The Lady Vanishes, 1938



The beginning of this movie introduces several ladies. I always try to figure out who will be doing what before it happens, but I couldn’t tell right away who was going to vanish. However, I did see the beginnings of a romance and a few other forewarning details. The good thing about this movie is that it didn’t give away too much.

In a nutshell, the title is the plot. A lady disappears and is searched for. The bad guys hope the lady isn’t found. They hope the person looking for the lady gives up with a shrug and says, “Oh well. I tried.” But they didn’t plan for the persistence in the woman searching. Of course the bad guys lie about their involvement. That only makes the woman searching more determined to find someone who will believe the truth.

Very well directed by Alfred Hitchcock, most of this story takes place on a train. There are very few places in which a lady can be hidden on a train, but many places to search. It was funny seeing the perspectives of innocent bystanders (two guys chatting about cricket) and how they chose to either participate or not.

 I enjoyed Michael Redgrave’s performance as Gilbert, which was his film debut. He made his character likable, even though others thought he was self-absorbed, arrogant, or unpleasant at times. When he gives a woman the benefit of the doubt, he finds there are benefits to believing the truth.

Dame May Whitty’s role was important to the story, so casting her in that role was a very good decision. She’s been fabulous in every film I’ve seen her in, and she was fabulous here too.

Another bonus in this film is the word indubitably used in dialogue. Don’t you love hearing that word in a film? It usually makes me laugh. Aside from the comedic moments, this was a well-written, suspenseful movie.

Benefits of Believing



If Bobby said to Billy in the heat of summer, “I have an ice cream cone in my car. Do you want it?” Billy has to decide whether he trusts Bobby. If Billy is a stranger, he might not believe him. If Billy has deceived him before, he probably won’t believe him. If Bobby is a friend, but Billy knows the car has been in the hot sun for an hour, he might not believe him. If Billy’s mother said there was an ice cream cone in the car, Billy might run to the car in expectation of finding it.

You don’t believe earthly things? How will you believe spiritual things? This idea, as paraphrased from John 3:12, reminds us that we have to trust the messenger. Jesus taught about spiritual things in parables, which were pictures of natural, earthly things. Those who ignored the point of his earthly stories also didn’t get the spiritual point. We have to believe simple things before we can move on to more complex things.

I’ve shared more on this topic at Seek God With Me. Join me today.

Come back this weekend to see my review of a movie about a woman who tries to get others to believe she’s telling the truth. Will anyone trust her enough to take action?


The Girl Was Young, 1937


Alfred Hitchcock directed this suspenseful movie with a love story carefully layered in. Robert Tisdall discovers a dead actress and is accused of killing her. He must prove his innocence with the help of Erica, the police chief’s daughter.

A coat belt was found to be the murder weapon of the strangled woman. Tisdall was asked if he had a coat that could have had a belt like it, and, being honest, he admitted he did. Two girls claimed that they were the first to have found the dead woman when they saw him running away. He is arrested, but he escapes. For the rest of the movie, the young couple tries to gather the evidence Tisdall needs in order to clear his name.

The police chief’s daughter had a soft spot for the innocent man because she helped him when he fainted. When he came to, she was a welcome sight for him. The relationship developed over a short time, but their interested-yet-hesitant regard for each other made them charming to watch.

Acting On The Truth

How many of us find out important information and then, because we don't trust the messenger, we disregard it? There are some truths that should never be ignored, even if they're inconvenient for us to act on.

Today at Seek God With Me, I'm sharing what happened to a group of people who acted on the truth they heard. The truth was about someone they didn't know well, but they acted anyway. They were relieved to find that their actions saved the lives of many.

Enjoy the devotional today and then come back for a Hitchcock movie review later in the week.

The movie review I'll share this weekend is about a woman who has to trust the information she gets from a man. First, she has to believe him, and then she has to act on that truth to help save his life.

The 39 Steps, 1935


When a man finds a woman he’s just met has been murdered in a his apartment, he leaves town on a train to save his own life. The next morning, he sees a newspaper article naming him as the murderer. He believes this woman was trying to stop an enemy spy, so he follows the clues she left him. He tries to find allies to help him, but few would believe the truth.

I’ve heard about this movie for years and finally saw it. The movie is an adaptation of the novel by John Buchan. When I found out it was a Hitchcock directed movie, I couldn’t pass it up any longer.

Robert Donat played the main character with extraordinary good humor despite insurmountable odds. I think anyone in their right mind would’ve freaked out a few times. However, the fact that he didn’t ever truly freak out makes me like the character more.

This is the same Donat who won his only Best Actor Academy Award for his 1939 performance in Goodbye, Mr. Chips by beating out competitors like Clark Gable (Gone With The Wind), Laurence Olivier (Wuthering Heights), Mickey Rooney (Babes in Arms), and James Stewart (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington). I cannot imagine heavier competition than that.

What If They Don't Believe?


When Moses had to give Pharaoh proof that he was on a mission from God to free the slaves, Moses let God to use him to bring plagues to Egypt. God’s people were spared, but the plagues showed up on Pharaoh’s people and their land.

What’s your proof that you’re on a mission from God?

Hopefully, you’re not threatening people with plagues. It’s been done. There’s a more loving alternative.

Today, you can join me at Seek God With Me where we’ll look at how to prove that you belong to God. Are you showing enough evidence so people will believe the truth about you? It’s hard for some people to take us at our word. Sometimes we need to have proof.

And come back for Friday’s movie review. This week’s movie is about a man who had to prove to a woman that he was innocent so she’d help him escape the villains who had framed him. As long as she refused to believe him, he was in trouble. He needed proof.

Murder, 1930


Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this suspenseful whodunit is packed with twists and questions. Although not as fast-paced as I’d like, I was still intrigued enough to hang out with the characters until all the questions were answered.

A young and very handsome Herbert Marshall is a juror in a murder trial and feels pressured to vote like everyone else in order to finish the trial and let everyone else get on with their lives. However, he isn’t sure he did the right thing. His only solution is to find the evidence to back up his belief that the convicted woman was innocent. If he can’t get the evidence quickly, his chance to save her will end with painful regret.

How does he do it? He only has a few pieces to the puzzle, but with determination and careful thought, he weeds through facts and finds new clues.

Who Will Believe The Truth?


Does your life prove that what you believe is truth?

Students are starting a new school year, so they’re receiving information that they assume to be true. If they don’t believe the new info to be true, the teacher must convince them. It takes a lot longer to teach a student who doesn’t believe what you say. Those who listen and believe can act on the truth and grow in that truth faster.

This month, I’m thinking about the question, “Who will believe the truth?”

I’ll be reviewing movies that all touch on that theme. The movies will also be connected by the fact that they’re all directed by Alfred Hitchcock. These movies take a look at how to convince people to believe you.

Today on Seek God With Me, I’m sharing a Bible verse from the sixteenth chapter of Mark in order to show that those who believe the truth will be able to find evidence. Is there evidence of the truth you believe?

I’m looking forward to sharing truth with you this month. Don’t forget to check out my devotional blog.