Sunday 29 July 2007
Sunday
I can't remember when I first saw Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes. After watching it yesterday, though, I can confirm it is one of the best films ever made. Saying that, however, I instantly hesitate. Is it a great movie, or merely a well made thriller? Perhaps you might ask if there is a difference. An obstacle to interpretation is all the cliches and conventions which seem overused to us, but were probably invented with this film - made in 1938. For instance, the man and woman hating each other but slowly falling in love is predictable, but I don't think anywhere else executed with such charm. Maybe there are a few weak plot-points, but there is also so much that is brilliant. The two Englishmen who just want to get back in time for their cricket match are the classic comic relief role - endlessly copied. Whilst the film is funny, it also manages to be truly threatening and sinister, something Hitchcock was always good at (the poisoned brandy, for starters), and the ending is magnificently satisfying. It's not surprising to learn, then, that this was the movie that launched Hitchcock to Hollywood.
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3 comments:
I too love this film. And the John Huston quote!
I was going to say that I think it was whilst we were living together that I first saw it, though I have no evidence to back this up.
More on the John Ford quote later this week! (Recommended reading in the Culture section of today's Sunday Times.)
I remember watching it with you. I don't know if it was my or your first time, but I also know it's not the only time I've seen it.
My guess is that we both watched it for the first time then, and I've seen it since.
It's a great movie and also a great example of the MacGuffin which is surely one of the most importantly missed features of modern film-making (Tarantino excluded) going.
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