Today’s quick review: The Lady Vanishes. On a crowded train, Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) strikes up a friendship with Miss Froy (May Whitty), a kindly governess. But when Iris wakes from a nap, Miss Froy has vanished, and the other passengers claim she was never there in the first place. With the help of Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), a cheeky musicologist, Iris looks for proof that the woman exists and clues as to where she might have gone.
The Lady Vanishes is a mystery from director Alfred Hitchcock. The Lady Vanishes places a young woman in an unsettling predicament, forced to doubt her own sanity as she searches for a woman who may not have existed in the first place. The movie has an intriguing premise and a fairly capable plot, but it lacks the masterful touch of Hitchcock’s later work. Its decisions along the way give it an overall mixed payoff.
The Lady Vanishes suffers from several issues that get in the way of what should be a thrilling story. The movie takes half an hour to get going, and most of its setup consists of irrelevant detail. The mystery itself hits a few excellent beats as it progresses, but key parts of the plot rely on coincidence, and the answers the movie finally provides are far from compelling.
Still, The Lady Vanishes is a well-crafted movie with good direction and a sharp sense of paranoia. Give it a shot if you are a fan of Alfred Hitchcock, mystery, or suspense. For a more gripping suspense movie by Hitchcock, check out Rear Window.
7.9 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for a promising story, fine craftsmanship, and mixed overall execution.