Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance The Lady Vanishes appears to be a frothy, lightweight treat, a testament to Alfred Hitchcock's nimble touch. This snappy, sophisticated romantic thriller begins innocently enough, as a contingent of eccentric tourists spend the night in a picture-postcard village inn nestled in the Swiss Alps before setting off on the train the next morning. In a wonderfully Hitchcockian twist on "meeting cute" attractive young Iris (Margaret Lockwood) clashes with brash music student Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) when his nocturnal concerts give her no peace. She gets him kicked out of his room, so he barges in on hers: true love is inevitable, but not before they are both plunged into an international conspiracy. The next day on the train, kindly old Mrs Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes from her train car without a trace and the once quarrelsome couple unite to search the train and uncover a dastardly plot. No one is as he or she seems, but sorting out the villains from the merely mysterious is a challenge in itself, as our innocents abroad face resistance from the entire passenger list. Hitchcock effortlessly navigates this vivid thriller from light comedy to high tension and back again, creating one of his most enchanting and entertaining mysteries. Though this wasn't his final British film before departing for Hollywood (that honour goes to Jamaica Inn), many critics prefer to think of this as his fond farewell to the British Film Industry. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
A CLASSIC... wonderful early Hitchcock... with superb cast........2008-01-01
I know I am an old fool for my insistence in reviewing "oldies"... but this is a CLASSIC... as reviews goes not much is need to be said.
Actually it has been a long favorite at home.
Curiousluy enough I think the shooting scenes near the end of the film are much more REAL that what we see today at the movies... but that would be the start of a very long digression...
RECOMMENDED FOR CINEPHILES AND HITCH FANS...
ADB
I know she was here.......2007-08-30
Alfred Hitchcock wasn't too good at straight-out comedy, which he only did once that I can remember. But he was absolutely brilliant at clever, witty thrillers -- mystery with a comic edge. One of the earliest he created was "The Lady Vanishes." While it has some major plot holes, Hitchcock makes up for those with witty dialogue and solid acting.
Iris (Margaret Lockwood) is having a last girl's-night-out with her best friends, at a small Alpine hotel, only days before her wedding to a stuffy arisocrat. As she's leaving on the train, she befriends a kindly little old governess (Dame May Whitty) -- who vanishes while Iris is napping. Even worse, everyone denies that the old lady existed, making Iris wonder if she imagined the whole thing (due to a blow on the head).
She enlists the help of eccentric musician Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) to help her find the old lady, once they are both convinced that the lady existed and that all the people who deny she was there are lying. Now the pair must go through the train in search of the woman -- but they never expected to uncover an international conspiracy and a bevy of German spies.
"The Lady Vanishes" was a pretty early movie of Hitchcock's, and at the end we're left wondering about several oddities in the plot (how is an eighty-year-old lady so athletic? How inept can those foreign agents BE?). As a spy thriller, it's enjoyable but too riddled with plot holes... but it's very good as a comedic mystery.
Hitchcock takes his time introducing us to these characters, by having them all bunk at one overcrowded hotel, and sprinkles it with clues that all is not as idyllic as it seems. One particularly funny scene has Gilbert invading Iris's suite, after she has him ejected from his room, and strewing his things all over as she orders him to leave. But Hitchcock also captures the claustrophobic feeling of being menaced on a train, with no way out.
As well as the feisty socialite and weird musician, the movie is sprinkled with cricket-obsessed Brits, ebullient hoteliers, sweet rambling old ladies, and bickering adulterous lovers. They all do fairly solid jobs, with Redgrave as a charming, slightly odd standout who keeps people awake with folk-dances, and gets all the best lines ("My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother.")
"The Lady Vanishes" is a comedic mystery that doesn't quite work as a spy thriller, but is taut, entertaining and amusing enough to keep you watching to the end. Definitely a keeper.
