The film opens on another gorgeous model shot. It is a small mountain town, covered in snow. The camera zooms into the hotel where we see the lobby is filled with people, staying warm by the fire and waiting for their train. After the desk manager gets a phone call, we realize that the train is delayed due to an avalanche. He makes the announcement in four different languages, ending in English. The two English gentlemen who have been waiting for the train, and now have to book a room end up having to share the maid's room. This is the first appearance of Caldicott and Charters. They are quintessential English travelers who are consistently debasing and making fun of other countries, cultures, and languages. I believe that this choice was made for humor, but somewhat of a backbiting humor trying to show what bad travelers may be, or how ethnocentric the English are at times. As stated, since English was the last language, Caldicott (Naunton Wayne) and Charters (Basil Radford) were the last two people to try to get rooms. They are told they can have the maids room, which has one bed, but the maid will have to come in and change clothes in that room. They do not have an issue with this.
While all this is going on, three girls walk in, stroll upstairs, asking for dinner, and acting like they own the place. One of these girls is Iris, played by Margaret Lockwood. It ends up that the room above hers is taken by Gilbert Redmen (played by Michael Redgrave) who is in the area studying the music and dances of the local people. Late at night while Iris is trying to sleep, Gilbert is above her playing a clarinet and having three people dance - which is keeping Iris awake. She calls down to the front desk and arranges for him to be kicked out of his room. Naturally he forces his way into her room and decides that is where he will spend the night as she is the reason he doesn't have a bed. In the classic, awkward, nonconsensual Hitchcockian way - this is clearly the start of a romance. Elsewhere in the hotel is an elderly lady, Miss Froy (played by Dame May Whitty), who has been sitting in the window of her room listening to a singer sing a strange melody. We see as the singer get strangled and the music stops. Miss Froy closes her window and goes to bed.
The next morning, we see the maid come into Caldicott and Charter's room to change. Oddly one of them gets out of the bed but is wearing the top half of a pair of pajamas. The other one stays in bed and is shirtless - but in the back we see the missing pajama parts hanging as if to dry. There is no explanation to this. They are worried about getting the results to the cricket match that is being played in England. These two are often the comic relief in this film, and it is charming in a way. Everyone makes their way to the train station. There is a mix-up where Miss Froy drops her glasses and Iris picks them up. As Iris takes them over to give to Miss Froy, who is bent over looking at luggage, a window box is dropped from the window above the luggage. Due to some movement, it hits Iris on the back of the head...but was it actually an accident? was it intended for Miss Froy? They all get on the train. Miss Froy and Iris share a compartment with others. At one point, Iris takes a nap and when she awakes Miss Froy is gone. Everyone in the compartment claims that there was no English lady with Iris...the lady vanishes.
This 1938 film was based on The Wheel Spins by Ethel Lina White. This film keeps you guessing until the end. Yes, there is a very odd McGuffin that I have no idea how it would work. However it does add a fun element to the story. There is also a fight with a magician which involves some animals in the luggage car, and animals that are part of the magicians tricks all watching. Quite amusing. There is also some great use of models. The version I watched was from the Criterion Collection (spine #3). It is a two-disc set. Dist one has the film which is a restored, high-definition digital transfer, along with audio commentary by film historian Bruce Eder. The second disc has all the supplements: Stills gallery of behind-the-scene photos and promotional art, a new video essay about Hitchcock and The Lady Vanishes by Leonard Leff, excerpts from François Truffaut's 1962 audio interview with Hitchcock, and Crooks Tour. Crooks Tour is a 1941 feature-length Charters and Caldicott adventure. You may remember from the last post that these two characters are in this film, Crooks Tour, as well as Carol Reed's Night Train to Munich (which also has Margaret Lockwood). And yes, this film does contain a cameo by Hitchcock.
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