2023 Blind Spot Series: The Lady Vanishes
While on a train across Europe, Iris (Margarat Lockwood) suffers a head injury and is helped by Miss Froy. (May Witty) When she wakes up, Miss Froy is gone and everyone on the train denies seeing her. She enlists the help of Gilbert, (Michael Redgrave) a man she had an annoying run in with the night before to help.
I sometimes forget just how long Alfred Hitchcock's career was. I wanted to add another Hitch film to my list this year, and I settled on this one as it was one of his older films. Filmed in 1938, he was already working for a decade before this. I could've dipped into the 20's after all.
Very much a whodunnit film The Lady Vanishes has an amusing tone despite the mind games being played with Iris and Gilbert. It's silly. Most films from the 30's are, but the central mystery is fascinating and never lets up. Up until the reveal, I was never sure of the "why" of it, and that's what I want out of a film like this. I don't want to guess the ending right away.
Lockwood is a pleasure to watch on screen. Iris is a compelling character with an admirable perseverance. Her banter with Redgrave is good, but she's clearly the star here. I also appreciated the comedy from two Cricket fans on the train who pop in and out of the story.
While I still have a lot of Hitchcock to watch, this one was easily climbed up to the higher end of my Hitch-list.
Grade: B+
I love this film with the main character being a non blond, strong woman. Plus the lady in question, Dame Mae Whitty, is also a strong woman. Yes, you need to see more of his early films. I love Sabotage.
ReplyDeleteMae Whitty was a delight. I love what her character ended up being about.
DeleteThis is late England period Hitchcock, he only made one more film in Britian-Jamaica Inn which he made under duress to complete a contractual obligation and was never happy with-before heading to Hollywood. It’s a good, if not great film by him but it does show that his ability to spin a story in a suspenseful way was firmly in place before he garnered major fame.
ReplyDeleteIt's an enjoyable picture but not one of his I’d number among my favorites. It’s British to its backbone which isn’t a problem for me but perhaps its staidness is what keeps me from fully embracing it, everyone is so proper!
I LOVE Margaret Lockwood! She was one of the major English female stars of the period. Because of that she’s not as well-known stateside as many of the iconic actresses of the time but she was both a good actress and an appealing screen presence. She did make a very few American films, one that will be of particular interest to you I know is “Susannah of the Mounties” starring your girl, Shirley Temple! It’s pleasant enough but Shirl is the undisputed star of it. To see Margaret at a better advantage I’d recommend these films:
The Wicked Lady (1945)-She gets to explore her darker side as a woman highway bandit in the Regency era.
Love Story (1944)-It’s just what the title suggests but is nowhere near as mawkish as the dreadful 70’s film of the same name.
Also- “Give Us the Moon” (1944), “The Man in Grey” (1943), “Cast a Dark Shadow” (1955). She also played the wicked stepmother in a version of the Cinderella story called "The Slipper and the Rose” in 1976. I have a certain fondness for that one, it was the Christmas show at Rockefeller Center the year we went to see the Rockettes!
For her brief time on screen Dame May Whitty is a delight but her role is necessarily limited.
There was a positively terrible remake of this (why anyone tries to remake Hitchcock is a mystery!) in the late 70’s with Elliott Gould and Cybill Shepard in the leads and the one saving grace of the whole misfire, Angela Lansbury as Miss Froy. But just like in this one her part is small so there was only so much she could do. Avoid it, I wish I had!!
If you do decide to reach back into his silent period in the 20’s I’d say to start with The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927). Actually, two of his other 1927 releases, “Downhill” and “The Ring” are interesting as well but Lodger is closest to his signature style.
But if you are looking for suggestions on which film to pick for your next year’s Blind Spot list, I’d recommend either “Strangers on a Train” (1951) or “Notorious” (1946) as essentials or my personal fave “Saboteur” (1942) which doesn’t have the same reputation, but I think is an underknown gem.
Okay, I LOVE Susannah and the Mounties but it's one I'm afraid to revisit because I just know none of it has aged well. lol I didn't even realize she was the woman in it! Notorious is actually on my list for this year! I think it will be a November-December watch.
DeleteOHHH!! I'd forgotten that Notorious was on your list for this year! So excited!!! It's one of his masterworks. Anxious to hear your view/take on it.
DeleteI'm looking forward to it! So far Rear Window is still my favorite. Nothing has knocked it off yet.
DeleteRear Window will be almost impossible to surpass! If it wasn't for my sentimental attachment to Saboteur (it was the first of his films I saw, I found it very relatable and I just adore Priscilla Lane) it would also be my top Hitch film. But you'll see a lot of great films while you're deciding about that for yourself.
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