The Lady Vanishes(1938)

The Lady Vanishes is one of my favourite Alfred Hitchcock films. It is one of his most playful and spontaneous. It is an excellent mystery thriller with a sinister undertone and plenty of humour thrown into the mix. In this film a whistled tune turns out to be of vital international importance, major head trauma is somehow avoided when a heavy plant pot falls on a human head, and a packet of tea proves to be a vital clue to the whereabouts of a missing woman. There’s twists, romance, secrets and dangers galore. You really don’t want to miss boarding this train! The Lady Vanishes was the penultimate film that Hitchcock made in the UK before he moved to America to initially work under contract to producer David O’ Selznick. The film was based upon Ethel Lena White’s 1936 novel The Wheel Spins. In 1937, Hitch was still under contract to the Gaumont-British Film Corporation, and found himself stuck for ideas for his next project. He eventually chose to adapt Sidney Gilliat and Frank…