The Lady Vanishes (1938)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Ethel Lina White (story)
Sidney Gilliat (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 November 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Spies! Playing the game of love - and sudden death!

Plot:

While traveling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Governess | Playing Clarinet | Passenger Train | Siege

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Margaret Lockwood	...	Iris Henderson
Michael Redgrave	...	Gilbert
Paul Lukas	...	Dr. Hartz
Dame May Whitty	...	Miss Froy
Cecil Parker	...	Mr. Todhunter
Linden Travers	...	'Mrs.' Todhunter
Naunton Wayne	...	Caldicott
Basil Radford	...	Charters
Mary Clare	...	Baroness
Emile Boreo	...	Hotel Manager
Googie Withers	...	Blanche
Sally Stewart	...	Julie
Philip Leaver	...	Signor Doppo
Selma Vaz Dias	...	Signora Doppo (as Zelma Vas Dias)
Catherine Lacey	...	The Nun (as Catherine Lacy)
Josephine Wilson	...	Madame Kummer
Charles Oliver	...	The Officer
Kathleen Tremaine	...	Anna
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man in London Railway Station (uncredited)
Roy Russell	...	Violinist (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Ethel Lina White		(story "The Wheel Spins")
Sidney Gilliat		(screenplay) (as Sidney Gilliatt) and
Frank Launder		(screenplay)

Produced by
Edward Black	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Louis Levy		(uncredited)
Charles Williams		(uncredited)

Cinematography by
Jack E. Cox		(photography) (as Jack Cox)

Film Editing by
R.E. Dearing

Set Decoration by
Alex Vetchinsky		(settings) (as Vetchinsky)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Roy Ward Baker	....	assistant director (uncredited)
Tom D. Connochie	....	first assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Maurice Carter	....	assistant set designer (uncredited)
Albert Jullion	....	assistant set designer (uncredited)
Albert Whitlock	....	scenic artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Sydney Wiles	....	sound recordist (as S. Wiles)
Claude Hitchcock	....	sound assistant (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Len Harris	....	camera assistant (uncredited)
Leo Harris	....	assistant camera (uncredited)
Maurice Oakley	....	location photographer (uncredited)
Jack Parry	....	location photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Alfred Roome	....	cutter

Music Department
Louis Levy	....	musical director
Cecil Milner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Other crew
Alma Reville	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Gainsborough Pictures (presents) (as GB Pictures)

Distributors

• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (1938) (UK) (theatrical) (as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Ltd.)
• Gaumont British Picture Corporation of America (1938) (USA) (theatrical)
• Nederland NV (1939) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Nova Film (1939) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1956) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Hal Roach Studios (1985) (USA) (VHS)
• Madacy Entertainment (1993) (USA) (VHS)
• United American Video (1997) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1998) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• LS Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Laserlight Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Divisa Home Video (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• Castle Communications (????) (Finland) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Park Circus (2008) (UK) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Cinema Life (2006) (Japan) (DVD)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• FilmAnnex (2006) (worldwide) (all media)
• Future Film (2006) (Finland) (DVD) (8-disc Hitchcock Classic Collection)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1969) (1989) (1999) (2009) (2010) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Excelsior Films  Googie Withers by permission of (as Excelsior Film Productions Ltd.)
• National Board of Review, The  reviewed and classified by

Also Known As:

"La dama desaparece" - Argentina, Mexico (imdb display title)
"Une femme disparaît" - Belgium (French title), France
"A Dama Oculta" - Brazil (imdb display title)
"Alarma a l'exprés" - Spain (Catalan title)
"Alarma en el expreso" - Spain
"Dama zniknela" - Poland (informal title)
"Desaparecida!" - Portugal
"Een vrouw verdwijnt" - Belgium (Flemish title)
"Een vrouw wist te veel" - Netherlands (informal literal title)
"Eine Dame verschwindet" - West Germany (imdb display title)
"En dam försvinner" - Sweden
"En kvinde forsvinder" - Denmark
"En kvinne forsvinner" - Norway (imdb display title)
"Ha-Geveret Ne'elmet" - Israel (Hebrew title)
"I exafanisis" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"I exafanisis tis kyrias" - Greece (reissue title)
"I kyria exafanizetai" - Greece (reissue title)
"La signora scompare" - Italy
"Londoni randevú" - Hungary
"Nainen katoaa" - Finland
"Starsza pani znika" - Poland (imdb display title)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | French | Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Full Range Recording System)