Very enjoyable hitchcock.......2007-07-30
Don't be fooled by one of the other reviews. This is most definitely not a horror film. There is one rather old-fashioned, and comic, fight scene, and that's about the worst of it. I love it. Vintage hitchcock. A gossipy little old lady in tweeds vanishes on a train, and no one but our heroine will accept that she was ever there at all. Even the hero thinks it was a bang on the head that has confused her. Some of the passengers are denying the old lady's existence because they are villains, and some because they don't want to get involved. But which kind are they all? The sets are ancient, but I think they add to its charm.
Enjoyable thriller from "the" best .......2007-06-16
Generally I can not stand horror films but this film amazed me. Shot in pre-war times in 1938 the film carefully builds the atmosphere. In the opening minutes you can decide where to look for a crime to be committed. Alfred Hitchcock step by step engulfes you into an international spy plot. The actors you are long gone deserve great applause albeit late.Especially the British gentlemen played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford stand out.A great film worth watching.
marvellous old classic, full of atmosphere.......2007-01-09
This fine old Hitchcock film is a great favourite of mine. It is beautifully structured and paced and has loads of atmosphere. The cast is superb, particularly the suavely menacing Paul Lukas. The claustrophobic setting in a train in Eastern Central (presumably) Europe adds a great deal, and though the landscapes and effects are distinctly of their time -and that was a long time ago - they somehow work. There is chemistry between Redgrave and Lockwood, and Dame May Whitty as the unlikely secret agent is excellent in a cosy, charming sort of way. There is a great deal to enjoy in this film and it is deservedly a classic.
Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance The Lady Vanishes appears to be a frothy, lightweight treat, a testament to Alfred Hitchcock's nimble touch. This snappy, sophisticated romantic thriller begins innocently enough, as a contingent of eccentric tourists spend the night in a picture-postcard village inn nestled in the Swiss Alps before setting off on the train the next morning. In a wonderfully Hitchcockian twist on "meeting cute" attractive young Iris (Margaret Lockwood) clashes with brash music student Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) when his nocturnal concerts give her no peace. She gets him kicked out of his room, so he barges in on hers: true love is inevitable, but not before they are both plunged into an international conspiracy. The next day on the train, kindly old Mrs Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes from her train car without a trace and the once quarrelsome couple unite to search the train and uncover a dastardly plot. No one is as he or she seems, but sorting out the villains from the merely mysterious is a challenge in itself, as our innocents abroad face resistance from the entire passenger list. Hitchcock effortlessly navigates this vivid thriller from light comedy to high tension and back again, creating one of his most enchanting and entertaining mysteries. Though this wasn't his final British film before departing for Hollywood (that honour goes to Jamaica Inn), many critics prefer to think of this as his fond farewell to the British Film Industry. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
A CLASSIC... wonderful early Hitchcock... with superb cast........2008-01-01
I know I am an old fool for my insistence in reviewing "oldies"... but this is a CLASSIC... as reviews goes not much is need to be said.
Actually it has been a long favorite at home.
Curiousluy enough I think the shooting scenes near the end of the film are much more REAL that what we see today at the movies... but that would be the start of a very long digression...
RECOMMENDED FOR CINEPHILES AND HITCH FANS...
ADB
I know she was here.......2007-08-30
Alfred Hitchcock wasn't too good at straight-out comedy, which he only did once that I can remember. But he was absolutely brilliant at clever, witty thrillers -- mystery with a comic edge. One of the earliest he created was "The Lady Vanishes." While it has some major plot holes, Hitchcock makes up for those with witty dialogue and solid acting.
Iris (Margaret Lockwood) is having a last girl's-night-out with her best friends, at a small Alpine hotel, only days before her wedding to a stuffy arisocrat. As she's leaving on the train, she befriends a kindly little old governess (Dame May Whitty) -- who vanishes while Iris is napping. Even worse, everyone denies that the old lady existed, making Iris wonder if she imagined the whole thing (due to a blow on the head).
She enlists the help of eccentric musician Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) to help her find the old lady, once they are both convinced that the lady existed and that all the people who deny she was there are lying. Now the pair must go through the train in search of the woman -- but they never expected to uncover an international conspiracy and a bevy of German spies.
