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.
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