Small Screen Scenes: BBC Home Entertainment's The Lady Vanishes Highly Recommended by Whom You Know Our Coverage Sponsored by Maine Woolens
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If you're in the mood for a stellar suspense film, look no further than BBC Home Entertainment's The Lady Vanishes. Like the 1938 Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name, this 2013 version, directed by Diarmuid Lawrence is based on The Wheel Spins, a 1936 novel by Ethel Lina White. The basic plot is fairly simple - it centers around the beautiful and wealthy young socialite, Iris Carr (Tuppence Middleton), whom we find vacationing in the Balkans with her friends at the beginning of the film. Although she appears to be at the center of their raucous merry-making, she longs for some time to herself and opts to travel back to England alone, instead of with the rest of her group. While waiting for the train to England, she passes out and wakes up to a massive headache and a lump on the back of her head. She manages to make the train (barely!), and finds herself seated across from an older woman (Selina Cadell), who introduces herself as Mrs. Froy, an English governess. She spends the afternoon with Mrs. Froy, taking her tea with the older woman, but eventually, her headache gets the best of her and she accepts an aspirin from Mrs. Froy and goes to sleep. When she awakens, Mrs. Froy is gone from the carriage, as is her luggage. When Lily inquires as to her whereabouts, her other carriage-mates, a mysterious baron and her family, deny that the woman ever existed. Certain that something is amiss and that Mrs. Froy is in danger, Lily takes it upon herself to find the missing woman, despite the fact that nearly everyone on the train denies the woman's existence, insisting that Lily is hysterical/delusional due to the "sun stroke" that caused her to faint earlier in the day. With the (somewhat reluctant) assistance of two of her fellow countrymen, the dashing young Max Hare (Tom Hughes) and his former Oxford professor, who happen to be traveling together on the same train, Lily begins a race against time to find Mrs. Froy before the train reaches its next stop in Trieste. Suspenseful and engaging from start to finish, with top-notch performances across the board, The Lady Vanishes is highly recommended by this panelist!
What a great mystery!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this remake of an old Hitchcock movie by the BBC. I had never seen the original, so didn’t know what to expect. Tuppence Middleton does a great job as Iris Carr! You follow her through her transition from spoiled socialite to determined detective, and she pulls it all off superbly. Many of other characters are somewhat forgettable, which all appears part of the director’s design so you’re left questioning things throughout. Though I thought I had the mystery figured out, I was on the edge of my seat! The viewer wants to believe in Miss Carr, but keeps wondering when people are going to come clean… or maybe it was a hallucination after all. Putting your own clues together with the ones Miss Carr tries to track down keeps you engaged throughout. Definitely try curling up with this mystery for an evening!
It's that time of year when you want to relax at home and be entertained. If you like suspense and mystery then you will want to watch The Lady Vanishes from BBC Home Entertainment. This thrilling tale will keep you on the edge of your seat guessing the ending. The Lady Vanishes is reminiscent of the Alfred Hitchcock movie from 1938. However new twists and turns deliver a fresh prospective. Set in the 1930s, we meet Iris Carr traveling by train she is introduced to Miss Froy or is she? When Miss Froy disappears the question becomes not only what happened to Miss Froy but did she ever exist? This thrilling film will surely entertain you with wonderful acting, great sets and costumes. Get ready to put your detective hat on. Enjoy The Lady Vanishes today, the recipe for a perfect October evening.
Quite a different atmosphere in this "remake" of the Margaret Rutherford suspense mystery vehicle. While staying in a 1930's time frame, BBC Home Entertainment gives us a thoroughly modern approach to the classic. With the preparatory scenes introducing elements of danger and suspicion, the young protagonist plays her part well. Placed in a situation where everything is topsy-turvy on a crowded train rushing through the Balkans, our young lady forges ahead. Usually wrapped up in mere superficial adventures she finds herself in a most compromising nightmare. Bound by her "strong personal reason" Miss Iris Carr pushes through denials upon discovering her tea companion vanished in a puff of smoke. BBC Home Entertainment gives us an intrigue that fascinates all. Not merely an update, or a redux, The Lady Vanishes is a suspense film that stands on its own. For those of you unfamiliar with the first film, now would be the opportunity to seek it out, and watch it. Not to compare, but to relish the differences, and appreciate another point of view. And I'm sure that the Ghost of Margaret Rutherford is nodding in approval in the background, for those diehard fans of the original.
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THE LADY VANISHES
Street Date: September 24, 2013
Length: Approx. 90 mins / single disc
A stunning new adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic 1930s thriller sees a beautiful, spoiled young woman risk her life to solve the mysterious disappearance of a woman on a train. Iris Carr (Tuppence Middleton, Spies of Warsaw) is travelling across Europe by train when she unwittingly becomes embroiled in a sinister Balkan plot. Feeling disorientated after a fall, Iris is befriended by Miss Froy, an elderly English woman sharing her carriage. But when she wakes up from a short sleep, Miss Froy has vanished without a trace. As fellow passengers claim the lady never existed, Iris fights to discover what actually happened – and prove that she’s not going crazy. Or is she? This release will only be available for sale on ShopPBS.org, BBCAmericaShop.com, and BBCCanadaShop.com.
