STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH - The Lady Vanishes

THE LADY VANISHES

(1938)
With Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Dame Mae Whitty, Basil Radford, Naunton Wayne
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Black and White
Reviewed by JL

A young woman (Margaret Lockwood) befriends a kindly old lady (Dame Mae Whitty) on a train ride, and later can't get anyone else on the train to believe the elderly woman ever existed. Mystery and even a bit of international intrigue ensue. Along with THE 39 STEPS, THE LADY VANISHES is considered one of the two greatest films from Alfred Hitchcock's early British period. The director's reputation throughout the world had been growing steadily since the success of THE 39 STEPS in 1935, and THE LADY VANISHES was his biggest international hit to date. It was the film that factored most in earning for Hitchcock his first American contract with producer David O. Selznick. He would work for the remaining 36 years of his career in the States, returning only three times to England to film UNDER CAPRICORN (1949), STAGE FRIGHT (1950), and FRENZY (1972). - JL