Desaparecida! (1938)

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

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Ethel Lina White (based upon the story by: "The Wheel Spins"), Sidney Gilliat (screen play) (as Sidney Gilliatt)

Stars:

Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Margaret Lockwood	...	Iris Henderson
Michael Redgrave	...	Gilbert
Paul Lukas	...	Dr. Hartz
May Whitty	...	Miss Froy (as Dame May Whitty)
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)

Storyline

Passengers on a scheduled train out of the mountainous European country of Mandrika are delayed by a day due to an avalanche, and thus get up close and personal with each other out of necessity in the only and what becomes an overcrowded inn in the area. Once the train departs, the one person who it is uncertain is on the train is a middle aged English governess named Miss Froy. Iris Henderson, who was vacationing in Mandrika with girlfriends before heading back to England to get married, is certain that Miss Froy was on the train as they were in the same compartment and they had tea together in the dining car, but all those people who can corroborate her story don't seem to want to do so. Iris' thoughts are easily dismissed as a possible concussion as Iris was hit over the head just before boarding the train. Iris will take anyone's help in finding Miss Froy, even that of an Englishman named Gilbert, a musicologist with whom she had a not so pleasant encounter at the inn the evening ...

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Plot Keywords:

train movie | train | disappearance | psychological manipulation | manipulative behavior | 

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Taglines:

Comedy! Chills! Chuckles! in a Mystery Express!

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

M/12

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German French Italian

Release Date:

1 June 1942 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Desaparecida!

Filming Locations:

Islington, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gainsborough Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (British Acoustic Film Full-Range Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While in the baggage car, Gilbert and Iris playfully acting along as Sherlock Holmes and Watson, Gilbert offers a Trichinopoly cigar (although the prop itself is a fountain pen) to Iris as a sort of prize in an earlier observation. A Trichinopoly cigar was an important clue in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "A Study in Scarlet", the first Sherlock Holmes story.

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Goofs

The way Iris leans on her pillow when Gilbert enters her room changes between shots.

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Quotes

Gilbert: Never climb a fence if you can sit on it.

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Crazy Credits

Closing credits: The Characters in "THE LADY VANISHES" were played by:

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Alternate Versions

A brief segment where the hotel maid bends down to pick up a hat from under the bed in the hotel room she shares with Charters and Caldicott discover they have to share a bedroom is missing from most US releases, including the original 1-disc DVD from Criterion but is intact in all European editions of the film. It has been restored for Criterion's 2-disc remastered edition of the film.

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Connections

Referenced in A Família Bellamy: All the Things You Are (2012)

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Soundtracks

Colonel Bogey March
(1914) (uncredited)
Music by Kenneth Alford
Hummed by Michael Redgrave

User Reviews

An Early Hitchcock Classic

Although Hitchcock was noted for his wit and often sprinkled his films with wickedly funny moments, he seldom gave comic elements such a free reign as he did in THE LADY VANISHES, which is among the most memorable of his early British films. Charmingly cast with Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, and Dame May Witty in the leads, the extremely witty script mixes 1930s romantic froth with increasingly tense suspense in the story of sharp witted young woman (Lockwood) who befriends an elderly lady (Witty) during a train journey--and is extremely disturbed when, as the title states, the lady vanishes.

Many regard this as the best of Hitchcock's early work, and it is easy to see why: the film demonstrates his growing talent for building suspense from an unlikely mix of the commonplace and the incredible. He is also remarkably blessed in his cast, with Lockwood and Redgrave possessing considerable chemistry and Dame May Witty particularly endearing in one of the character roles at which she so excelled; the supporting cast is also particularly memorable.

Hitchcock guides them all with never a misstep through a complex script that progresses from very lighthearted to extremely sinister and then back again, and the result leaves audiences with both the satisfaction of a well-made thriller and the glow of a romantic comedy. Although it lacks the subtle tones of his later work, THE LADY VANISHES is among my own favorites by Hitchcock, and fans who have never seen it are in for a real treat. Highly recommended.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer