The Lady Vanishes [PG]

An avalanche leaves a group strangers stranded at a hotel. The next morning the train is ready to depart and Iris, a woman going home to be married, suffers from a heavy object falling on her head. A kindly old lady named Froy looks after her on the train, but the journey takes a queer turn when Iris awakes from a sleep to find Ms Froy gone. What’s worse, everyone who came into contact with Iris and Froy deny any memory of every having seen the old woman. A kind musician named Gilbert attempts to help Iris find the truth, but as they get closer to an answer it slips away from them…and everyone on the train has their reasons for not admitting their seeing Ms Froy. 

Fantastic, absolutely fantastic. This just goes to show that clever filmmaking and writing causes a movie to never grow stale or outdated. Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes is a fabulous thriller that’s filled with absolutely everything from conspiracy suspense to romance to a western-style siege. This movie is brilliant, three quarters of a century old and still able to hold the audience in their seats. Seriously you don’t dare pause, not even for a bathroom break, you don’t even dare blink for too long for fear of missing something of vital importance. This is where Hitchcock is at his finest. 

An avalanche leaves a group strangers stranded at a hotel. The next morning the train is ready to depart and Iris, a woman going home to be married, suffers from a heavy object falling on her head. A kindly old lady named Froy looks after her on the train, but the journey takes a queer turn when Iris awakes from a sleep to find Ms Froy gone. What’s worse, everyone who came into contact with Iris and Froy deny any memory of every having seen the old woman. A kind musician named Gilbert attempts to help Iris find the truth, but as they get closer to an answer it slips away from them…and everyone on the train has their reasons for not admitting their seeing Ms Froy. 

The Lady Vanishes features many of Hitchcock’s signature tricks of the trade as well as a few new ones. The cinematography is stunning with thrilling close-ups, slow motion that packs a wallop of suspense, and heaps of that classic British wit. Not to mention that we’ve got a story where two innocent people become unwittingly entangled in a conspiracy that’s bigger than either of them. 

The Western-style siege of the train is pretty spectacular and the fact that all these characters, who’ve never met before, have some reason for having a hand in the dramas that unfold just makes it all the more thrilling and engaging. There’s a ripe mix of every sort of character you could ever want, from comedic to romantic to dramatic and it just makes the whole film wonderful. 

Starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas, Dame Mary Whitty, Cecil Parker, Linden Travers, Naunton Wayne, Basil Radford, Mary Clare, Phillip Leaver, Selma Vaz Dias, and Catherine Lacey, The Lady Vanishes is a fantastic thriller that’s packed with action, suspense, romance, drama, conspiracy, and comedy. The plot refuses to take a straight line, which makes for such fun because you really cannot see where you’re heading. I love it!