The Lady Vanishes (1938) - FAQ The content of this page was created directly by users and has not been screened or verified by IMDb staff. Visit our FAQ Help to learn more FAQ How much sex, violence, and profanity are in this movie? For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for The Lady Vanishes can be found here . What is 'The Lady Vanishes' about? While on her way home to London, Iris Henderson ( Margaret Lockwood ) meets English governess Miss Froy ( Dame May Whitty ) on the train. When Miss Froy suddenly vanishes, no one will believe (or admit) that she was ever on the train, chalking it up to Iris' imagination. It's only when Iris meets musician Gilbert ( Michael Redgrave ), and the two start poking around, that they discover what is really going on. Is "The Lady Vanishes" based on a book?

The screenplay for The Lady Vanishes was based on the novel The Wheel Spins by English crime writer Ethel Lina White [1876-1944]. It was adapted for the screen by English screenwriters Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. Two remakes, The Lady Vanishes (1979) and The Lady Vanishes (2013), have been released. Is it true that the story is based on an actual incident? On the back of certain videotape boxes of the movie, it says that The Lady Vanishes was "originally based on an actual incident from 1880." It's also rumored that Hitchcock told fellow film-maker François Truffaut that the central idea was supposed to be a true story and that the key to the whole puzzle is that it took place during the great Paris Exposition, in the year the Eiffel Tower was completed (1889). Supposedly, two women had come from India, and the doctor discovered that the mom had bubonic plague. If the news got around, they were afraid that it would drive away the Expo crowds. Whether or not the incident is true or is just an urban tale is questionable.

Still, Hitchcock used the Paris Expo story as the basis for an episode of his tv series "Alfred Hitchcock Presents". Who strangled the musician outside Miss Froy's window...and why? We never learn for sure who actually strangled him, but the reason is because he was either a spy or an informant. The song he was singing to Miss Froy was actually an encoded secret message in melodic form. He was strangled to keep him from singing it. The coin that Froy tossed to him was a signal that she had heard and memorized the "melody". How does the movie end? The car carrying Iris, Gilbert, Miss Froy, and several other passengers is detached from the train and diverted onto an isolated track where Dr Hartz ( Paul Lukas ) and his cronies are waiting for them. A shootout takes place, during which Froy reveals to Gilbert and Iris that she is a British spy. She teaches a tune to Gilbert, the same one she learned from the musician that was strangled, then escapes from a back window and makes a run for it while the bullets fly.

Gilbert gets the train started again, and they eventually make it to the station at Morsken, then travel on to London, Gilbert whistling the encrypted tune all the way. When they make it to Victoria Station, Iris ducks into a cab with Gilbert, avoiding her fiancï¿½ who is waiting for her. Gilbert and Iris kiss. They go to the Foreign Embassy to deliver the tune, but Gilbert cannot remember it. Suddenly, they hear the tune being played on a piano and see Miss Froy playing it. She managed to escape successfully, and everyone hugs her. What secret information did the tune hold? We never find out the actual message, other than Miss Froy's statement that '...it contains, in code of course, the vital clause of a secret pact between two European countries.' As important as the tune was to the plot, the information conveyed by the tune was not of importance. This is what Hitchcock called a "MacGuffin," which he described as "the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story.

In crook stories, it is almost always the necklace and in spy stories it is most always the papers." The thing that characterizes a MacGuffin is that the content of the tune, the jewels, or the papers is not important and, most times, never even revealed. Did Hitchcock use MacGuffins in any of his other films? Hitchcock popularized the term "MacGuffin" and used them often. Some of his other MacGuffins include the $40,000 in Psycho (1960), the microfilm in North by Northwest (1959), why they want to kill the prime minister in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), the formula in The 39 Steps (1956), the project in Torn Curtain (1966), the neck tie in Frenzy (1972), the potential income in Family Plot (1976), the government secrets in Foreign Correspondent (1940), and why the birds began attacking people in The Birds (1963). Does Hitchcock have a cameo? Yes.

Hitchcock appears briefly near the end of the movie, just after Iris and Gilbert get off the train in Victoria Station. In the very next scene, Hitchcock can be seen walking past the train, wearing a black coat and smoking a cigarette. He may be difficult to recognize, as he was only 40 years old at the time and sported a head of dark hair albeit already starting to recede. Any recommendations for other movies by Alfred Hitchcock? British film-maker Sir Alfred Hitchcock [1899-1980] began making movies in 1921 and ended with Family Plot in 1976. In between, he made dozens and dozens of films, some of which (the earlier ones) have been lost.

Some of his more well-known and best-loved movies include Rebecca (1940), Suspicion (1941), Spellbound (1945), Notorious (1946), Rope (1948), Strangers on a Train (1951), Dial M for Murder (1954), Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963). Any recommendations for other movies that use the vanishing person plot? Two movies that feature mothers looking for missing daughters whom no one seems to remember include Flightplan (2005), which takes place on an airplane, and Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965), in which a mother arrives to pick up her daughter after her first day at school but there is no record of her. Two movies about sisters searching for brothers who vanished after they checked into posh hotels include So Long at the Fair (1950) and The Midnight Warning (1932).

‎The Lady Vanishes (1938) directed by Alfred Hitchcock • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd 2 "Cricket, sir. Cricket!" This is one of the funnier Alfred Hitchcock films and up there with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and The 39 Steps (1935) as Hitchcock's best British work of the 30s. The pacing so different. Taking it's time for a seemingly irrelevant opening portion other then to get to know some of the people and get entertained with slapstick and naughtiness before the suspense elements slowly starts taking over when the train start rolling. And it's effective because one simply does get in a good mood and happy to be along for the ride. An enjoyable cast as well. The young ladies gorgeous and the old dame adorable.

Michael Redgrave had a slow start, but… 9 One of Alfred Hitchcock's best known British features before his move to Hollywood where he went on to accomplish an unprecedented career in filmmaking, The Lady Vanishes is a skilfully crafted, cleverly narrated & exquisitely humoured thriller that wonderfully exhibits the director's skills & comfort when it comes to driving the plot with elements of mystery. The Lady Vanishes concerns a beautiful young woman travelling by train to London who makes acquaintance with an elderly English lady only to find her missing after a while. When the train passengers n staff deny seeing any old woman with her, she begins searching the train for clues about the vanished lady & is helped by a budding musician. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the film begins… 18 After forgetting to download the horror film I was going to watch tonight, I decided to get back on the Hitchcocks - something I was all the more keen to do when I realised the next one was The Lady Vanishes.

After Hitchcock followed up his first true classic, The 39 Steps, with a trio of good but unspectacular thrillers, there may have been some suggestion that that was as good as it was going to get from the rotund auteur. Guess again, old chaps, because The Lady Vanishes, for my money, superseded his previous best to become his very best film to date. It's a pretty simple tale that sees the delightful Margaret Lockwood try to convince Michael Redgrave,… 7 I tend to think of myself as one who loves British humor. Dark and sardonic through bright, cheery, and self deprecating, it always warms my heart and often makes me spit out my drink. I’ve loved Gilliam, Coward, Lean trying to emulate Coward, the Pythons, the Carry On Crew, and probably every Britcom, whether cinematic or television, ever made. I’ve loved The Goons. I’ve loved Ivor Bigun. Hell .. I even liked Mr. Blobby. I’m afraid to say I hated the first act. Just hated it. Didn’t find it funny in the least.

