One of Hitchcock’s last British films prior to his move to Hollywood, The Lady Vanishes is a classic espionage thriller as, according to a passenger, an English governess has disappeared from the train crossing the mountainous European country of Mandrika.
Delayed by an avalanche, the passengers on the train heading to Calais are forced to stay an overcrowded night in a small inn. Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), returning home to get married, becomes friendly with the governess Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) and shares a carriage with her on the train. But on waking from a deep sleep, Froy is missing. No-one believes Henderson that she was ever on the train – except for the flirtatious Gilbert Rodman (Michael Redgrave) who initially thinks it’s all a game. Until, that is, the two are quietly threatened by Dr. Egon Hartz (Paul Lukas) and uniformed Mandrikans.
Vintage Hitchcock at his best, The Lady Vanishes is a classic mystery thriller that also combines romance, humour and genuine menace as Lockwood and Redgrave perfectly play off each other.
Rating: 79%
Director: Alfred Hitchcock (Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry)
Writer: Sidney Gilliat (The Great St. Trinians Train Robbery, The Green Man), Frank Launder (The Great St. Trinians Train Robbery, The Green Man) – based on a story by Ethel Lina White
Main cast: Margaret Lockwood (Cast a Dark Shadow, Night Train to Munich), Michael Redgrave (Mourning Becomes Electra, The Innocents), Paul Lukas (Watch on the Rhine, The Casino Murder Case)
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