"The Lady Vanishes" was a pretty early movie of Hitchcock's, and at the end we're left wondering about several oddities in the plot (how is an eighty-year-old lady so athletic? How inept can those foreign agents BE?). As a spy thriller, it's enjoyable but too riddled with plot holes... but it's very good as a comedic mystery.
Hitchcock takes his time introducing us to these characters, by having them all bunk at one overcrowded hotel, and sprinkles it with clues that all is not as idyllic as it seems. One particularly funny scene has Gilbert invading Iris's suite, after she has him ejected from his room, and strewing his things all over as she orders him to leave. But Hitchcock also captures the claustrophobic feeling of being menaced on a train, with no way out.
As well as the feisty socialite and weird musician, the movie is sprinkled with cricket-obsessed Brits, ebullient hoteliers, sweet rambling old ladies, and bickering adulterous lovers. They all do fairly solid jobs, with Redgrave as a charming, slightly odd standout who keeps people awake with folk-dances, and gets all the best lines ("My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother.")
"The Lady Vanishes" is a comedic mystery that doesn't quite work as a spy thriller, but is taut, entertaining and amusing enough to keep you watching to the end. Definitely a keeper.
Very enjoyable hitchcock.......2007-07-30
Don't be fooled by one of the other reviews. This is most definitely not a horror film. There is one rather old-fashioned, and comic, fight scene, and that's about the worst of it. I love it. Vintage hitchcock. A gossipy little old lady in tweeds vanishes on a train, and no one but our heroine will accept that she was ever there at all. Even the hero thinks it was a bang on the head that has confused her. Some of the passengers are denying the old lady's existence because they are villains, and some because they don't want to get involved. But which kind are they all? The sets are ancient, but I think they add to its charm.
Enjoyable thriller from "the" best .......2007-06-16
Generally I can not stand horror films but this film amazed me. Shot in pre-war times in 1938 the film carefully builds the atmosphere. In the opening minutes you can decide where to look for a crime to be committed. Alfred Hitchcock step by step engulfes you into an international spy plot. The actors you are long gone deserve great applause albeit late.Especially the British gentlemen played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford stand out.A great film worth watching.
marvellous old classic, full of atmosphere.......2007-01-09
This fine old Hitchcock film is a great favourite of mine. It is beautifully structured and paced and has loads of atmosphere. The cast is superb, particularly the suavely menacing Paul Lukas. The claustrophobic setting in a train in Eastern Central (presumably) Europe adds a great deal, and though the landscapes and effects are distinctly of their time -and that was a long time ago - they somehow work. There is chemistry between Redgrave and Lockwood, and Dame May Whitty as the unlikely secret agent is excellent in a cosy, charming sort of way. There is a great deal to enjoy in this film and it is deservedly a classic.
Amazon.co.uk Review
At first glance The Lady Vanishes appears to be a frothy, lightweight treat, a testament to Alfred Hitchcock's nimble touch. This snappy, sophisticated romantic thriller begins innocently enough, as a contingent of eccentric tourists spend the night in a picture-postcard village inn nestled in the Swiss Alps before setting off on the train the next morning. In a wonderfully Hitchcockian twist on "meeting cute" attractive young Iris (Margaret Lockwood) clashes with brash music student Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) when his nocturnal concerts give her no peace. She gets him kicked out of his room, so he barges in on hers: true love is inevitable, but not before they are both plunged into an international conspiracy. The next day on the train, kindly old Mrs Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes from her train car without a trace and the once quarrelsome couple unite to search the train and uncover a dastardly plot. No one is as he or she seems, but sorting out the villains from the merely mysterious is a challenge in itself, as our innocents abroad face resistance from the entire passenger list. Hitchcock effortlessly navigates this vivid thriller from light comedy to high tension and back again, creating one of his most enchanting and entertaining mysteries. Though this wasn't his final British film before departing for Hollywood (that honour goes to Jamaica Inn), many critics prefer to think of this as his fond farewell to the British Film Industry. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews:
A CLASSIC... wonderful early Hitchcock... with superb cast........2008-01-01
I know I am an old fool for my insistence in reviewing "oldies"... but this is a CLASSIC... as reviews goes not much is need to be said.
