Die tödliche Botschaft

Its inevitable that this would be compared to Hitchcock's 1938 original but for me there are many pleasures to be had in this elegant comedy-thriller. Douglas Slocombe's Panavision photography is wonderful and the playing of all involved is beautifully poised. George Axelrod's reworking of Sidney Gilliat's screenplay adds a nice screwball touch with his one-liners and Ian Carmichael and Arthur Lowe as the cricket-obsessed British tourists add humanity to their chauvinistic bullishness. And as a self-confessed Angela Lansbury fan I of course relished her depiction of Miss Froy. On a big cinema screen this looks terrific.

There was no need for this movie to be made (but that is true for most remakes). The original is a classic and generally considered the best of Hitchcock's early British films. But if you forget about the comparisons and let this remake stand on its own, it's actually pretty decent: good-looking, beautifully scored, and well-cast, even in the secondary roles. The two leads are likably goofy (they do bring a 70's flavor to these 30's characters, which may or may not be to your taste), and male viewers will be glad to know that Cybill Shepherd spends the entire running time wearing a white dress that reveals her sexy back, arms and shoulders. If I can point one flaw in this movie, it's that the script doesn't build enough ambiguity - even people who don't know the story won't think for a moment that it could all be "in Cybill's head". But it's clear that the intention here was to create a light comedy-mystery, not a suspense classic. (**1/2)

I only wished this remake would have done the vanishing!

Awful remake of the classic Hitchcock suspense thriller that is marred by the idiotic casting of Gould and Shephard, who spend most of their time turning the mystery into laughs. Lansbury breathes the most life into the film as Miss Froy.

There's a strong tendency to compare Hitchcock's version of "The Lady Vanishes" with the 1979 version starring Elliot Gould, Cybill Shepherd, and Angela Lansbury. There's no need to do so. Both have the same title but entirely different moods. This doesn't make one "better" or "worse" than the other. They just should be judged on their own merits.

Both are thrillers, one more somber and tense, and the latter version more of a melodramatic mystery with comedic touches.

What I would suggest is that the viewer simply watch both versions, recognizing the strong and weak points of each. Both are enjoyable, but to interject a personal note, I tend to lean toward this 1979 version for its tone that's more like other mystery films such as "Charade" or "North By Northwest".

Enjoy them both as different cinematic expressions and let others worry about comparisons.

It's an unpopular and even downright blasphemous idea to remake a great Alfred Hitchcock classic. It is now, and it definitely was in the late 70s, when the Master of Suspense himself was still alive. "The Lady Vanishes" flopped at the box office, received harshly negative reviews, was the symbolical last effort of Hammer Studios, and still isn't very appreciated nowadays based on the other user-comments around here.

And yet, I personally feel that "The Lady Vanishes" deserves a bit more recognition and praise, and this for the plain and simple fact that I found it very amusing. The plot is still compelling four decades later, the cast is tremendous, Cybill Shepard never looked more gorgeous than here in her white dress, and random conversations about cricket were never as funny.

Reverting to comparisons between this version and Hitchcock's classic is inevitable, though. The 1979 update is undeniably weaker for two reasons. First, because here there never is any doubt whether there was a Miss Froy who suddenly vanishes from the train departing from Bavaria. Shepard's character Kelly is very certain of herself and doesn't allow anyone to convince her otherwise, and it also doesn't help that we follow Miss Froy (Angela Lansbury) throughout the entire "Sound of Music" reminiscent opening credit sequences as she walks down a mountain and checks into a hotel. Secondly, there's the hindsight effect. What I mean by this is that Hitchcock's original was made and released in 1938; - slightly more than a year before the outbreak of WWII. Hitch made fabulous use of the contemporary political tensions and social unrest, and it greatly benefitted the atmosphere of his film. Anthony Page, like every other director since 1945, is forced to approach the plot with hindsight and that simply cannot be as intense.

Never mind the negativity, though, and enjoy "The Lady Vanishes" with all its misplaced comedy and unspectacular action. Cybill's best line: "despite your ridiculous haircut, I'm falling for you". Because, let's face it, Elliot Gould's hair is quite silly.