All I saw were a bunch of entitled, supercilious, British foreigners trying each to outdo the other for the title of most pompous ass, and most selfish… ‎The Lady Vanishes (1938) directed by Alfred Hitchcock • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd 2 "Cricket, sir. Cricket!" This is one of the funnier Alfred Hitchcock films and up there with The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and The 39 Steps (1935) as Hitchcock's best British work of the 30s. The pacing so different. Taking it's time for a seemingly irrelevant opening portion other then to get to know some of the people and get entertained with slapstick and naughtiness before the suspense elements slowly starts taking over when the train start rolling. And it's effective because one simply does get in a good mood and happy to be along for the ride. An enjoyable cast as well. The young ladies gorgeous and the old dame adorable.

Michael Redgrave had a slow start, but… 9 One of Alfred Hitchcock's best known British features before his move to Hollywood where he went on to accomplish an unprecedented career in filmmaking, The Lady Vanishes is a skilfully crafted, cleverly narrated & exquisitely humoured thriller that wonderfully exhibits the director's skills & comfort when it comes to driving the plot with elements of mystery. The Lady Vanishes concerns a beautiful young woman travelling by train to London who makes acquaintance with an elderly English lady only to find her missing after a while. When the train passengers n staff deny seeing any old woman with her, she begins searching the train for clues about the vanished lady & is helped by a budding musician. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the film begins… 18 After forgetting to download the horror film I was going to watch tonight, I decided to get back on the Hitchcocks - something I was all the more keen to do when I realised the next one was The Lady Vanishes.

After Hitchcock followed up his first true classic, The 39 Steps, with a trio of good but unspectacular thrillers, there may have been some suggestion that that was as good as it was going to get from the rotund auteur. Guess again, old chaps, because The Lady Vanishes, for my money, superseded his previous best to become his very best film to date. It's a pretty simple tale that sees the delightful Margaret Lockwood try to convince Michael Redgrave,… 7 I tend to think of myself as one who loves British humor. Dark and sardonic through bright, cheery, and self deprecating, it always warms my heart and often makes me spit out my drink. I’ve loved Gilliam, Coward, Lean trying to emulate Coward, the Pythons, the Carry On Crew, and probably every Britcom, whether cinematic or television, ever made. I’ve loved The Goons. I’ve loved Ivor Bigun. Hell .. I even liked Mr. Blobby. I’m afraid to say I hated the first act. Just hated it. Didn’t find it funny in the least.

All I saw were a bunch of entitled, supercilious, British foreigners trying each to outdo the other for the title of most pompous ass, and most selfish… The Lady Vanishes (1938) | THE FILM YAP 251 views 0 likes 0 comments The Lady Vanishes (1938) You have rated this Honestly, I struggled to get through “The Lady Vanishes,” which is something I never thought I’d say about an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Even toward the end of his days when his fastball had lost its snap — “Marnie,” “Torn Curtain” — Hitch’s movies always had a sense of bravura momentum, of characters and events drawn inextricably forward. The proceedings might grow self-indulgent or even silly, but the Master of Suspense always managed to keep things moving. Not in “Lady,” his second-to-last film made in the British production system before dipping oars toward Hollywood. The first hour is an absolute chore, more “His Girl Friday”-type of snappy romantic banter than thriller, essentially a comedy of manners lacking narrative oomph.

Things don’t really get moving till the last 30 minutes when the guns come out. I was amused by this description from Hitchcock’s Wikipedia page: “a fast-paced film about the search for a kindly old Englishwoman Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), who disappears while on board a train in the fictional country of Bandrika.” If this is fast-paced, I don’t care to see Hitch’s version of cinematic lollygagging. Margaret Lockwood plays Iris Henderson, an English dilettante enjoying a snow skiing vacation with her girlfriends before heading home to be wed, an event she approaches more with resolution than eagerness. After getting knocked on the head by a dropped piece of luggage, she befriends a British governess returning home aboard the same train. Miss Froy is described as “middle-aged,” though Whitty was 73 years old when she played her, and looks every inch of prim elderly Englander. She disappears after Iris falls asleep and, to Iris’s consternation, no one else onboard claims to remember seeing her.

Enlisting the aid of Gilbert (Michael Redgrave, in his star-making role), a puckish musicologist with whom she had sparred at their hotel, Iris sets off on a quest to prove she’s not crazy and that Miss Froy has been abducted, or worse. Helpfully arriving to provide illumination is a physician of dubious European origin named Dr. Hartz, played by Paul Lukas, who usually plays the good guy and appears to be wearing quite obvious makeup to accentuate / lengthen his eyebrows. He tells Iris her memory of Miss Froy is an injury-induced psychosis. Later, when evidence mounts to prove her existence, a doppelganger wearing the exact same clothing Iris described Miss Froy as wearing is produced. Needless to say, this being a Hitchcock movie, the revelation of foul play is inevitable. This builds to such moments as a fistfight with a buffoonish Italian magician using his props as a backdrop, Gilbert climbing along the outside of the train from one window to the next, and a faux nun given away by her stylish high-heeled shoes. Ostensibly, the story is about the search for Miss Froy and to find out why seemingly everyone on the train is in on the conspiracy to discredit her existence.

Really, though, it’s a setup for Iris and Gilbert to fall in love, in that classic I-hate-you-until-the-moment-I-realize-you-are-the-one formula. Sexually, the film is rather frisky for its era. We see Iris and her pals in a considerably disrobed state, and Gilbert is wont to make teasing statements about their relationship, at one point marching into her room and asking which side of the bed she prefers. He even gives her a cheeky slap on the rump, though the actual moment of contact between palm and derriere happens carefully just out of frame. Also showing up is Cecil Parker as Todhunter, a wealthy barrister traveling with his mistress and weighing whether a divorce would impinge his changes of obtaining a judgeship. Needless to say, he’s the fellow whose spine shows yellow when the going gets tough. Providing the comic relief are Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne as Charters and Caldicott, a pair of unctuous British gents whose sole purpose in life appears to be returning to England in time to catch the cricket tournament.

It’s a twinkly pairing, men who take such seriousness in spectacularly unimportant things, and they act as a sort of self-parody of everything English. They were so popular they would go on to appear together in three more movies. “The Lady Vanishes” was a huge hit commercially and critically, and indeed it was the success of this film — after a string of moribund pictures — that convinced David O. Selznick he ought to bring Hitchcock across the pond to make American movies. For me, it remains one of his weaker efforts, a bit of light, frothy tosh on the way to grander and grimmer things. 3 Yaps Norton of Morton: On film: The Lady Vanishes On film: The Lady Vanishes In which G.M. Norton agrees that a million Mexicans can’t be wrong. I recently had the pleasure of watching The Lady Vanishes, a 1938 Hitchcock film caper about espionage, the disappearance of an elderly lady and cricket. Marking the peak of Hitchcock’s British period, it is an exquisitely crafted cinematic treasure, boasting a collection of super acting talent including Dame May Whitty as the vanishing lady.

