THE LADY VANISHES - Blu-ray review

Criterion re-released "The Lady Vanishes," one of the first films to appear in the Criterion collection (Spine Number 3), in 2007 with a newly restored SD transfer and a two-disc set with several extras not found on the original release. In 2011, Criterion has given this 2007 release a welcome Blu-Ray upgrade.


When Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) awakens in her train compartment, she finds that her new friend Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) has disappeared. The people sharing her compartment insist there was never a Miss Froy. Iris remains determined and marches through the train, trying to find someone to back up her story, yet she is foiled by one coincidence after another. A couple who wish to remain secretive lie about it to protect themselves; two British cricket enthusiasts evade the question because they don´t want to risk any delay on their way to a cricket match. Later, Iris tries to convince Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) by drawing his attention to the name which Miss Froy had written into the rime-crusted window, but as soon as he turns to look the train rumbles into a tunnel and the name disappears from view. Poor Iris just can´t catch a break.

It´s almost enough to make you want to put your fist through the screen. Any of these tricks used in a film today would inspire charges of lazy writing, but for some reason Hitchcock always gets a free pass for the awkward and implausible coincidences that power some of his stories. Actually, it´s not just "some" reason, but a very good reason. The plot tricks that look tired and transparent today only look that way because Hitchcock helped to introduce them into the language of cinema. If that´s too grandiose a claim, let´s just say that the last 80 years of the suspense genre were shaped largely by Hitchcock and his writers.

Still, I still find myself frustrated by the excessive cleverness that sometimes reads as cutesiness in many of Hitchcock´s earlier suspense films, and that definitely holds true for "The Lady Vanishes" (1938). François Truffaut claimed that every time he tried to watch Alfred Hitchcock´s "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) for its camera movements he became too absorbed by the plot to notice. I don´t share that problem. However, the greatest pleasures of the film have little to do with plot, and more to do with the details. And oh what details they are.

Take the moment when the hotel porter walks into the room occupied by Iris and her two bachelorette friends. Iris, who will soon board the train to meet with her "blue-blooded check-chasing" fiancé, is reciting her future wedding vows. Hitchcock, already a "dirty old man" at the mere age of 40, breaks the scene into a series of fetishistic close-ups: one of Iris´ friend half-dressed, another of Iris´ bare legs and slip as she stands on the table, holding court. He dials up the fetish factor another notch when he shows us a nun in high heels, but that´s another story.

Then there´s the extraordinary way that Hitchcock stages a scene already ancient by 1938 where the villain tries to slip the heroes a poisoned drink. Here, the director and screenwriters Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launder turn convention on its ear. Instead of having the heroes toy with their drinks only to stop just short of actually knocking one back, the film holds on a long shot of the glasses sitting on the table. The conversation runs its natural course, everyone gets up to leave then, boom, and Iris downs her brandy in one swift motion. The next scene provides yet another twist on the formula.

Oh, and let´s not forget that outrageously staged fight between Gilbert and Signor Doppo (Philip Leaver). Obviously neither the proper Englishman nor the Italian magician have the slightest idea how to fight, so they grapple like fifth graders wrestling at recess, neither making much headway. They battle to a standstill so literal that Iris is able to position a step-ladder so she can reach up to bite Doppo on the hand.

Hitchcock and cameraman Jack Cox also work wonders with a tiny space. Hitchcock claims the studio was only ninety feet long, and that it was all filmed in a single coach car. The miniature town looks phony as hell, and intentionally so, but once we´re in the train car the setting is completely convincing. Rear projection creates the illusion of cross-country train travel, and Hitchcock finds so many different ways to explore this cramped set that it never once grows tiresome.

The film affords many other pleasures as well. Hetero life-partners Caldicott and Charters (played by Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford) nearly steal with the show with their dry, uninvolved color commentary on the film´s occurrences. Michael Redgrave excels in his first film role (aside from an uncredited cameo in "Secret Agent") as the multi-faceted Gilbert, whose British pluck and wry humor bowl over all obstacles and win the heart of the fair Iris.

"The Lady Vanishes" was one of the first Hitchcock films that succeeded in America. Just a few years later Hollywood came a-callin´ and Hitchcock moved to the States to film "Rebecca" (1940) as well as a few other films that you might have heard of in the ensuing decades.

VIDEO

The film is presented in its original 1.33:1 full-screen aspect ratio. The 2007 re-release represented a massive upgrade over the original early DVD-era version, and this 1080p upgrade provides modest but noticeable improvements on its standard def predecessor. The most noticeable upgrade is, as expected, in the amount of image detail, most noticeable in the décor/backgrounds of some of the tight spaces explored in the film. Close-ups don't pop like the sharpest Criterion high def offerings and there are some instances of damage visible, but they are modest for a 73 year old film.

AUDIO

The LPCM Mono track is surprisingly rich and needs to be, given a lot to juggle in Hitchcock's occasionally densely packed audioscape – it's dialogue central but the constant train sounds (from much of the film) are important as well, both when they are background or dialed up as more prominent features in a scene. All of the effects are well balanced so that dialogue, background audio, music, etc. each sounds crystal clear and well delineated in its own right. Optional English subtitles support the English audio.

EXTRAS

The extras have been imported from Criterion's 2007 two-disc release and condensed into one Blu-ray. While the 2007 release was a bit light for a multi-disc set, there was still some good material offered.

The film is accompanied by a commentary from film historian Bruce Eder. Eder´s commentary is heavy on background information, but light on analysis. His constant fawning over this "perfect" film also gets a bit tiresome, but he provides an extraordinary amount of information.

"Crook´s Tour" (1941, 82 min), directed by John Baxter, is an "adventure of Charters and Caldicott," a comedy featuring the duo that played a supporting role in "The Lady Vanishes." The pair became such a hit from the film that "Lady" screenwriters Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat used them again in other films as well as in a popular radio serial. This film is based on one of the radio programs.

"Mystery Train" is a short (33 min) feature in which film scholar Leonard Leff discusses the film in more detail, placing emphasis on its political subtext.

The best feature of all is the all-too-brief (10 min) excerpt of a 1962 audio interview between Hitchcock and Truffaut which is accompanied with scenes from the film.

A Stills Gallery rounds out the collection.

The insert booklet includes essays by Geoffrey O´Brien and Charles Barr.

FILM VALUE

Criterion's 2007 SD re-release was a substantial upgrade on the old version. This 2011 Blu-ray upgrade of the 2007 version is a more modest improvement, and not a must-buy for owners of the 2007 release. My annoyance with the most contrived of the film's contrivances aside, "The Lady Vanishes" was one of the first films in the Criterion Collection for a good reason, and this high-def presentation represents the best version anyone is likely to see.