Search - The Lady Vanishes [Special Edition] on DVD

Content Advisory: Suitable for Children Movie Release: 1938 DVD Release: 07/24/1999 Format: DVD - Black and White Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: Japanese, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 34 mins Studio: Delta Total Copies: 9 Genres: Spy Film, Thriller, Comedy Thriller, Psychological Thriller See Also: The Lady Vanishes [Special Edition] [Criterion Collection], The Lady Vanishes, Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, The Lady Vanishes, The Lady Vanishes, The Lady Vanishes [Criterion Collection]

The Lady Vanishes, Alfred Hitchcock's comedy-thriller, came at the end of his British period; this film's success brought Hitchcock to the attention of Hollywood. He would complete only one other British production, Jamaica Inn, before crossing the Atlantic to working for David O. Selznick on Rebecca. The film concerns the young Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood), heading home on a train after spending the holidays in the Balkans. Iris becomes friends with a kindly old lady, Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty) after Iris gets hit in the head with a flowerpot meant for Miss Froy. On the train, recovering from the blow, Iris falls asleep. When she awakens, Miss Froy has vanished, replaced by someone else in Miss Froy's clothing. Iris talks to the other passengers, a bizarre collection of eccentrics who think that Iris is crazy for insisting on there even being a Miss Froy -- everyone denies having ever seen the old woman. Finally, Iris finds a young musician, Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), who believes her and the two proceed to search the train for clues to Miss Froy's disappearance. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Margaret Lockwood - Iris Henderson
Michael Redgrave - Gilbert Redman
Paul Lukas - Dr. Hartz
Dame May Whitty - Miss Froy
Cecil Parker - Eric Todhunter

Laserlight's special editions of the early Alfred Hitchcock films are only special by dint of their brief recorded intros and tags featuring a rather muffled Tony Curtis, along with a trailer for an entirely different Hitchcock title (in this volume, for Shadow of a Doubt, one not actually in the Laserlight series). That said, the trailer itself seems to have been mastered from a good source, and while it has some softness that is typical of the period, the monochrome tones are very nice, with some subtle shading evident. Likewise, the sound is of good quality. The only other features are subtitles in Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese. The main feature is a nice surprise. Laserlight seems to have gone to extra lengths to locate a decent print from which to work, rather than settling either for the usual tattered horror or the traditional, circa 1983 tape master that looks as if it circulated through dozens of video companies. Mastering has not been simply a matter of letting the telecine and video machines roll either -- the full-frame image is a bit lacking in contrast, but is not overly soft or grainy, while print blemishes are limited to tiny speckles here and there. Black levels could be better, but the movie is quite watchable in this transfer. Sound is also treated well, left in its mono state, but apparently cleaned up a fair bit, with a nice frequency and dynamic range considering the source -- when the Germans are practicing in the hotel, the thumping on the floor has some depth to it. Dialogue is quite comprehensible, and there is minimal distortion, hiss, and hum throughout. Final verdict, then, is that if the Criterion Collection edition is out of the question, this low-cost edition is the one to seek out. ~ Steven E. McDonald, All Movie Guide