It was the penultimate picture that Hitch made in Britain before his celebrated move to Hollywood. Given the identity of the person directing proceedings, you’ll be unsurprised to learn that the plot is of the suspense variety, with just a dash of romantic froth for good measure and lots of comic moments to help ease the tension. The film begins in the fictional European country of Bandrika, which is the sort of quaint yet suspicious setting that Hergé would place Tintin and Captain Haddock in. We are soon introduced to the main character, Miss Iris Henderson, played by the delectable Margaret Lockwood, who is returning to London to marry a “blue-blooded cheque chaser”. Following an impromptu avalanche which blocks the railway line, Iris is forced to stay the night in an overcrowded hotel along with a number of travellers who we soon become acquainted with. This includes the cricket-obsessed pairing of Charters and Coldicott, who provide much of the film’s comic moments; Miss Froy, a kindly old school governess; and aspiring musician Gilbert Redman, who upsets Iris by making a complete and utter racket in the room above hers.

The next day, with the snow cleared from the tracks, the travellers are about to board a train bound for England. When Iris bears the brunt of a falling flowerpot on the platform, which was about to strike the elderly Miss Froy, the governess helps Iris board the train and the pair become good chums. After taking tea together, the two ladies return to their compartment where Iris loses consciousness as a result of her earlier whack to the head. When she awakes from her sleeping slumber, Miss Froy has disappeared without a trace. The people sharing the train compartment deny ever having caught sight of the kindly Miss Froy and so the mystery begins. Taking the lead from Gilbert and making a racket herself, a doctor on the train soon comes to her aid, convinced that the bump Iris received may have caused her to dream up Miss Froy. Not satisfied with this explanation and keen to find Miss Froy, Iris is relieved when her foe, Gilbert comes to her aid and the two characters set out to solve the mystery of the vanishing lady. While the director, writers and supporting cast all deserve the plaudits, the film very much belongs to its leading lady, Margaret Lockwood.

Playing the feisty heroine Iris Henderson, Lockwood somehow manages to be beautiful, spirited, yet vulnerable all at the same time. What a woman! One cannot help but enjoy watching how she clashes with Gilbert, played by Michael Redgrave, before it develops into true love by the closing credits. He has a wonderful Errol Flynn-like quality, with his pencil moustache and his witty ways. For example, I adored the scene where Iris is asked to describe the missing Miss Froy. After launching into an extremely detailed description, leaving not a single hair unaccounted for, she ends by saying, "That's all I can remember." To which Gilbert dryly responds with, "Well, you can't have been paying attention." Of course, Charters and Coldicott are an absolute joy as two chums who eat, drink and breathe cricket. So much so that they would rather deny having ever met Miss Froy and assist in a possible kidnapping and murder plot, than missing a Test Match back home. One of my favourite lines was when Charters interrupts a telephone call at the busy hotel when he realises that the caller is from London. "No, you don't follow me sir - I'm enquiring about the Test Match in Manchester.

Cricket, sir, cricket! What! You don't know! You can't be in England and not know the Test score!". Hitchcock obviously had a penchant for trains as the majority of this film takes place on one, as did his other efforts, The 39 Steps, Strangers on a Train and North by Northwest. If you’ve not watched The Lady Vanishes before, I would implore you to do so. In truth, the story does amble along for the first twenty minutes or so as we meet all the characters, but fear not because the mystery and intrigue soon gathers pace. As does the train. G.M. Norton The Lady Vanishes Reviews & Ratings - IMDb IMDb 96 out of 116 people found the following review useful: An Early Hitchcock Classic from Biloxi, Mississippi 21 May 2005 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 Witty 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 (Witty) 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 Witty 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. Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer Was the above review useful to you? 73 out of 97 people found the following review useful: Delightful comedy thriller, the best of Hitchcock's British films Author: DrLenera 26 September 2004 The Lady Vanishes is a wonderful piece of fluff, the culmination of Hitchcock's British period, after which he started to explore more serious themes in his American films. Of course the basic plot is absurd, centering around the most ridiculous way to get a secret message through one can think of, and why did.....o well, never mind, it's the handling that matters, and Hitchcock achieves a near perfect balance here of humour and suspense that he only really matched on one other film, North By Northwest.

The film spends 20 or so minutes just introducing it's characters, but they are all so great, especially the two men so obsessed with returning to a cricket match that a case of disappearance and possibly murder is relatively unimportant, that it hardly matters, while Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood simply sparkle as the main couple who of course initially can't stand each other. Once on the train, the ensuring mystery and sleuthing are riveting,and full of fantastic little details- the name on the window, the nun with high heeled shoes, the fight amidst a magician's paraphenalia The final shootout is excellently staged and still quite exciting. The laughs are constant, with some helarious lines, but they never detract from the suspense. Of course there's those shoddy model shots, but hell, this is a film from 1939! Hitchcock had countless classics to come, including such complex masterpieces as Vertigo and Rear Window, but the delightful, hugely enjoyable The Lady Vanishes is a little masterpiece of it's own. Was the above review useful to you?

40 out of 52 people found the following review useful: Fast moving early Hitchcock comedy/thriller with memorable acting and outstanding script from Eastbourne, Sussex, England 1 December 2000 Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) mysteriously vanishes while on a long train journey through the Swiss Alps during a cold winter. Margaret Lockwood as Iris Henderson is the only person on the train who believes that Miss Froy has disappeared (or in fact that she even existed!) but Lockwood manages to persuade fellow traveller music scholar Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave) to assist her in the search. Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne (as cricket fans Charters and Caldicott) have seen Miss Froy but are fearful that an investigation into her disappearance might delay the train and therefore stop them getting to Manchester in time for their beloved Test Match so they decide to stay silent. Paul Lukas (Dr Hartz) tries to convince Lockwood she is mistaken and has imagined the entire episode due to a blow on the head she received prior to the train journey.

Cecil Parker (Mr Todhunter) has his own reasons for keeping quiet as he does not want his illicit affair with Linden Travers to become public knowledge. Several other passengers on the train have seen Miss Froy but do not want to be involved which confuses our heroine and places her in grave danger as the journey progresses. Shame about the fake model shots at the start of the film but this aside Hitchcock skilfully keeps the suspense at a high level and the witty script by Sidney Gilliatt and Frank Launder is both entertaining and enthralling. Hitchcock obviously has a liking for trains as his films have often featured long train sequences. "The 39 Steps", "Strangers on a Train" and "North by Northwest" are just three classic examples. Some favourite lines from the film: Margaret Lockwood: "I've no regrets - I've been everywhere and done everything. I've eaten caviar at Cannes, sausage rolls at the dogs. I've played baccarat at Biarritz, and darts with the rural dean. What is there left for me but marriage?".

Basil Radford (on the phone to London): "No, you don't follow me sir - I'm enquiring about the Test Match in Manchester. Cricket, sir, cricket!! What! You don't know! You can't be in England and not know the Test score!". Margaret Lockwood (to Michael Redgrave): "I know there's a Miss Froy - she's as real as you are". Paul Lukas (to Margaret Lockwood): "There is no Miss Froy - there never was a Miss Froy. Merely a very subjective image". Although "The Lady Vanishes" is one of Hitchcock's very early black and white British films (1938) it anticipates the future expertise, skills and talent of this accomplished director and is well worth viewing. If you are waiting to spot Hitchcock's regular cameo appearance this doesn't take place until the closing minutes of the film so settle back and enjoy the plot then watch out for Hitchcock smoking a cigar at Victoria Station almost at the end! "The Lady Vanishes" was remade in colour in 1979 with Elliott Gould and Cybill Shepherd but the Hitchcock version is definitely the one to see. 10/10.