Certification:

Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-12 (1995) | USA:Approved (PCA #02144) | South Korea:15 (2003) | USA:Passed | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1939) | West Germany:16 (f) | Spain:T | Argentina:13 | Australia:G (original rating) | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Chile:14 | Germany:12 | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:A | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Gaumont-British Studios, Lime Grove, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK

Company:

Gainsborough Pictures

Trivia:

Charters and Caldicott (played by Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne) proved to be such popular characters that they were teamed up in other films. They reappeared in Night Train to Munich (1940) (also starring Margaret Lockwood) and Millions Like Us (1943), two films also written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder. They also starred in the BBC Radio serials "Crook's Tour (1941)" (which was also made into a film), and "Secret Mission 609." In 1985, they reappeared in the BBC Television mystery mini-series, "Charters & Caldicott" (1985), played by Robin Bailey and Michael Aldridge.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: In the noisy dancing scene above Lockwood's hotel room, the clarinet is shown with the mouthpiece turned with the reed upwards. Normally the mouthpiece is turned so that the reed is downwards, but in some European folk traditions the clarinet was played with the mouthpiece "upside down".

Quotes:

Gilbert:Can I help?
Iris Henderson:Only by going away.
Gilbert:No, no, no, no. My father always taught me, never desert a lady in trouble. He even carried that as far as marrying Mother.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Portraits: Alfred Hitchcock" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Colonel Bogey March

One of Hitchcock's Best!

"The Lady Vanishes" is one of Director Alfred Hitchcock's best British made films, in fact I think it's one of his all time best.

Set in pre-WWII somewhere in Europe, A group of people board a train bound for England after having spent the previous night in an overcrowded hotel. Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) befriends a kindly old governess/teacher, Miss Froy (Dame May Witty). When Iris is struck by a falling flowerpot, Miss Froy promises to take care of her as they board the train.

After having tea together, the two women return to their compartment where Iris falls asleep. When she awakes, Miss Froy is gone, totally vanished. The people sharing the compartment, "The Baroness" (Mary Clare), Signor and Signora Doppo (Philip Leaver, Selma Van Dias) deny ever having seen Miss Froy. Doctor Hartz (Paul Lukas) comes to her aid and is convinced that the bump Iris received to her head may have caused a memory lapse.

Iris then meets Gilbert Redman (Michael Redgrave) whom she had met the previous evening at the hotel. He offers his help. Skeptical at first, he soon comes to believe Iris' story. Eric Todhunter (Cecil Parker) and "Mrs." Todhunter (Linden Travers) deny seeing Miss Froy because they are in the midst of an extra marital affair. Two British "gentlemen", Caldicott (Naughton Wayne) and Charters (Basil Radford) though having seen Miss Froy with Iris, don't wish to become involved.

When Dr. Hartz brings a patient aboard the train, Gilbert and Iris become suspicious and.......................................

As was his custom, Hitchcock pits his heroine against all odds in her quest to find Miss Froy. The suspense builds as the situation becomes more hopeless. This would be a theme that the master of suspense would use throughout his career. He also liked to work trains into many of his plots, including this film of which three quarters takes place on board a train.

The scene in the hotel showing Caldicott and Charters sharing a bed (and a pair of pajamas) never would have gotten by the American censors. The relationship between the Todhunters as well, was quite obvious and rare for the American cinema of the day.

This is one of Hitchcock's best films and hasn't suffered because of age. Highly recommended.