The Lady Vanishes was one of the last films Hitchcock made before he left for Hollywood, and it's one of his funniest and most light-hearted efforts. This film is not for you if you cannot willingly suspend your disbelief. The opening scene depicting a railway station in central Europe has such extravagant camera movements that we can immediately notice that Hitchcock was using models to shoot it.  The plot is right out of one of those heart-pounding but feel-good adventure novels along the lines of The Prisoner of Zenda, The Thirty-Nine Steps and King Solomon's Mines.

The story revolves around a young woman Iris (Margaret Lockwood) on her way back by train to England and her fiance. Of course, as we find out at the end of the film, the fiance is nothing much to look at, and a much more handsome replacement-to-be (Michael Redgrave) is also going to be on the train. Basil Radford and Naunton Wayne play two slightly absurd English-gentleman stereotypes. There are some really funny scenes at the hotel the night before the train departs but I won't give away the punchlines. And then there is Dame May Whitty, the lady referred to in the title.  As you have probably figured out by now, all these people end up on the train and then the lady vanishes.  Iris is the only one who is concerned, but when she tries to bring it to people's attention they all deny the existence of the old lady. I don't really want to reveal any more plot details, but suffice it to say that funny twists and turns follow until things are resolved to our satisfaction.

This is one of those movies that is just fun to watch all the way through, despite the lack of staggering plot twists and the presence of some tiresome stereotyped characters. There's also some pretty clever use of music that you might miss at first glance. Once you finish watching the film, try listening once again to the music accompanying the opening credits.