on in its defense. A great film is a great film, regardless of era. And "The Lady Vanishes" is good, not great. Save your money and rent this film, then decide. It pains me to write these words but I'm just as big a fan of Alfred Hitchcock as everyone else. I just don't want people jaded into thinking that this film is a "keeper" that you "have to think is great lest you be cast as a fool or a heretic." Despite my refusal to enter "The Lady Vanishes" into the pantheon of "Great Hitchcock Films," it's still an accomplished piece of work that I like far better than the more lauded "The 39 Steps." But buy to own forever that which is timeless and truly great, something that holds your interest even after numerous multiple viewings, like "North by Northwest" or "Rear Window" or "Vertigo" -- don't settle for something which is only good. Hitchcock made 50 films. But he only made about 15 near flawless pictures. That's still a great batting average in my view, considering the dreck that Hollywood puts out these days. Put your hard-earned dollars into those 15 films and you're still ahead of the game. These 15 gave Hitchcock his name and stature. Everything else -- well, to me, they're just curio pieces, still to be treasured -- but only as a record of the trajectory of one of the greatest filmmakers the earth has ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: Criterion version is worth the money
Review: Criterion do a good job on this film and is the one to get.I have never seen a laserlight DVD of a classic film that wasn't a poorly copied washed out version.
Rating:
Summary: Perhaps Hitchcock's finest blend of humor and suspense
Review: First, if one wants to get this on DVD, it is absolutely essential to get the Criterion edition. There are numerous cheap editions of this film, but, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Only the Criterion edition is based on a reconstituted copy, the others being reduplications of worn, aged copies. THE LADY VANISHES was the last film that Alfred Hitchcock made in Great Britain before leaving for a long stay in Hollywood. I consider this one to be the second best of the films he made in England during the thirties, only surpassed by THE 39 STEPS. Of all the films that Hitchcock made, THE LADY VANISHES probably best blends both the suspense and the humor he loved to inject into every film. In fact, this film is funnier than many pure comedies. The scene where Basil Radford hijacks a long distance telephone call, only to shout to the operator, "How's England?!" only to mean thereby, "What has happened in Cricket?" is a classic. This is also yet another of Hitchcock's great train films. No major director used trains as often and as well as Hitchcock, and this is his finest effort in the genre. The cast for this film is easily the best of any of Hitchcock's 1930s films, and holds up well against any of his American films. Michael Redgrave manages to project both the humor and seriousness that Hitchcock preferred in his leading men, and Margaret Lockwood, although not blonde, makes an excellent leading lady. But it is the supporting cast that makes this film so delectable. Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford appear as "Caldicott" and "Charters," and as a pair of appalling Britishers abroad, they very nearly steal the movie. They were such a hit in this film that they became an instant team, and were paired in many additional films together. Sometimes, as in their memorable golf competition-to-the-death in DEAD OF NIGHT, they played similar characters under new names. But in several films they resurrected the Caldicott and Charters characters, as in Sir Carol Reed's NIGHT TRAIN TO MUNICH, which was itself a fairly straightforward imitation of THE LADY VANISHES. I must confess that my favorite moments of THE LADY VANISHES occur when they are onscreen, especially in the gunfight at the end, in which they simultaneously display complacent bravery and stoic indifference. Paul Lukas makes a marvelous villain, and Dame May Whitty is perfect playing the title character. The film is marred mildly by the much lower state of British cinema compared to Hollywood in 1939. One need only compare the initial shot in this film with early shots in REBECCA. I consider THE LADY VANISHES a better film (though REBECCA has some marvelous moments, although in many ways it is an untypical Hitchcock film, forced as he was to conform to Hollywood and not yet able to enforce his own vision there), but if you compare the model sets in the British film with the model shots of Manderlay, the difference is dramatic. The opening shots of the Swiss town are so obviously a miniature; in REBECCA it is not at all obvious that Manderlay is.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: hitchcock i must say started his REAL directing when he made this film! very good and cleaver...also very funny with the British humor!
Rating:
Summary: Possibly my favorite Hitchcock film
Review: Hitchcock is best known for suspense--and if that is what you're looking for, this film may be a bit of a disappointment. The plot seems to be secondary, and the mystery isn't all that mysterious. But what makes this film stand out is its rollicking atmosphere and genuine sense of fun. All of the actors seem to be having the time of their lives: Michael Redgrave is hilariously brash ("You remind me of my father. You haven't any manners at all, and you're always seeing things."), Margaret Lockwood couldn't be prettier, Paul Lucas is suavely menacing, and Dame May Whitty is the perfect English lady. Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as cricket obsessed tourists steal every scene they are in. Although many of Hitchcock's British films of this period seem somewhat amateurish, as if he were experimenting with what he could do with film, The Lady Vanishes scarcely seems to strike a false note. I've seen the film almost a dozen times, and each time I like it more. The wit and charm of this picture doesn't diminish with age--if anything it increases. A note: since The Lady Vanishes is out of copyright, there are many editions available. The best one by far is the Criterion Collection's edition, with restored picture and sound. It also features a fascinating commentary track by film historian Bruce Eder. It's a bit pricey, but well worth in in my opinion.
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: 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.
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