Many credit The Lady Vanishes with kick-starting Hitchcock's American career, gaining him the attention in Hollywood that would bring him over to the US where he would make his biggest hits. Soon after the success of this film he would make Rebecca, for which he would be nominated for an Oscar, and would cement him as one of the leading film makers of his age. Watching The Lady Vanishes it is clear why suddenly so many Stateside might have been excited about him.
The Lady Vanishes is a delicious mystery that makes one question what they think they know. It is the kind of story that might have inspired a Shyamalan or Nolan in the way it plays with our expectations and understandings. But it ends up feeling even more satisfying as Hitchcock works in elements of screwball romance comedy and action movie. The movie works on a so many levels, for so many audiences and its story is just deeply engaging.
Redgrave and Lockwood have amazing chemistry, with Redgrave especially being delightful throughout. The Lady Vanishes is just so watchable, enjoyable. I could watch the two of them go on and on.
And even more so the film explores the way women's voices get silenced and sets Lockwood up as a strong example of a woman that takes her destiny into her own hands, despite how many voices are trying to gaslight her. And as the film reaches its climax it puts women in the heroic roles we might not expect in that era. The damsels are doing the saving here. The Lady Vanishes is clearly playing with our expectations of what a woman's role is and for a film of its era was not what I expected.
Essentially The Lady Vanishes is a truly entertaining story. If I was a 1930s Hollywood producer I'd be trying to hire this director as well.
The Lady Vanishes
Starring: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Writers: Sidney Gilliat, Frank Launder
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