1-World Festival of Foreign Films
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"The Lady Vanishes"
1938
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Together with The 39 Steps, this inspired thriller catapulted Alfred Hitchcock to international fame. Cleverly combining comedy and mystery, satire and romance, The Lady Vanishes pits a retired governess (Dame May Whitty), a sharp-tongued debutante (Margaret Lockwood), and an eccentric music scholar (Michael Redgrave) against a ring of ruthless spies. The three begin as strangers on a tourist-filled train, but when the matronly lady disappears, the mismatched couple team up to find her. Cowritten by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Lounder, the mercilessly witty script features two cricket-obsessed Englishmen (comedy duo Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford) who only fear that the search will make them miss the big match! This early Hitchcock charmer remains one of his best.  New York Film Critics, Best Director. "Directed with such skill and velocity...the quintessence of screen suspense.."  Pauline Kael, The New Yorker. "Still as fresh and funny (today) as in 1938. There's a sheer pleasure in watching the way the plot turns so smoothly." - Tony Rayns, The Time Out Film Guide. Black and white.  95 minutes.