Clive Roberts. Was the above review useful to you? 45 out of 62 people found the following review useful: Classic Movies just don't get any better than this! from United Kingdom 7 February 2005 A cracking plot, sparkling dialogue, great characters and sublime direction make The Lady Vanishes an all-time must see. Marking the peak of Hitchcock's British period, it is an exquisitely crafted, finely wrought, cinematic treasure, boasting a cast which reads like a veritable Who's who of British acting talent from the Golden Age of British Cinema. While the director, writers and supporting cast all deserve credit, the film very much belongs to its leading lady, the lovely Margaret Lockwood, who, as feisty heroine Iris Henderson, somehow manages to be heart-stoppingly beautiful, supremely sexy, spirited, cute and adorably vulnerable all at the same time! Now where can I meet a girl like that? The Lady Vanishes is, for every reason, but especially because of Miss Lockwood, the very best of the very best; a landmark movie which is truly unmissable!

Buy it, rent it, steal it if you must, but make damn sure you see it Was the above review useful to you? 39 out of 52 people found the following review useful: One of Hitchcock's Best! from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada 30 December 2006 "The Lady Vanishes" is one of Director Alfred Hitchcock's best British made films, in fact I think it's one of his all time best. Set in pre-WWII somewhere in Europe, A group of people board a train bound for England after having spent the previous night in an overcrowded hotel. Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) befriends a kindly old governess/teacher, Miss Froy (Dame May Witty). When Iris is struck by a falling flowerpot, Miss Froy promises to take care of her as they board the train. After having tea together, the two women return to their compartment where Iris falls asleep. When she awakes, Miss Froy is gone, totally vanished. The people sharing the compartment, "The Baroness" (Mary Clare), Signor and Signora Doppo (Philip Leaver, Selma Van Dias) deny ever having seen Miss Froy.

Doctor Hartz (Paul Lukas) comes to her aid and is convinced that the bump Iris received to her head may have caused a memory lapse. Iris then meets Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave) whom she had met the previous evening at the hotel. He offers his help. Skeptical at first, he soon comes to believe Iris' story. Eric Todhunter (Cecil Parker) and "Mrs." Todhunter (Linden Travers) deny seeing Miss Froy because they are in the midst of an extra marital affair. Two British "gentlemen", Caldicott (Naughton Wayne) and Charters (Basil Radford) though having seen Miss Froy with Iris, don't wish to become involved. When Dr. Hartz brings a patient aboard the train, Gilbert and Iris become suspicious and....................................... As was his custom, Hitchcock pits his heroine against all odds in her quest to find Miss Froy. The suspense builds as the situation becomes more hopeless. This would be a theme that the master of suspense would use throughout his career. He also liked to work trains into many of his plots, including this film of which three quarters takes place on board a train.

The scene in the hotel showing Caldicott and Charters sharing a bed (and a pair of pajamas) never would have gotten by the American censors. The relationship between the Todhunters as well, was quite obvious and rare for the American cinema of the day. This is one of Hitchcock's best films and hasn't suffered because of age. Highly recommended. Was the above review useful to you? 32 out of 40 people found the following review useful: An early view into Hitch's genius from United States 6 March 2005 From 1938, The Lady Vanishes is clearly where Hitch was getting comfortable in his trade. Starting slowly, it soon revs up with mystery and intrigue. But I think that was the whole point. A seemingly innocuous day can lead itself into adventure. Starting in some remote European village, a woman meets a little old lady. Getting on the train the next day, the old lady vanishes without a trace while she is asleep. When she asks about the lady, people say that there was no old lady. The mystery then ensues as our leading lady tries to uncover the plot behind a woman she knows was there.

The main aspect of this movie is the everyday humor that is applied. The two English fellows who are only looking for the latest cricket scores, score themselves some remarkable laughs. Our hero that comes to the leading woman's assistance is funny and charming himself. The time spent at the beginning in the hotel may seem to be off topic, making a viewer wonder where the mystery is, but the point is that the viewer becomes acquainted with the characters and are much more believable to the viewer. Again, I think Hitch was showing us our next door neighbors and how they can rise up against unusually dangerous circumstances. I think my analysis of Hitch would be his championing the moral fiber of everyman. I think that is why Hitchcock films still stand today as some of the best ever made. This movie receives my major recommendation. Not done yet. I got more to view and review. What fun! Was the above review useful to you? 46 out of 69 people found the following review useful: the best of the early Hitchcock films from Ontario, Canada 4 February 2001 This is the best of the early Hitchcock films. The plot is absorbing, the dialogue clever and the cast great.

Whether or not this was the first of the director's films to place its principal action on a moving train I cannot say, but it's a theme that would come back again in his later work, most notably in "Strangers on a Train." The film gets off to a somewhat rocky start with the camera panning over an Alpine inn and a train halted mid-journey by an avalanche. I agree with the review who observes that we've become spoilt by more sophisticated special effects. A Lionel half buried in a heap of bleached wheat flower just doesn't cut it nowadays. Think also of the stick figure engulfed in the munitions factory explosion in "Saboteur." I suppose directors of that era had to do with whatever was available. But after this point the film really takes off, and one scarcely recalls the unpromising opening. Viewers always look for the chemistry or lack thereof between actors. Well, Lockwood and Redgrave definitely have it. One cannot help but enjoy seeing how the initial sparks flying between their clashing characters develop into true love by movie's end. As the two are making their way through the train trying to locate Whitty, they move from one barely plausible predicament to another.

But we love it, as one witty exchange turns quickly into another. (For example, Lockwood is asked to describe the missing Whitty and launches into an extremely detailed portrait that leaves not a single button unaccounted for. Then she ends by saying, "That's all I can remember." Counters Redgrave dryly: "Well, you can't have been paying attention.") Much of the film's action occurs in the fictional country of Bandrika, which seems to be a thinly disguised stand-in for nazi-controlled Austria, so recently annexed by Hitler's Germany. As an amateur linguist, I found myself trying to make sense of the made-up "Bandrikan" spoken by the natives, but of course was unable to do so. (What could it be? A Finno-Ugric language? :) Most of the time the identity of Hitchcock's villains remains deliberately vague, except in "Notorious" and "Torn Curtain," where they are nazis and communists respectively. It works better when he leaves us guessing. As an amateur musician I loved Hitch's "macguffin," namely, the secret formula encoded in a song which the protagonists had to memorize and carry to the Foreign Office in London.

(I should think, however, that a genuine secret message might translate into something more like Schoenberg's twelve-tone music than a central European folk song, but of course that would hardly work in a film. :) The early Hitchcock seemed to like shootouts, as seen also in the first version of "The Man Who Knew Too Much." But shootouts are an ineffective way to convey suspense, and this is perhaps the one thing that dims what is otherwise a masterpiece. It's too bad the director lived long enough to see this film remade in 1979. Cybil Shepherd is no Margaret Lockwood, and it's pretty unpleasant-almost embarrassing-to see her shrieking her way through each scene. Couldn't they have waited a few years until he had passed on? They ought to have let him die in peace. Was the above review useful to you? 42 out of 63 people found the following review useful: Fans of "The 39 Steps" need to see this... from UK 5 November 2003 Before Alfred Hitchcock struck gold with such well known films as "Vertigo" and "Psycho," he made films in his native country: England.

