Lady Vanishes, The, was one of director Alfred Hitchcock’s earliest and most popular suspense motion pictures. The movie was released in 1938, shortly before Hitchcock left his native England for Hollywood, where he became one of the world’s most famous movie directors. The film has gained acclaim for its blend of humor and an exciting plot.
Most of The Lady Vanishes takes place in a train traveling across Europe. A young woman named Iris Henderson is returning home to England. She meets a charming old lady named Miss Froy on the train, and they strike up a friendship. Then Miss Froy disappears, and people on the train deny that she ever existed. Iris and a young English musician named Gilbert try to locate Miss Froy and involve themselves in an international espionage plot. The couple eventually solve the mystery and rescue Miss Froy, falling in love along the way.
Margaret Lockwood played Iris, and Michael Redgrave played Gilbert, his first starring role. Dame May Whitty was Miss Froy. The supporting cast of notable character actors included Paul Lukas, Cecil Parker, and Googie Withers. Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne added humor as caricatures of two proper Englishmen anxious to return home to England to attend a cricket match.
See also Hitchcock, Alfred ; Redgrave, Michael .
