This is one of my most favourite older Hitchcock films. It has adventure, mystery, romance, british humour and even though it is an old film, it doesn't get too tiring or boring and it even has some great special effects for its time. The Lady Vanishes was released in 1938 and it stars Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood and Dame May Whitty in the title role.
The film begins with an exceptional long crane shot. It's only by the end of that shot that the viewer realizes that what they're looking at is a miniature model of a mountain, a train station and a whole village. Great start Alfred.
During this film, we meet many travellers that have been stuck in a mountainous village as their train has been delayed 'cause of an avalanche. The passengers of the train are crammed into the local hotel where they have to wait until the next day when the train will be able to resume its journey.
It is there that we meet two Englishmen (Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford) who want to get to England to catch a cricket match, a bride-to-be, named Iris (Margaret Lockwood) who travels to find her fiance, a man named Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) who prepares a book about folkdancing and an old, kind and gentle governess, Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) who returns home after eight years of absence.
While still in the hotel, Iris and Miss Froy start to talk and they form some kind of friendship which continues on the train the next day. They also meet and talk to many of the other passengers.
Just before the journey, Iris hits her head and Miss Froy helps her take a nap. When the young girl wakes up, however, Miss Froy is nowhere to be found. And what's most surprising, is that nobody seems to have seen her. Or so they say.
When nobody believes Iris when she says that there was an old woman on the train who helped her, and when they all blame it on her injury, she finds Gilbert who seems keen to accompany her on her search.
They begin searching the train and they ask everyone about Miss Froy. What they discover is a story of much larger proportions than anything they could have imagined.
The Lady Vanishes was reportedly seen by Orson Welles eleven times. François Truffaut also claimed that this was his favourite Hitchcock film and the best representation of Alfred Hitchcock's work.
Michael Redgrave is Vanessa Redgrave's father and this was his film debut.
Charters and Caldicott, the two Englishmen played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Redford, became such popular characters that they teamed up in two other films after this: Train to Munich(1940) and Millions like Us(1943). They also starred in the BBC Radio serials Crook's Tour and Secret Mission 609.
Director Cameo: Near the end of the movie, Alfred Hitchcock walks at the train station dressed in black and smoking a cigarette.
Memorable Quotes:
"- You can't expect to put the two of us up in the maid's room. - Well, don't get excited. I'll remove the maid out."
Charters and the Hotel Manager
"- What's the trouble? - If you must know, something fell on my head. - When? Infancy?"
Gilbert and Iris
"- We're very grateful. It's lucky some of you fellows understand English. - Well, I was at Oxford. [a little later, after Gilbert hits the officer with a chair and he faints]
- What the blazes did you do that for? - Well, I was at Cambridge."
Caldicott and the Officer
Charters and Gilbert
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