The Lady Vanishes

Overview

The Lady Vanishes, Alfred Hitchcock's comedy-thriller, came at the end of his British period; this film's success brought Hitchcock to the attention of Hollywood. He would complete only one other British production, Jamaica Inn, before crossing the Atlantic to working for David O. Selznick on Rebecca. The film concerns the young Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), heading home on a train after spending the holidays in the Balkans. Iris becomes friends with a kindly old lady, Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) after Iris gets hit in the head with a flowerpot meant for Miss Froy. On the train, recovering from the blow, Iris falls asleep. When she awakens, Miss Froy has vanished, replaced by someone else in Miss Froy's clothing. Iris talks to the other passengers, a bizarre collection of eccentrics who think that Iris is crazy for insisting on there even being a Miss Froy -- everyone denies having ever seen the old woman. Finally, Iris finds a young musician, Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), who believes her and the two proceed to search the train for clues to Miss Froy's disappearance.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/15/2015
UPC:	0644827162727
Original Release:	1938
Source:	Reel Vault
Language:	English
Sales rank:	17,940

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Margaret Lockwood	Iris Henderson
Michael Redgrave	Gilbert Redman
Paul Lukas	Dr. Hartz
May Whitty	Miss Froy
Cecil Parker	Eric Todhunter
Linden Travers	Margaret Todhunter
Mary Clare	Baroness
Naunton Wayne	Caldicott
Basil Radford	Charters
Emile Boreo	Hotel Manager
Philip Leaver	Signor Doppo
Selma Vas Dias	Signora Doppo
Catherine Lacey	The Nun
Josephine Wilson	Mme. Kummer
Googie Withers	Blanche
Sally Stewart	Julie
Alfred Hitchcock	Actor
Charles Oliver	Officer
Kathleen Tremaine	Anna
Zelma Vas Dias	Signora Doppo

Technical Credits

Alma Reville

Sidney Gilliat

Frank Launder

Ethel Lina White

Alfred Hitchcock	Director
Alma Reville	Screenwriter
Sidney Gilliat	Screenwriter
Frank Launder	Screenwriter
Edward Black	Producer
Ethel Lina White	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

It's easy to forget, with all his successes, that Alfred Hitchcock's career suffered quite a few periods of commercial decline. Following his two international breakthroughs, The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) and The 39 Steps (1935), the director produced three films with relatively disappointing box-office returns. In 1938, he broke out of this slump with the popular and entertaining The Lady Vanishes. The director's penultimate movie before leaving England, it's a very light picture, more dependent on comedy than almost any of his previous films. A good deal of the humor comes from the interplay between the definitively British tourists Charters and Caldicott, played indelibly by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne, that the actors would reprise in several other films. Despite (or perhaps because of) its "Englishness," The Lady Vanishes made quite a splash in America, securing Hitchcock a place in Hollywood. The charming script by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat was based on the popular Ethel Lina White novel, The Wheel Spins. Brendon Hanley

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