tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post7208804265903781955..comments2024-03-28T18:49:48.571-04:00Comments on Joe Torcivia's The Issue At Hand Blog: DVD Review: The Lady Vanishes (1938) Joe Torciviahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-71725180412410602482013-09-01T15:59:30.783-04:002013-09-01T15:59:30.783-04:00That’s got to be correct, Scarecrow! And, thanks ...That’s got to be correct, Scarecrow! And, thanks for clearing it up in more detail. I think the Commentary Track should have expressed it just a tad more precisely. <br /><br />Then again, he gets MANY extra points in by book, just for mentioning VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA – and at precisely the moment (while listening to the commentary) that I was thinking the very same thing!Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-24929199466209248472013-09-01T11:55:49.015-04:002013-09-01T11:55:49.015-04:00Hitchcock received his contract from Selznick whil...Hitchcock received his contract from Selznick while working on The Lady Vanishes, but before he started work on Jamaica Inn. Can't find the exact release date for either film, but TLV was apparently released in 1938 and JI in 1939. In two of my Hitchcock books, Jamaica Inn is listed as his "final" British production.scarecrow33https://www.blogger.com/profile/10552306802823617940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-54003097221936191032013-08-31T22:36:21.919-04:002013-08-31T22:36:21.919-04:00And, let’s not forget Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey M...And, let’s not forget Floyd Gottfredson’s Mickey Mouse newspaper strip classic of 1937-1938: <i>“The Monarch of Medioka”</i>. Those years would have made “Monarch” concurrent with the filming and release of “The Lady Vanishes”. Europe, between the two wars, must have been an irresistibly intrigue-laden sandbox for creators such as Hitchcock, Crane, Herge, and Gottfredson and more to play in! Maybe even more so than Casablanca! …Seems to me a good story came out of that place too! <br /><br />Oh, and to your earlier comment above, I watched the commentary track again and Bruce Eder says that “The Lady Vanishes” …<i>“ended Hitchcock’s British period”</i>. <br /><br />Now, he didn’t EXACTLY say that “TLV” was his FINAL British film, but I think you can certainly understand why I might interpret it that way, when formulating the review.Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-80564236298599265002013-08-31T09:28:15.496-04:002013-08-31T09:28:15.496-04:00Joe,
The "Ruritanian" (Balkan) setting ...Joe,<br /><br />The "Ruritanian" (Balkan) setting of this movie reminds me a bit of the settings frequently used by Roy Crane in his WASH TUBBS comic strip in the late 30s, or the kingdom of Syldavia in Herge's TINTIN story KING OTTOKAR'S SCEPTRE. Of course, the fact that the story took place on a train limited the amount of local color that could be shown. Still, it's as if a lot of creators jointly realized that the "fanciful Europe" on display in these works was about to dematerialize as dramatically as did Hitchcock's "Lady."<br /><br />ChrisChris Barathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-44373439512215261782013-08-30T22:18:58.664-04:002013-08-30T22:18:58.664-04:00Scarecrow:
I can only imagine the “model village”...Scarecrow:<br /><br />I can only imagine the “model village” was a directorial choice, because stock footage of an even-marginally suitable location that had nothing more than minimal bearing on the overall plot, and need never be seen again once the train got underway, would have been more than acceptable in a film of that vintage. …After all, the same technique would suffice for TV productions decades later. <br /><br />Somehow, I think I’d enjoy Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Froy! Though, for my money, the rest of the film should remain in the ‘30s. <br /><br />Based on the bonus film included here, Charters and Caldecott should have merited a film SERIES. Or, a string of SHORTS, at the very least! They were a very entertaining duo that managed to transcend even Hitchcock! <br /><br />Clearly, you have enjoyed this film in the past – and may even have this very same DVD, as you indicate a familiarity with the Charters and Caldecott film. So, yes… maybe we’ll cause someone to check it out for the first time! That’d be nice!Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-76321701561937037502013-08-30T20:14:50.757-04:002013-08-30T20:14:50.757-04:00Great review, Joe!!
The Lady Vanishes is a prime ...Great review, Joe!!<br /><br />The Lady Vanishes is a prime example of Hitchcock doing what he does best--suspense and mystery tempered with a little comedy and romance.<br /><br />I think his use of models was deliberate--but at the time, it was a convention of movie-making to zoom in on a doll's house version of the set before revealing the true set. It establishes the "willing suspension of disbelief" that allows an audience to enter into the make-believe world of cinema, and I think at some level the earliest viewers of this film "got" that idea. In other words, I think people of the time were more capable of "believing" that a fake-looking model village was supposed to be the real thing. Hitchcock does that. He blends artifice and reality so skillfully that one can readily be transported from one to the other. (There is a fantastic shot in "Foreign Correspondent" where--if I remember correctly--the camera zooms to a model plane flying through the sky straight into one of the windows and right through the window into the cabin of the airplane--an unbroken shot, or at least seamlessly edited! It's an amazing accomplishment for its day.)<br /><br />The same is true of many of the other conventions of older films that we look upon today as "hokey"--sentimental introductions scrolling on the screen, people walking in the foreground in front of a filmed background that doesn't always match up, car scenes with false-looking rear projections that don't necessary match with the territory the characters are supposed to be driving through, characters walking on a "treadmill" along a supposed sidewalk--the list can go on and on. These (to us) glaring inconsistencies and artifices were more common and acceptable in the 30's and 40's.<br /><br />Nice summary of the film...enough to tantalize one who is unfamiliar with Lady Vanishes into wanting to see it.<br /><br />There was a remake done in the late 70's which is not as bad as some critics have said--it lacks the Hitchcock touch, but still has many delights, such as the beautiful color photography and Angela Lansbury in the title role. Elliot Gould and Cybill Shepard are a bit embarrassing in the lead roles, but they do move the plot along. It would have been nice to see that version on a 3rd disc in the set, if such had been possible.<br /><br />I agree that the Charters and Caldecott film is very rich and rewarding. This is one of the better Criterion releases.<br /><br />I pretty much second everything you say in the review, Joe--I hope people are inspired to seek it out and watch it again, or see it for the first time.<br /><br />Good e-ve-ning!scarecrow33https://www.blogger.com/profile/10552306802823617940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-84141349508954048952013-08-30T20:04:15.204-04:002013-08-30T20:04:15.204-04:00That was my recollection too, Chris. But, it’s in...That was my recollection too, Chris. But, it’s interesting to note how the two commentaries differ. Joe Torciviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00421096229407174474noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5408368436169661319.post-75622039398256183032013-08-30T19:30:30.334-04:002013-08-30T19:30:30.334-04:00Joe,
Leff is correct regarding JAMAICA INN. Hitc...Joe,<br /><br />Leff is correct regarding JAMAICA INN. Hitchcock did that film after TLV and just before he moved to America.<br /><br />ChrisChris Barathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06845538037091279990noreply@blogger.com