It was in the UK that he filmed such 1930s classics as "The 39 Steps," "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and "Sabotage." Among these was another slightly forgotten classic, 1938's "The Lady Vanishes." It starts as a cheery lightweight romp, it becomes a suspense-filled mystery, and it ends as an engaging thriller. Most movies nowadays get stuck in a rut and become nothing more than a run-of-the-mill action extravaganza set in a simple plot which serves as the way 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. There's a mastermind behind this, and it belongs to that big horror master himself. "The Lady Vanishes" is one of his best early films (and it would be his last British film), a true sign of what was to come in the later years of his life. It was remade in 1979 with Elliot Gould and Cybill Shepherd, but lacked the freshness and striking narrative that the original contains.

In Germany, prior to World War II, a young woman travels cross country in a train, with an eccentric woman known as Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) as a companion. Froy is a short little woman who reeks of naivety and innocence. But perhaps not everything is as plain and simple as it seems--after falling asleep on the train for a short time period, Iris (Margaret Lockwood), the young traveler, awakens to find Miss Froy absent from her seat opposite herself. The worst thing of all is that no one recalls having seen a little old lady aboard the train. Iris looks like a delusional loony, and she even starts to doubt the story herself, when odd clues start to turn up throughout the train. Enlisting the help of Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave), a goofy man who is crazy enough to believe Iris' story, the two search in a frantic race before their train meets its arrival and Miss Froy is unloaded--if she's even still on the train. The fundamentals of the story lie in its plot, and also in its characters.

They're all lovable, from Gilbert to Caldicott (Naunton Wayne) and Charters (Basil Redford), two traveling men looking to get back to England for a cricket tournament. After the train is stopped towards the end of the film and a band of Germans tries to board the plane, one of the men quips to the other something to the effect of, "We'll never be back for the cricket match, now." It's interesting how so many mysteries make so much sense by the end, but you can't for the life of you guess the ending ahead of time. Sometimes this is not the case (I guessed the "surprise" ending of "Identity" from the trailer), especially nowadays with each mystery film being a retread of "The Sixth Sense." But back in the Hitch days, most every mystery was a complex one that had a totally unexpected climatic ending. Filmed on an extremely low budget, "The Lady Vanishes" surprisingly boasts some amazing special effects in some areas, at least for the decade the movie was filmed in. One of these is when Gilbert climbs the exterior of the train, and on the opposite tracks another train swooshes by, knocking him backwards.

You find this type of low-budget effect nowadays in homemade movies, but then it was quite good. But other scenes are not quite as exquisite. The opening scene post credits, in which the camera swoops down into a small German village, is filmed well but the background and foreground are both models. If you look closely, you can see that the village folk walking along the street aren't actually walking at all--they're miniature figurines! Look for the little toy car that drives by behind the building--stuff like this is classic! But even with a horrible budget Hitchcock manages to control the scene the way he wants. It shows that even with a minimal amount of money he still tried to make everything intriguing and mysterious. And that he did. Not only is "The Lady Vanishes" one of the best mysteries of all time, it's one of the best films of all time, too. It takes a while to start, but once it does, does it ever! It's low budget, yes, but not nearly as hard to make out as "The 39 Steps," one of Hitch's earlier British films.

There are a lot of Hitchcock fanatics out there, and they may not have even heard of some of his earlier, lesser known films. Plus, they may be turned off by how hard it is to make out dialogue and scenes. ("The Man Who Knew Too Much" is notorious for being hard to understand.) And so for interested Hitchcock fans, your journey starts here. Note: Towards the end of the film, look for a quick Alfred Hitchcock cameo. He's the man at Victoria Station who walks by with a cigarette. 5/5 stars. 3 May 2005 *** This review may contain spoilers *** Alfred Hitchcock announced a call to arms in a brilliant and amusing thriller, "The Lady Vanishes." The lady in question is Miss Froy (Dame May Witty), a splendid eccentric innocent old governess (in reality a British secret agent), who is kidnapped by the smooth Dr. Hartz (Paul Lukas), really the master enemy spy...

Involved in the rescue are Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), a sincere young musicologist trying on using up unwisely his life on unfruitful pursuits; Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) a pretty girl who is returning to London to sacrifice herself on the altar of nobility - she has accepted to marry a weedy little English count; and a hilarious sporting couple, Chalders and Caldicott (Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne), whose only concern and topic conversation is the cricket match--will they make it back in home for the "big game." Other characters include Percy (Cecil Parker), the pompous lawyer who is constantly afraid that his affair with Linden Travers will be discovered... Above all he does not want to be involved... He is the voice of pacifism and self-control... While the others fight it out with the enemy, he rushes from the coach waving a white handkerchief... He is shot, and dies never understanding why...

Hitchcock (and you never know with him) creates a multi-sided movie (superb, suspenseful, brilliantly funny), extending the power of stereotypes by caricaturing itself, making the audience express with laughter, and in a way they forget that they have just accepted some unpleasant tasting medicine... Was the above review useful to you? 37 out of 55 people found the following review useful: A Million Mexicans Can't Be Wrong! from Greenwich, CT United States 30 December 2003 Alfred Hitchcock was noted for his light comic touch, but history records only one attempt at a full-out comedy, 1955's "The Trouble With Harry." The real trouble with "Harry" is it's not funny, but fortunately Hitchcock did leave us with a much surer and defter comedy in the guise of a thriller. Enter "The Lady Vanishes." The opening scene gets a lot of hackles from people, as we find ourselves in a mountain valley where, after the credits roll, the camera glides over what is obviously a miniature train set. We even see a toy roadster glide by as the camera closes on the exterior of a model house. Why, it's so primitive and fake!

exclaim viewers accustomed to "Matrix"-style FX. But they miss the point, and not just because they fail to take account of the time when the film was made. Here's what I think: Hitchcock shot the scene with a deliberate nod at the hokeyness of it, reminding his audience from the start that this is not the real thing but play-acting, to be taken as such. He knows it looks a bit phony (though the arresting pan-and-zoom would be the sort of opening other directors would imitate as soon as the technology let them). The focus of "The Lady Vanishes" is not politics, or even mystery. It is fun, in the same non-critical way as a child's entertainment. In this, Hitchcock succeeds, and creates no mere time capsule but a vessel of entertainment that has withstood decades of changing fashion, because it is first, last, and always fun. "The Lady Vanishes" is the sort of film that works on pace, craft, and charm. The plot is well thought-out, provided you yourself try not to think about it much.

There's really no reason for the story to go down the way it does, and once the movie is over, you begin to see the holes. Why is it necessary for British intelligence to go through so much trouble for info that could be just as easily delivered by telegram, or diplomatic pouch? Why, if you cold-bloodedly swipe a woman from a train, do you leave a witness behind to blurt out that there's been a disappearance? How come a name written on the inside of a train compartment window is erased by a blast of locomotive smoke across the outside of the window? But the engaging plot does what it is supposed to, keeping you interested and wondering what will happen next, rather than why it is happening the way it is. The storyline of "The Lady Vanishes" is unlike any Hitchcock film. It's so light and airy that it reminds me more of a Tintin comic book, with the mythical Slavic nation of Vandreka the sort of simultaneously quaint and suspicious setting Herge would stick Captain Haddock and the Thompson Twins. Leave aside your sophisticated Dashiell Hammett-fed expectations for a moment. If you let yourself go, you will be transported, and quite entertained.

