"The Lady Vanishes" is early Hitchcock. It was made when he was still finding his feet and style as a filmmaker. It is nevertheless a cracking thriller and a hugely entertaining film. Quite different from a lot of Hitchcock's thriller, the film doesn't throw you in at the deep end at the beginning. Hitchcock takes a good twenty or so minutes setting up the characters before even boarding the train. It seems to me that the plot of the lady vanishing is the McGuffin of the film and the main plot is the relationship between the main characters. It is also in the first twenty minutes when we see the typical Englishness of the piece complaining about weather/board and talking cricket. "The Lady Vanishes" was Hitchcock's penultimate British film before leaving for America and it is up there with "The 39 Steps" as one of that era's best.
When the film does board the train it turns into thriller/mystery mode and Hitchcock shows an expertise in mystery and tension building worthy of his later, more famous thrillers. The train (as Hitchcock knows all too well) makes a great setting for a thriller. The tight environment, multiple carriages and constant movement allow for mystery, suspense and excitement view Hitchcock mix then all up when Redgrave's characters nearly gets mashed by an oncoming train as he attempts to move to another room by the outside.
Hitchcock had a great talent when it came to casting his films. He filled his main and supporting characters with likable, charismatic people who were right for the roles. "The Lady Vanishes" is no exception in this regard. Lockwood and Redgrave have fine chemistry between them and create a duo which anchors the film. For a plot like this it would be essential for the main duo to be likable so the audience can follow them through their detective work and they do a great job in creating a likable duo. The snappy repartee between the two is perhaps the film's highlight.
The film's editing is excellent. I find that in a lot of film like this the last act tends to drag as I become increasingly restless in wanting to know what the big secret is. "The Lady Vanishes" doesn't fall into this trap and runs very smoothly and doesn't outstay its welcome. The cinematography is also excellent. Although the shots are apparently fairly simple, one should consider the complexity of trying to get these shots done in such a tight enclosure and keep up the appearance that it is happening on a moving train. I haven't read or heard anything from experts about this film so I don't know whether Hitchcock used a real train or a stage with rear projection or something similar. But in the film itself I couldn't see any goofs that would ruin the film's illusion.
You won't see this film top many best Hitchcock list because it isn't as "artistically sound" as a lot of his later works, but the film was made in 1938 just as international relations were reaching boiling point and there is certainly some subtext in the film about it. One can look at the scene were a man refuses to fight despite the enemy steadily approaching the train as an attack on the appeasement of the Nazi. Or the cricket chaps concern about their own trivialities and their refusal to get involve in the bigger, more important issue.
"The Lady Vanishes" is a gripping yarn that is sure to absorb one's attention and excite as much (or even more) as any film made today. It doesn't trade off characters for action. It has an intelligent script with witty dialogue and distinct, memorable characters. The film does have a fair few plot holes like a lot of Hitchcock's thriller, but they don't matter while watching the film as he never gives your breath to think about them. He forces you to move along with the engaging plot. Whether one looks at the film as mere entertainment or as a commentary on the times, it is sure not to disappoint.
When the film does board the train it turns into thriller/mystery mode and Hitchcock shows an expertise in mystery and tension building worthy of his later, more famous thrillers. The train (as Hitchcock knows all too well) makes a great setting for a thriller. The tight environment, multiple carriages and constant movement allow for mystery, suspense and excitement view Hitchcock mix then all up when Redgrave's characters nearly gets mashed by an oncoming train as he attempts to move to another room by the outside.
Hitchcock had a great talent when it came to casting his films. He filled his main and supporting characters with likable, charismatic people who were right for the roles. "The Lady Vanishes" is no exception in this regard. Lockwood and Redgrave have fine chemistry between them and create a duo which anchors the film. For a plot like this it would be essential for the main duo to be likable so the audience can follow them through their detective work and they do a great job in creating a likable duo. The snappy repartee between the two is perhaps the film's highlight.
The film's editing is excellent. I find that in a lot of film like this the last act tends to drag as I become increasingly restless in wanting to know what the big secret is. "The Lady Vanishes" doesn't fall into this trap and runs very smoothly and doesn't outstay its welcome. The cinematography is also excellent. Although the shots are apparently fairly simple, one should consider the complexity of trying to get these shots done in such a tight enclosure and keep up the appearance that it is happening on a moving train. I haven't read or heard anything from experts about this film so I don't know whether Hitchcock used a real train or a stage with rear projection or something similar. But in the film itself I couldn't see any goofs that would ruin the film's illusion.
You won't see this film top many best Hitchcock list because it isn't as "artistically sound" as a lot of his later works, but the film was made in 1938 just as international relations were reaching boiling point and there is certainly some subtext in the film about it. One can look at the scene were a man refuses to fight despite the enemy steadily approaching the train as an attack on the appeasement of the Nazi. Or the cricket chaps concern about their own trivialities and their refusal to get involve in the bigger, more important issue.
"The Lady Vanishes" is a gripping yarn that is sure to absorb one's attention and excite as much (or even more) as any film made today. It doesn't trade off characters for action. It has an intelligent script with witty dialogue and distinct, memorable characters. The film does have a fair few plot holes like a lot of Hitchcock's thriller, but they don't matter while watching the film as he never gives your breath to think about them. He forces you to move along with the engaging plot. Whether one looks at the film as mere entertainment or as a commentary on the times, it is sure not to disappoint.