Review of The Lady Vanishes (1938) by Alex S — 09 Dec 2009

You have to give them credit: there is a lady in this and she does, indeed, vanish. If they had called it "Old Woman Goes Missing on a Train - Conspiracy Theories Abound!" it would have been more accurate, but how would you fit all of that on a movie poster? Anyway, this is basically Hitchcock trying to mash suspense and humor together into one film and for the most part, it works.

The beginning is a bit slow but by the time the movie proper has begun and the train pulls away from the station, things get moving (pun fully intended). We have a vacationing gal heading home to meet her fiance and after getting a flower pot dropped on her head and boarding a train, she's convinced the elderly woman she was traveling with has gone missing.

She was on the train but everyone denies seeing her. Let's point out something right quick: when a good chunk of your film takes place in the claustrophobic interior of a train, you better know what you're doing.

Hitchcock does as the story keeps taking odd turns, the characters keep being awesome (the duo of cricket aficionados are incredible) or groan-inducing (basically everyone bad, though the dude cheating on his wife is particularly bland, which is even sadder considering he is symbolic of something important later on in the film) and the use of models and trickery convince us this entire thing was not shot on 90 feet of soundstage (save for the opening shot.

.. I'm hoping that was intentionally "model-rific" because I don't think that would have fooled anyone...). Sure, Hitchcock made better and the film loses some impact once you know the secret but so what? This is fine entertainment and even manages to work in a nun wearing high heels.