Hitchcock never meshed comedy so thoroughly in the body of a story as he does here. Even "North By Northwest" has its serious spots, but "The Lady Vanishes" features a tense fight in a baggage car that's right out of Abbott & Costello and a climactic shootout that pauses for jokes between Caldicott and Charters, the cricket-mad pair who are a non-stop font of humor. Margaret Lockwood is an effective plot vehicle as doughty Iris, who refuses to believe a knock on the head made her imagine the presence of the title character, Miss Froy. Michael Redgrave (Vanessa's pop) is a revelation as Gilbert, the folk-music scholar who half-humors, half-believes her strange tale until a stray scrap of trash converts him to her cause. He has a wonderful Errol Flynn-like quality, with his toothbrush mustache and his way with a quip.

Speaking of quips, the dialogue in this movie sparkles throughout, as when the barrister tells his mistress "The law, like Caesar's wife, must be above reproach," and she replies "Even when the law just spent six weeks with Caesar's wife?" Or when Iris asks how she was supposed to have replaced Miss Froy's face with that of the sinister Madame Kummer, and Gilbert replies: "Any change would be an improvement." Interesting also for the opening, which ambles on for about 20 minutes before it starts to go anywhere, establishing the characters and the comic tone without offering a whiff of what the mystery might be. The close, too, with villains who seem oddly detached once the story is resolved ('Jolly good luck to them,' Paul Lukas observes enigmatically.) But that's for film scholars to muse over. Hitchcock was never as agreeable a companion as he was here. And few films will put the kind of smile on your face like 'The Lady Vanishes,' no matter how long ago it was made. Was the above review useful to you?

Page 1 of 19: The Lady Vanishes (1938 film) | Speedy deletion Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia The Lady Vanishes (1938 film) 763,474pages on This article is about the 1938 film. For the 1979 remake, see The Lady Vanishes (1979 film) . The Lady Vanishes 7 October 1938 (1938-10-07) (London) 1 November 1938 (1938-11-01) (USA) Running time Language English The Lady Vanishes is a 1938 British comic thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Margaret Lockwood , Michael Redgrave , Paul Lukas , and Dame May Whitty . [1] [2] Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder based on the 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White , [Note 1] the film is about a beautiful English tourist travelling by train in Europe who discovers that her elderly travel companion seems to have disappeared from the train.

After her fellow passengers deny ever having seen the elderly lady, the young woman is helped by a young musicologist, and the two proceed to search the train for clues to the old woman's disappearance. The film features Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne playing the characters Charters and Caldicott , two single-minded cricket enthusiasts who are rushing back to England to see the last days of a test match. The Lady Vanishes is Hitchcock's penultimate film made in the United Kingdom before his move to the United States. [3] Following three films that did not do well at the box office, the success of The Lady Vanishes confirmed the opinion of American producer David O. Selznick that Hitchcock indeed had a future in making films in Hollywood. [4] [5] The film remains one of Hitchcock's two or three best known British films. [4] A remake of the film, also titled The Lady Vanishes , was made in 1979.

Contents [ show ] Plot A beautiful English tourist named Iris Henderson ( Margaret Lockwood ) arrives back at the Gasthof Petrus inn with her two friends after a long hike, and prepares to return to England to marry a "blue-blooded check chaser" she does not love. A nearby avalanche has blocked the railroad tracks, and Iris and her friends, as well as several other travellers, are forced to spend the night in this scenic "undiscovered corner" of Europe. [Note 2] Among the stranded tourists are two quintessential Englishmen, Charters and Caldicott—single-minded cricket enthusiasts who are rushing back to England to see the last days of the test match . Also among the stranded are Miss Froy ( Dame May Whitty ), an elderly former governess, and Gilbert ( Michael Redgrave ), a young musicologist who is studying the folk songs of the region. That night, Iris complains to the innkeeper about the loud folk music and dancing coming from the room above hers. She bribes him to take care of the annoyance.

Later, when the musicologist Gilbert shows up at her room after being thrown out of his own room for his loud music, Iris has little choice but to ask the innkeeper to give him back his room. Meanwhile, Miss Froy listens appreciatively to a haunting ballad performed by a folk singer beneath her window. As she closes her window, the singer is murdered by an unseen villain. The next morning, as the train prepares to leave, Iris is struck on the head by a falling planter meant for Miss Froy, who helps Iris onto the train, where she faints. Also on board are Charters and Caldicott, Gilbert, and an ambitious lawyer named Mr. Todhunter and his mistress "Mrs." Todhunter. After the train pulls away, Iris wakes up in a compartment with Miss Froy and several strangers. She joins Miss Froy in the dining car for some tea. While introducing herself to Iris—unable to be heard above the train noise—the elderly lady writes her name on the window with her finger. Soon after, they return to their compartment where Iris falls asleep. When Iris awakens, she discovers that Miss Froy has vanished. The strangers in her compartment claim to know nothing about an English lady.

Even Todhunter in the next compartment, who spoke with Miss Froy earlier, pretends not to remember her—wanting to avoid any attention to his illicit affair. Iris searches the entire train, but cannot find her elderly travelling companion. During her search, she meets up with Gilbert who agrees to help her straighten things out. They encounter Dr. Hartz ( Paul Lukas ), a brain surgeon who suggests that Iris is suffering from hallucinations caused by the blow she received to the head. Charters and Caldicott also pretend not to know about the lady—whom they met in the dining car—not wanting to delay their train back to Manchester for the test cricket match. With Gilbert still supporting her, Iris refuses to give up her search, even after another elderly lady appears, dressed like Miss Froy. Just as they begin to discover evidence of Miss Froy's disappearance, they are attacked by the knife-wielding magician, Signor Doppo. Later, they come to believe that Dr. Hartz' patient, whose face is covered in bandages, is in fact Miss Froy, who has been abducted for some reason. Before they can prove their theory, Dr.

Hartz instructs his fellow conspirator, who is dressed as a nun, to drug the couple. Convinced they will soon be dead, he admits to being involved in the conspiracy and leaves. But the nun refused to poison them as instructed. Gilbert and Iris escape and are able to free Miss Froy and replace her with one of the conspirators. When the train stops near the border, Dr. Hartz discovers the switch and arranges to have the train diverted to a branch line, where troops will be waiting. When Gilbert and Iris figure out what is happening, they approach their fellow passengers and inform them about the attempted abduction of Miss Froy and the danger they now all face. When the train pulls to a stop, a uniformed soldier boards the train and requests that they all accompany him to the British embassy. Gilbert knocks him unconscious, and another soldier fires and wounds Charters in the hand. During the ensuing gunfight, Miss Froy pulls Gilbert and Iris aside and reveals that she is a British agent. She instructs Gilbert to memorize a coded tune containing the vital clause of a secret pact between two European countries, and to deliver the tune back to the foreign office in Whitehall .

After Miss Froy leaves the train, Gilbert and Caldicott are able to commandeer the locomotive and escape with their countrymen. Back in London, as Gilbert and Iris prepare to say goodbye, Iris jumps into the back of a cab with Gilbert in order to avoid being seen by her fiancée. Gilbert takes her in his arms and kisses her. Soon after, they arrive at the foreign office to deliver the secret tune to the authorities. After discussing their honeymoon plans, they are brought in to the foreign minister's office, where they are greeted warmly by Miss Froy who made it back safely. Cast Charles Oliver as The Officer Kathleen Tremaine as Anna Production The Lady Vanishes was originally called The Lost Lady, and young American director Roy William Neill was assigned by producer Edward Black to make it. A crew was dispatched to Yugoslavia to do background shots, but when the Yugoslav police accidentally discovered that they were not well-portrayed in the script, they kicked the crew out of the country, and Black scrapped the project. A year later, Hitchcock could not come up with a property to direct to fulfill his contract with Black, so he accepted when Black offered The Lost Lady to him.

