VividSimon
Simply Perfect
Beanbioca
As Good As It Gets
Tayyab Torres
Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.
Fatma Suarez
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Martin Bradley
It may open with possibly the worst model shots in all of cinema but in every other respect Alfred Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" isn't just one of his enduring masterpieces but possibly the greatest comedy-thriller ever made. It feels almost superflous reviewing it now but here goes. For anyone who may have been living on Mars these past eighty years this is the one set, for the most part, on a train and dealing with the sweet old lady who disappears and who isn't all she first appears to be. Hitchcock made it in 1938, the setting was a Europe heading into war and naturally there are villains and spies.It also comes as close to perfection as movies possibly can with a ridiculously good script by Launder and Gilliat and the kind of cast that only comes along once in a lifetime. Margaret Lockwood was already a star in Britain when the film was made but she was never better than she is here. Michael Redgrave, a star on stage, was making his screen debut and his is a lovely, dashing comic performance while the supporting cast are sublime. Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne are Charters and Caldicott, the cricket-mad Englishmen abroad; they made such an impression they were to reprise their roles in "Night Train to Munich" and "Millions Like Us".May Whitty, or to give her her full title, Dame May Whitty is Miss Froy, the lady who vanishes while potential villains, spies and adulterers include future Oscar winner Paul Lukas, Mary Clare, Cecil Parker, Linden Travers and the great Catherine Lacey as the nun in high heels. In 1979 it was remade by Anthony Page in full colour but none of the subtlety, suspense or comic timing of the original. That version was watchable but this is absolutely essential.
johndunbar-580-920543
Small wonder that every critic seems to agree that this film is remarkable; it hits the top notes on all aspects of what makes a great film. The wonderful team of Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne make it a masterpiece and probably Hitchock's greatest film.
grantss
Good Hitchcock thriller. A young woman is travelling through continental Europe on a train when she realises that an elderly lady appears to have vanished from the train.Intriguing plot, though gets too convoluted towards the end, and the final scene is rather tame and trite. Perfectly paced, Hitchcock gives you a thorough introduction to the main characters before spinning his web of intrigue. For a thriller, the mood is actually quite light and humorous, rather than dark and edgy, which helps the movie speed along.Good performances all round. Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood are excellent in the lead roles.
Adam Peters
(86%) The opening scenes set in an alpine hotel are like the lines on an old man's face. They really do highlight how old this film is. Not to say that they are bad, they are just of a time long gone. But once this gets going it's as thrilling as any well made modern production of the past twenty- five or so years. As like most Hitchcock movies the female lead character is painfully pretty; but the tone here is a touch lighter than most, which if anything works better than it it had overly serious one. The exciting and well handled shoot-out action towards the end is not something you get too often in movies of this age; and really if it's a classic entertaining mystery flick you're after then this is pretty much a perfect target.
