Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4245 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-08-18
• Rating: Parental Guidance
• Formats: Black & White, PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 92 minutes

Synopsis
When a young woman on a train meets a charming old lady who promptly disappears, the other passengers deny having seen her, leading the young woman to suspect conspiracy. Hitchcock's final low-budget U.K. production before leaving for Hollywood stands as an extremely deft cocktail of comedy, romance, and suspense.

Customer Reviews

A classic by any definition
Many films since have tried to make hay out of a similar concept, just how can a woman go missing from a moving train without anyone seemingly having seen her, but none have ever made for a movie quite as good as this genuine classic from 1938.

Of course the audience knows that Miss Foy, a delightful turn from Dame May Whitty, was on the train and we soon learn the reasons why the other passengers don't believe, or won't back up, Iris Henderson (another great turn from Margaret Lockwood) when she insists that the old woman has, well, vanished. Two bumbling Englishmen don't want to miss the test cricket, a lawyer doesn't get involved because he's in the middle of an illicit romantic affair.

When it was remade in 1979, badly, the action almost immediately cut to everyone meeting on the train; here almost 20 minutes elapses before we get to that point and the time invested at the beginning in this filling out of the story pays off superbly when the crunch comes further down the line giving the viewer a greater, and more logical, insight into the intimacy that has developed between the characters.

Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave share a flirtatious rapport and the humour in the film is charming in the extreme. Throw in a little pre-war propaganda (although on this note, its interesting to watch the bumbling Englishmen of Charters & Coldicutt) and you have an admittedly light concoction, but one that is perfectly assembled. And as numerous subsequent attempts along the same lines have proved, it's impossible to improve on perfection.

FABULOUS 1930s CLASSIC!

One of the greatest movies from the 1930s!

Margaret Lockwood stars as a passenger on a train who is befriended by an elderly lady (Dame May Whitty) after receiving a bang on the head. The plot thickens when Miss Froy (Whitty) goes missing, but no one on the train will admit to ever having seen her.

Lots of suspense in this, and not a boring moment! This can be watched over and over and still remains as fresh as the day it was made! This classic suspense movie will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time! Includes a galaxy of stars, with some outstanding performances - particularly those of Catherine Lacey (the nun), Linden Travers, Dame May Whtty and of course Lockwood herself.

Also stars a young Googie Withers.

Fabulous!

All aboard for fun
Spunky Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) boards a train in Eastern Europe on her way to be married in England. Aboard are a colorful assortment of characters including two cricket-obsessed eccentrics, a suspicious couple having an illicit affair, and a rather scary magician. One bright note is an elderly governess, Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) whom Iris befriends. As the trip gets underway, the old lady promptly disappears and no one seems to have seen her except Iris, who did suffer a bop on the head earlier and may have imagined her.

While the basic plot is a lot like Flightplan, this 1938 Alfred Hitchcock suspense story is full of comedic touches. The quirky characters are well-developed and appropriately silly or menacing and I was kept interested and guessing until the end. Lockwood is quite likeable as the spirited heroine and Michael Redgrave is fun as her joking yet sympathetic new friend.

The movie loses a star because model trains and bad indoor-for-outdoor sets are obviously used and in a shootout, two pistols hold at least a hundred bullets. But the overall mood is exciting as well as playful; indeed, this is a good mystery that doesn't take itself too seriously. Recommended.