Hitchcock Films: The Lady Vanishes

The Wiz RECOMMENDS The Lady Vanishes Hitchcock's 25th credited film as director is an entertaining mystery that doesn't match his later work, but definitely shows the seeds of a future master at work. Hitchcock's penchant for bending story conventions and filmmaking techniques are definitely here: you aren't really sure who the main character is until the end of the first act. On top of that, he does some nice editing and directing techniques that play well with the story. But The Lady Vanishes isn't a masterpiece like Vertigo, Psycho or my favorite of his around this time: Rebecca. The way that the film progresses it's story is brisk and light, but it also lacks any character depth. The characters just stay as caricatures throughout, which helps the film glide smoothly but doesn't really give you much in the way of emotional stakes. But the film has a crucial problem when it comes to mystery at hand: there's an illogical reasoning as to why certain characters don't remember Miss Froy, the lady that vanishes. But honestly, the film is a fun time that goes by fairly quick. In honesty, it's a film that I would recommend...but only to those who want to get deeper into Hitchcock's filmography other than his much more well known thriller and horror films. Otherwise, it's a safe skip.