Saturday, January 19, 2013

The Lady Vanishes

One night in a very crowded hotel a Rich Heiress meets a Little Old Lady and a Friendly Dapper Cad, who turn out to be the two most important people on the train trip she takes the next day. Before boarding the train, a windowbox fell on Rich Heiress's head and Little Old Lady helped her onto the train and bought her some tea.
Rich Heiress then took a nap and when she woke up, Little Old Lady was gone and everyone on the train went to great lengths to tell Rich Heriess that Little Old Lady was never there at all. Luckily, Friendly Dapper Cad is on the train and believes Rich Heiress's story and helps her solve the mystery (which is good because she faints so often she'd never be able to figure it out on her own).
The Lady Vanishes was great; it sucked me right in (well, actually I didn't really feel sucked in until after the title of the movie happened. Before that there was a lot of time spent with two gentlemen who are trying very hard to get to a cricket match. The first ten or so minutes of the movie go to great lengths to convince you the whole movie's going to be about them) and for the most part I really enjoyed it.
The leads were very likeable though sometimes the people who were being no help were a little too obviously sinister. But overall it was a great, engrossing movie.
But something about it isn't quite sitting right with me. I guess it took a turn at one point. Not necessarily a bad turn, just not the one I was hoping it would take.
And good for the movie to keep me engrossed and guessing; I hate it when I figure out what's going on before the movie tells me. It takes all the fun out of watching movies to be sitting there predicting things. I've never understood people who are proud of their ability to know what's going to happen.
All in all, it's a solid Hitchcock movie. His cameo is at the train station near the end.

End of line.
-Sally

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