Hitchcock worked with the writers to make some changes to tighten up the opening and ending of the story, but otherwise the script did not change much. [5] At first, Hitchcock considered Lilli Palmer for the female lead, but went instead with Margaret Lockwood, who was at the time relatively unknown. Lockwood was attracted to the heroines of Ethel Lina White 's stories, and accepted the role. Michael Redgrave was also unknown to the cinema audience, but was a rising stage star at the time. He was reluctant to leave the stage to do the film, but was convinced by John Gielgud to do so. As it happened, the film, Redgrave's first leading role, made him an international star. [5] The film, which was shot at studios in Islington [6] and Shepherd's Bush , and on location in Hampshire , including at Longmoor Military Camp, [7] was the first to be made under an agreement between Gaumont-British and MGM , in which Gaumont provided MGM with some of their Gainsborough films for release in the UK, for which MGM would pay half the production costs if MGM decided to release the film in the US.

In the case of The Lady Vanishes, however, 20th Century-Fox did the American release. [5] The plot of Hitchcock's film differs considerably from White's novel. In The Wheel Spins , Miss Froy really is an innocent old lady looking forward to seeing her octogenarian parents; she is abducted because she knows something (without realising its significance) that would cause trouble for the local authorities if it came out. Iris' mental confusion is due to sunstroke, not a blow to the head. In White's novel, the wheel keeps spinning: the train never stops, and there is no final shootout. Additionally, the supporting cast differs somewhat; for instance, in the novel, the Gilbert character is Max Hare, a young English engineer building a dam in the hills who knows the local language, and there is also a modern-languages professor character who acts as Iris's and Max's interpreter who does not appear in the film. The characters Charters and Caldicott were created for the film, and do not appear in the novel. The story was used again in the series Alfred Hitchcock Presents , in the episode "Into Thin Air".

Alfred Hitchcock can be seen at Victoria Station , wearing a black coat and smoking a cigarette, near the end of the film. [5] The film is the first appearance of the comedy double-act Charters and Caldicott (played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford). The first of these characters' many recurrences is in Night Train to Munich . Reception Critical response When The Lady Vanishes opened in the UK it was an immediate hit, becoming the most successful British film to that date. It was also very successful when it opened in New York . [5] Awards and honors The film was named Best Picture of 1938 by the The New York Times , and Alfred Hitchcock received the 1939 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Director, the only time Hitchcock received an award for his directing. [5] [8] Charters and Caldincott The characters of Charters and Calindcott were so popular that they appear in three sequels made by other writers and directors. "Night Train to Munich" (1940) was the first of the three and was directed by Carol Reed.

The sequel was also written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder and starred Margaret Lockwood (playing a different character than in "The Lady Vanishes")with Rex Harrison. "Night Train to Munich" received a DVD released by Criterion. "Crook's End" written by Margaret Emary and directed by John Baxter followed in 1941. This film was included as a bonus feature on the Criterion DVD and Blu-ray release of "The Lady Vanishes". The last film to feature the Charters and Caldincott characters "Millions Like Us" (1943) was once again written by Gilliat and Launder who also assumed the director's chair. Hitchcock had nothing to do with any of the sequels as he had relocated to Hollywood by the time the films went into production. [9] References Notes ↑ The novel was serialised in six weekly 15 minute parts, read by Brenda Blethyn , from 7 March 2008 on BBC Radio 2 . ↑ The film is set in the ficticious country of Bandrika, "one of Europe's few undiscovered corners". The local people speak a language mix of German, Italian, Slavic, and gibberish.

Citations The Lady Vanishes | Blu-Ray Reviews | JoBlo The Lady Vanishes The Hobbit: The Battle of... WHAT'S IT ABOUT? On a Britain-bound train, a woman (Lockwood) desperately searches for an elderly governess (Whitty) who none of the other passengers recall ever seeing her. IS IT A GOOD MOVIE? Iris has dined and played all over the globe and so, she admits, has only one thing left to do: wed. She�s leaving the �third-rate country� of Bandrika (fictional, though somewhere in Central Europe) for her homeland of England. Alfred Hitchcock�s The Lady Vanishes (1938) starts off lighthearted enough. After an avalanche delays their train, a band of travelers huddle in a hillside inn, where nobody seems to be speaking the same language. Iris (Margaret Lockwood) and her girlfriends partake in champagne, while handsome musicologist Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) makes himself welcome in her room and two British cricket fans (Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford, who would play these characters--or variations--multiple times thereafter) fuss over the next big match.

Cut to a hotel room where a professional singer practices a tune unfamiliar to the audience, but one that catches the ear of the governess Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), who hums along with such focus. In a perfectly Hitchcockian shot, a pair of shadowy hands creep behind the singer and silence the voice. The next day, the travelers wait at the platform for the scheduled train. Distractions and sheer chance find a potted plant falling on Iris� head. Miss Froy ushers her onto the train and looks after her, almost as an obligation. They chat over tea. After, they rest in a small section of seats, where an Italian magician performs an illusion for a young boy. Miss Froy takes to a magazine while Iris dozes off, awaking to the great disappearing act that churns the final hour of the film: the lady, Miss Froy, has vanished. No one on the train acknowledges ever seeing Miss Froy, even when Iris describes her entire attire down to the stitching. The caf�s manager produces a receipt that suggests Iris only had tea for one. An onboard psychologist (of course!) pins it all as a hallucination brought on from Iris� minor concussion.

The cards are rigged, shuffled by the Italian magician and, apparently, everyone else with a ticket. Even Miss Froy�s simple introduction is muted by the train, which, as if cued by conspirators, starts to whistle and howl at a deafening level the moment she tries to share her name with Iris. Like any great Hitchcock picture, The Lady Vanishes is propelled by murder, paranoia and mistaken/lost identity. Though the first 20 or so minutes seem slow in the buildup, Hitchcock makes sure the next two acts are crammed with clever twists and rousing thrills. Every bit of dialogue serves the mystery and every action pushes viewers to the edge. The best example is the scene where Gilbert attempts to enter a neighboring compartment without stepping in the hall. In a magnificent matte shot, Gilbert exits a window and clutches the outside of the train, just as another roars by, missing killing him by mere centimeters. (It recalls the finale of Shadow of a Doubt, where the villain wasn�t as lucky.) Shot in 1938, The Lady Vanishes helped Hitchcock make that big move to the States, where he�d introduce himself with Rebecca, his only Best Picture winner.

And The Lady Vanishes, for all of its wit, suspense and romance, is his best British film, and sits with more well-known classics like North by Northwest, Notorious, Rear Window, Rope, Psycho, Strangers on a Train, and Vertigo as one of his finest overall. THE EXTRAS Audio commentary featuring film historian Bruce Eder: Eder delivers a fascinating and detailed commentary, focusing on the photography, the film�s origins, the cast/characters, the subversive tones, the many twists, and so much more. Crook�s Tour (1:20:59): John Baxter�s 1941 film, based on a radio serial from the same year, features the characters Charters and Caldecott (Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne), the British cricket fans in The Lady Vanishes. Hitchcock/Truffaut (10:06): In this 1962 audio interview, the directors discuss The Lady Vanishes and British cinema as a whole. This excerpt was part of the series of interviews that led to Truffaut�s book, Hitchcock.

