Review of The Lady Vanishes (1938) by Sam C — 29 Jan 2009

Hitchcock leaves Britain with a bang! His last studio film over the seas is perhaps one of his best, albeit a few awkward scenes scattered here and there. The Lady Vanishes is a harrowing tale of claustrophobia, deceit and sanity.

After spending an overcrowded night in a foreign inn, a group o people who are waiting for their train finally board it, but not without a mishap. One unlucky passenger fell victim to a flower pot that just happened to fall onto her head. An old lady by the name of Mrs. Froy helps her aboard and takes care of her, by letting her sleep, getting her tea, etc. All is fair and well until Mrs. Froy disappears. Entirely. Now it's up to a girl who thinks she's losing her mind and a few other friends she meets along the way to solve the vanishing of Mrs. Froy.

As always, this is a top notch thriller. Right from the start you could tell this was going to be a claustrophobic setting, since half the people keep hitting their head off of beams in the old inn. Many twists and turns follow, from the magician to (awkward) shootout. As a matter of fact, this was the most calm shootout I have ever seen on film ("Can I talk to you? I'd rather we talked over there."). An excellent example of Hitchcock's British career and one of his best overall.