The Lady Vanishes

The Lady Vanishes (1938) is another favorite Hitchcock film of mine. I could watch it a billion times and still love it. It always makes me laugh! I believe it's one of the last films Hitch made while still in Britain before he leaves to go collaborate with David O. Selznick in the U.S.. The film is about a young woman, Iris, who is traveling on a train to London in order to get married. Her trip has been delayed due to poor weather, so she, along with the other travelers are stuck staying in a small hotel in a small country for one night. During this time, Iris meets a nice old woman in the hallway, as well as an obnoxious man who is playing the clarinet loudly in the room above her.

The next morning, she meets the old woman again and notices that the woman has dropped her glasses, so she goes over to her and returns them. While returning them, a flower pot is pushed from the window above and it lands on the back of her head. The old woman helps her onto the train and once on the train, she passes out. The old woman looks after Iris during the beginning of the train ride and Iris learns that her name is Miss. Froy. The two go back to their train car after having some tea and Iris quickly falls asleep. When she wakes up, however, she realizes that Miss. Froy is no longer sitting across from her. She then asks the others in the cabin, as well as the train, if they know where she has gone to. For some reason, no one seems to recall ever seeing Miss. Froy. Convinced that something terrible has happened to Miss. Froy, Iris seeks out whoever she can regarding the old woman. She ends up meeting the annoying clarinet man, Gilbert, and the two end up working together in order to find out why Miss. Froy has disappeared and where she has disappeared to.

I love the witty humor in this film. The two funny British men who are obsessed with cricket are awesome. I also love the chemistry between Iris (Margaret Lockwood) and Gilbert (Michael Redgrave). The two are both funny and adorable together. I especially like how the two characters despised each other at the beginning, but then ended up falling for each other. If you're in the mood for a hilarious and suspenseful film, then look no further than The Lady Vanishes.