Mystery Train (33:32): In this video essay, film scholar and author Leonard Leff (Hitchcock and Selznick: The Rich and Strange Collaboration of Alfred Hitchcock and David O. Selznick) discusses the contexts and style of The Lady Vanishes. Stills Gallery Also included with this Criterion Collection Blu-ray is a 20-page booklet featuring two essays: �All Aboard!� by critic Geoffrey O�Brien and �Tea & Treachery� by Hitchcock scholar Charles Barr. FINAL DIAGNOSIS One of Hitchcock�s finest, The Lady Vanishes is a witty, playful mystery boasts a level of suspense that few directors could/can manage. This Blu-ray of The Lady Vanishes is the third release of the film from The Criterion Collection and, until a new format is introduced, is the definitive release. Aside from stellar video and audio presentations, viewers are also treated to a bonus feature film (Crook�s Tour), an interview with Hitchcock and more. Remain respectful at all times. No writer abuse. For all corrections, suggestions, criticisms, email us instead.

Strikeback The Lady Vanishes Blu-ray Review (The Criterion Collection) The Lady Vanishes: The Criterion Collection Blu-ray Review The Lady Vanishes US Theatrical Release: November 1, 1938 / Running Time: 96 Minutes / Rating: Not Rated Director: Alfred Hitchcock / Writers: Sidney Gilliatt, Frank Launder (screenplay); Ethel Lina White (novel The Wheel Spins) Cast: Margaret Lockwood (Iris Matilda Henderson), Michael Redgrave (Gilbert), Paul Lukas (Dr. Hartz), Dame May Whitty (Miss Froy), Cecil Parker (Mr.

Todhunter), Linden Travers ("Mrs." Todhunter), Naunton Wayne (Caldicott), Basil Radford (Charters), Mary Clare (Baroness), Emile Boreo (Hotel Manager), Googie Withers (Blanche), Sally Stewart (Julie), Philip Leaver (Signor Doppo), Zelma Vas Dias (Signora Doppo), Catherine Lacy (The Nun), Josephine Wilson (Madame Kummer), Charles Oliver (The Officer), Kathleen Tremaine (Anna) Buy The Lady Vanishes: Criterion Collection from Amazon.com: Blu-ray ï¿½ 2-Disc DVD The career of Alfred Hitchcock is easy to divide into phases. Like any filmmaker who covered the same ground, you can divide Hitch's films into silents and talkies, black & white and color. But the director's work also lends itself to further delineation. You can distinguish his UK productions from his American ones. Among the latter, you can separate his brief period of regular Academy Awards recognition in the early '40s from the far more popular thrillers that followed, made at the height of Hitchcock's iconicity.

You can split the television material from the films, the last few of which perhaps ought to be pulled aside as a period of decline. These are all fun activities for someone who geeks out about classic film and may even factor slightly into why Hitchcock ranks as probably the most celebrated director of all time. His filmography isn't just one of the most impressive, it is also one of the most enjoyable to visit and revisit in full, to study and to dissect, whether it's for a handful of blog readers or a published book consulted by the masses. Released in 1938, The Lady Vanishes was the fifteenth sound film Hitchcock directed. It was his penultimate British production before first moving to America, after which he would only twice return to shoot in his native London. Lady ranks among the most successful and the most comedic of his British career. It also ranks as the first of the director's movies to enter the Criterion Collection on DVD, having claimed spine number 4 all the way back in May 1998. This week, four years after being revisited as a two-disc DVD, the movie became Hitchcock's first Criterion title, and only third film overall, to make the jump to Blu-ray in America.

Lady opens with a pan across an uncharacteristically phony miniature set representing the fictional Central Europe nation of Bandrika. The shot stops at a hotel, where, inside, travelers are abuzz about a train-delaying avalanche. Among the overbooked tavern's guests are a pair of jolly Brits, cricket enthusiasts Caldicott (Naunton Wayne) and Charters (Basil Radford), who are eager to get home in time to attend a test match. These amusing characters might seem like our focal point early on, but they ultimately serve a significant side presence as comic relief. Our protagonist ends up being Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), who is returning home from a ladies' vacation to be wed. The bulk of the film transcends on a transportation method from which Hitchcock drew drama better than anyone else: a train. Onboard, Iris gets acquainted with Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), a kindly, elderly British governess with whom she has tea. Shortly before boarding, Iris was struck by a falling flowerpot seemingly intended for Miss Froy. After a short snooze, Iris awakens with Miss Froy nowhere to be found.

What's especially troubling about that is that no one else on the train claims to have seen the old woman at any time. A doctor (Paul Lukas) suggests the flowerpot incident may have rendered Iris delusional, an explanation that doesn't satisfy her curiosities. What initially seems to be a thin, straightforward mystery -- did Miss Froy really vanish or is Iris out of her mind? -- does develop into something more complex and sordid. Iris finds an unlikely ally in Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), a man who disturbed her sleep the night before. The two begin to suspect a conspiracy and wonder if a severely ill, face-wrapped patient picked up has something to do with it. The Lady Vanishes has faint overtones of British novelist Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express, published four years earlier. In fact, it was loosely adapted from the less renowned 1936 novel The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. The film carries the distinct imprint of Alfred Hitchcock, who by then had been directing feature films for thirteen years. The tight plotting and riveting suspense for which Hitchcock is known today are not quite in place yet.

Lady is more relaxed and casual, only taking shape as a mystery/thriller shortly before the one-hour mark and remaining light well after that. The quality that has elevated Hitchcock above just about every one of his contemporaries is in how graceful his films age. His movies seem both ahead of their time and timeless, dealing with intriguing themes (murder, duplicity, mistaken identity) that likely won't ever fall out of fashion. That enduring nature applies not only to his heart-pounding thrillers, but to his wicked sense of humor too, which continues to strike as smart, sly, and genuinely funny in contrast to many comedy specialists who came before and after him. Perhaps the film's biggest claim to fame is in Caldicott and Charters, a comedy duo that would resurface in screenwriters Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder's 1940 film Night Train to Munich. Directed by the legendary Carol Reed and admitted into the Criterion Collection last year, that drama bears many similarities to Lady including Margaret Lockwood as star.

It was one of a few Gilliat-Launder movies and BBC radio serials that Caldicott and Charters turned up in, a concept tough to imagine occurring today with all the red tape and studio wrangling it might require. Actors Wayne and Radford remained a double act in other entities up until Radford's death in 1952. Caldicott and Charters, meanwhile, got a BBC mystery series in 1985. Shortly before that, in 1979, The Lady Vanishes was remade with a cast headed by Elliot Gould, Cybill Shepherd, and Angela Lansbury; a less ambiguous setting; and far less critical regard. Hitchcock filmed one more movie from a Gilliat-Launder screenplay, 1939's Jamaica Inn, before coming to America and immediately earning notice with 1940's Best Picture winner Rebecca. It is plenty absurd that neither that film nor any of the dozens that followed won Hitchcock a competitive Oscar, but the director has obviously received recognition and admiration far more meaningful than any one gold statue.

As it should be; Hitchcock was a master storyteller, who seemingly wrung more entertainment and pleasure out of the medium than anyone else in cinema history. Even an entry in his canon as relatively obscure as The Lady Vanishes is full of delights above and beyond most movies from its time. Blu-ray Disc Details

Question: In which film does Iris Henderson search for Miss Froy on a train in fictional Bandrika?
Answer: The Lady Vanishes