Info

The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Cast                                                                      Credits
Margaret Lockwood. .Iris Henderson                       Studio . . . . . . . . . .Gainsborough Pictures
Michael Redgrave . . . Gilbert Redman                      Director . . . . . . . . Alfred Hitchcock
Paul Lukas. . . . . . . . . Dr. Hartz                               Novel by. . . . . . . . Ethel Lina White
Dame May Whitty . . . Miss Froy                             Cinematography. . . Jack Cox
Cecil Parker. . . . . . . .Eric Todhunter                      Sound by. . . . . . . . Sydney Wiles
Linden Travers. . . . . . 'Mrs.' Margaret Todhunter     Edited by . . . . . . . .R.E. Dearing
Naunton Wayne . . . . .Caldicott                               Musical Direction . .Louis Levy
Basil Radford . . . . . . .Charters

Abysmal. Complete trash-- bad acting, writing, cinematography, etc.

Bomb. One or two redeeming qualities, but inferior overall.

Average. Not outstanding in most respects, but worth checking out.

   I had a ball. Solid acting, writing, cinematography, etc. Superior in many respects.

Excellent. A true classic. Few, if any, flaws.

This is a rather good film. Hitchcock makes good use of numerous devices which would become his trademarks. You could teach a complete course on Hitchcock with this one film. Parallel lines, the notion of doubles, the chase, etc. are all employed with great effect in this film. From a modern standpoint, this film looks somewhat cliched. We've seen the images and devices a million times, but remember, modern directors ripped off from Hitchcock and not the other way around.

Even though we have seen these cinematic devices many, many times, the film is still fresh. The freshness of this film comes from the wonderful cast that Hitchcock had to work with and the vivid characters created for him. Although all of the acting is superior, I especially want to single out Naunton Wayne (Caldicott) and Basil Radford (Charters) for their performances. They play the two English chaps so completely absorbed in the world of cricket, that nothing else matters to them. They add the perfect touch of comedy to this film. The humor is as dry as an O-cello sponge and very witty. It is the British style of humor at its best. Lesser actors could not have pulled the characters off, and without these characters, the film would have gotten bogged down in the mystery and would have only been half as good a film.

In most Hitchcock thrillers, the mystery and/or suspense really appear to be the secondary purpose for making the film. The true purpose is often the subtext of the movie itself, e.g., the mother/son relationship explored in Psycho. This it true of this film as well. In this film, Hitchcock hits us right square in the face with the notion that when push comes to shove, most of us will lie to protect our own self interests rather than going out on a limb to help a fellow human being. Every person that tell Iris she is crazy, knows that Iris is in fact right on, yet to protect themselves, they lie to her. The reasons for the lies vary from legitimate concerns over safety to the frivilous--getting to London for a cricket match. It is not until our own interests coincide with those around us, that we will do anything to help. This is a somewhat cynical view of the world around us, but two points need to be made: 1) Have you ever failed to help someone out because it conflicted with your own interests and 2) Hitchcock had a very cynical view of the world. 

True, this film is not as polished as some of his later Hollywood works such as A Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train, or Spellbound. However, none of these later films are any better than The Lady Vanishes. In fact, I believe that in terms of just quality of story, The Lady Vanishes is far superior to Strangers on a Train or Spellbound, both considered by many to represent the very best of Alfred Hitchcock. The Lady Vanishes has an intensity in the storytelling that the later works lack; our protagonists are in real trouble and we are not altogether sure they will survive. This intensity is brought about by yet another device synonymous with Hitchcock--the lack of any soundtrack in suspenseful moments. Overall, this is a very good film. I give it a