One of the last films Hitchcock made before going to America, he was clearly already comfortable with making comedy thrillers involving an attractive male and female partnership.
Nicely made and nicely judged though it is, The Lady Vanishes adds nothing much to the format that Hitchcock established with his ground-breaking and very modern 39 Steps from three years earlier. Indeed, there is much missing. The sexual tension, the energy, the driving wit, the sheer verve, the breathless pacing, the joy and arrogance of that earlier film are lacking here. It seems, at times, that Hitchcock is merely going through the paces. The greatest moments in The Lady Vanishes either involve Naughton Wayne and Basil Radford as the English caricatures Caldicott and Charters, or any of the minor supporting characters: the hotel manager, or the other passengers in the train carriage.
This is a watchable and entertaining film, but if you are looking for an early Hitchcock classic then turn your attention to the much finer 39 Steps.
Nicely made and nicely judged though it is, The Lady Vanishes adds nothing much to the format that Hitchcock established with his ground-breaking and very modern 39 Steps from three years earlier. Indeed, there is much missing. The sexual tension, the energy, the driving wit, the sheer verve, the breathless pacing, the joy and arrogance of that earlier film are lacking here. It seems, at times, that Hitchcock is merely going through the paces. The greatest moments in The Lady Vanishes either involve Naughton Wayne and Basil Radford as the English caricatures Caldicott and Charters, or any of the minor supporting characters: the hotel manager, or the other passengers in the train carriage.
This is a watchable and entertaining film, but if you are looking for an early Hitchcock classic then turn your attention to the much finer 39 Steps.