FILM: The Lady Vanishes

DIRECTOR: Alfred Hitchcock

YEAR: 1938

WATCHED ON: BBC iPlayer

DATE WATCHED: 06-Jan-2024

FIRST VIEWING: Yes

SPOILERS AHEAD: Yes

Without writing anything that may shock, I’ll be honest and say that I like Alfred Hitchcock films. It’s not a case of ‘yeah, but you have to say that’, when it comes to liking films in general, but I genuinely do. I think Rear Window is in my top 10. Although depending on when you speak to me, my top 10 changes a lot. I had never seen this Alfred Hitchcock film before.

It is a pretty straight forward plot, and the title does a good job of summing it up. There is a lady (so we are lead to believe) and she vanishes (or does she?).

Charming is the word I thought of when I was watching it and thinking of how to describe it. Sadly, it is possibly condescending of me to call it charming as I imagine it was quite a suspenseful mystery when it was released, but due to its influence on cinema it’s now seen as charming.

The film starts in a European mountain area (unspecified, I think) by moving through a miniature set (charming).

The characters are introduced in a stage play-esque  set up, and a street musician gets murdered by an unseen menace with large hands.

Then it goes to a train which is clearly being rocked by stagehands (charming), and the backgrounds through the windows are all rear projections. As good as they could do at the time asides from actually filming on a moving train, but none the less, charming.

I won’t spoil it, as it is a lovely film that deserves a viewing. Very in character for a film from the era, the characters speak with distinct proper pronunciation, which all adds to the charm.

Margaret Lockwood plays Iris, the character who suspects a lady may be missing. The potentially missing lady (slight spoiler, there is a missing lady) is played by Dame May Whitty (she was one of the three people who started the UK actors union, Equity), and the male her is played by Michael Redgrave (Vanessa Redgrave father!)

Overall, some people are put off by older films, but I would urge you to watch this one. Its fun, and fast paced (after the hotel scenes), and its amazing to see how far Alfred Hitchcock would go. This is a master filmmaker at work before he went to America !