Actually it has been a long favorite at home.
Curiousluy enough I think the shooting scenes near the end of the film are much more REAL that what we see today at the movies... but that would be the start of a very long digression...
RECOMMENDED FOR CINEPHILES AND HITCH FANS...
ADB
I know she was here.......2007-08-30
Alfred Hitchcock wasn't too good at straight-out comedy, which he only did once that I can remember. But he was absolutely brilliant at clever, witty thrillers -- mystery with a comic edge. One of the earliest he created was "The Lady Vanishes." While it has some major plot holes, Hitchcock makes up for those with witty dialogue and solid acting.
Iris (Margaret Lockwood) is having a last girl's-night-out with her best friends, at a small Alpine hotel, only days before her wedding to a stuffy arisocrat. As she's leaving on the train, she befriends a kindly little old governess (Dame May Whitty) -- who vanishes while Iris is napping. Even worse, everyone denies that the old lady existed, making Iris wonder if she imagined the whole thing (due to a blow on the head).
She enlists the help of eccentric musician Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) to help her find the old lady, once they are both convinced that the lady existed and that all the people who deny she was there are lying. Now the pair must go through the train in search of the woman -- but they never expected to uncover an international conspiracy and a bevy of German spies.
"The Lady Vanishes" was a pretty early movie of Hitchcock's, and at the end we're left wondering about several oddities in the plot (how is an eighty-year-old lady so athletic? How inept can those foreign agents BE?). As a spy thriller, it's enjoyable but too riddled with plot holes... but it's very good as a comedic mystery.
Hitchcock takes his time introducing us to these characters, by having them all bunk at one overcrowded hotel, and sprinkles it with clues that all is not as idyllic as it seems. One particularly funny scene has Gilbert invading Iris's suite, after she has him ejected from his room, and strewing his things all over as she orders him to leave. But Hitchcock also captures the claustrophobic feeling of being menaced on a train, with no way out.
As well as the feisty socialite and weird musician, the movie is sprinkled with cricket-obsessed Brits, ebullient hoteliers, sweet rambling old ladies, and bickering adulterous lovers. They all do fairly solid jobs, with Redgrave as a charming, slightly odd standout who keeps people awake with folk-dances, and gets all the best lines ("My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother.")
"The Lady Vanishes" is a comedic mystery that doesn't quite work as a spy thriller, but is taut, entertaining and amusing enough to keep you watching to the end. Definitely a keeper.
Very enjoyable hitchcock.......2007-07-30
Don't be fooled by one of the other reviews. This is most definitely not a horror film. There is one rather old-fashioned, and comic, fight scene, and that's about the worst of it. I love it. Vintage hitchcock. A gossipy little old lady in tweeds vanishes on a train, and no one but our heroine will accept that she was ever there at all. Even the hero thinks it was a bang on the head that has confused her. Some of the passengers are denying the old lady's existence because they are villains, and some because they don't want to get involved. But which kind are they all? The sets are ancient, but I think they add to its charm.
Enjoyable thriller from "the" best .......2007-06-16
Generally I can not stand horror films but this film amazed me. Shot in pre-war times in 1938 the film carefully builds the atmosphere. In the opening minutes you can decide where to look for a crime to be committed. Alfred Hitchcock step by step engulfes you into an international spy plot. The actors you are long gone deserve great applause albeit late.Especially the British gentlemen played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford stand out.A great film worth watching.
marvellous old classic, full of atmosphere.......2007-01-09
This fine old Hitchcock film is a great favourite of mine. It is beautifully structured and paced and has loads of atmosphere. The cast is superb, particularly the suavely menacing Paul Lukas. The claustrophobic setting in a train in Eastern Central (presumably) Europe adds a great deal, and though the landscapes and effects are distinctly of their time -and that was a long time ago - they somehow work. There is chemistry between Redgrave and Lockwood, and Dame May Whitty as the unlikely secret agent is excellent in a cosy, charming sort of way. There is a great deal to enjoy in this film and it is deservedly a classic.
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