Alfred Hitchcock is fond of telling the story of one man fighting against staggering odds. The man is often falsely accused as in The Wrong Man or The 39 Steps. Or accidentally enters into a world of horrors that they can't escape as in The Birds or Psycho. And sometimes the lead accidentally becomes part of a large conspiracy in which they are forced to participate as in North by Northwest and The Man Who Knew Too Much.
Hithchcock is fond of the reluctant hero or heroine, people who fall into impossibly difficult situations that they did not choose for themselves. In this way his movies, even those that would not be labeled horror films, are like nightmares. The protagonist wants to scream out "this can't be happening," but barely has time to think as the rogue crop duster bears down on him trying to slice him in half. We tend to identify with the Hitchcock hero who is often ordinary--though still very much movie stars--whether they be Cary Grant living at home with his mother or hardworking family man Henry Fonda.
The Lady Vanishes is the other type of Hitchcock film--the type where two would-be lovers throw themselves into intrigue partly out of boredom and partly as a means to romance one another. As in Rear Window where a crippled photographer played by James Stewart and a pining Grace Kelly become voyeurs and then detectives, Lady features bride-in-waiting Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) on a journey to meet her fiancee where she begins to tussle and then solve a mystery with arrogant joker and folk musician Gilbert (Michael Redgrave).
While on a train journey through the fictional European country of Mandrika, Iris notices that Miss Froy, the kindly old lady who was sharing a compartment with her, doesn't seem to be on the train anymore. Partly out of a need to forestall the doldrums of an unwanted marriage and partly because of the needs of the script, Iris throws herself wholeheartedly into finding the missing Miss Froy. Gilbert, seeing an opening, joins her in a quest. The plot thickens when other passengers claim to have never seen the little old English woman. We are then asked to contemplate whether Iris--who did suffer a blow to the head earlier in the film--might be imagining Miss Froy or whether some sinister conspiracy is actually at work. (A similar question is at the heart of the ludicrous, not very funny, but highly watchable Jodie Foster thriller Flightplan).
Vanishes while ostensibly a mystery is just as much a comedy. Like Nick and Nora in The Thin Man series, Iris and Gilbert trade bon mots and blows with bad guys while trying to figure out the mystery. The mystery is a device upon which to hang a comedy of manners. Joining Iris and Gilbert in their comic quest are two stoic British gentlemen who are more concerned with returning to England in time to catch a cricket match than with the increasingly bizarre plot going on around them. Their continued stoical perturbation in the face of mystery and violence is a running joke throughout the film. This joke reaches a glorious comic crescendo when the bullets begin to fly in the film's climax.
And what a climax it is as the train's British passengers are faced with a showdown at high tea. The nation of Mandrika confronts the English on the train and they, though repeatedly denying Iris's claims and need to take action, find their backs against the wall. Among them is a pacifist who as the action heightens becomes cowardice embodied. It is in this climax that the film becomes unexpectedly political. The Lady Vanishes released in 1938 between the two world wars, is a comment on the coming conflict and the necessity of war. British who are not willing to enter the fray are naive or foolish.
As they are in other Hithcock films, the women of Vanishes are smart, brave, and resourceful. They frequently lead the charge in the film while the men try to keep up. Hitchcock reportedly had testy relationships with his female co-stars, but he frequently provided them with meaty roles. Most movies, even contemporary ones, are likely to relegate female stars to weak supporting roles where they anxiously stand by while male costars do the fighting. But The Lady Vanishes turns on the actions of several strong female characters.
Vanishes is above all a comedy and this intentionally or not takes the edge off the suspense. We are pretty sure all will work out in the end because the barb trading leads need to end up together. It could be argued that the film goes off the rails in the final third when the absurd plot drives the film toward a violent, tone shifting climax, but I found it in keeping with the delightful absurdity on display throughout the film.
In fact each of the film's three acts have there own unique tone. In the first, the cast is stranded by snow in a small rail-side hotel and each is introduced in short, comic vignettes. In the second, the mystery is afoot. By the third act, the mystery is largely solved, but a violent conflict erupts. The film under the steady hand of Hitchcock successfully fits these disparate pieces together. While not Hitchcock's best, it still is a fun, unique film that will keep you entertained.
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