Text: Geoffrey O'Brien ( Geoffrey O'Brien )
Translation: Enemy with heroes
Movie Spotlight/Review, December 7, 2011
" The Lady Vanishes (1938)" is the best example of director Alfred Hitchcock's willingness to "give the audience a piece of cake instead of a piece of life" that Alfred Hitchcock often insists . Even the directors Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer in their groundbreaking research on Hitchcock gave up looking for the hidden meaning behind it—— Although they praised it as "an outstanding British film, an outstanding Hitchcock film"-they thought the film was "needless to say", and Francois Truffaut (Francois Truffaut) He claimed that every time he tried to study the special effects and mirroring of this movie, he would concentrate on the plot and ignore the (special effects and mirroring). Perhaps they were disarmed by joy, "The Disappearing Lady" is as pure as the joy that the movie itself brings to the audience; the energetic Ms. Froy, shortly before disappearing, talked about her name" Rhymes with joy", and in fact, the whole movie also exudes a cheerful atmosphere different from other Hitchcock films. Its core plot-the disappearance of a woman, everyone denies her existence except for the protagonist herself-seems to provide the perfect material for this kind of paranoid melodrama, and it will be in the 1940s a few years later. , gave birth such as "Phantom Lady ( Phantom Lady , 1944)" , "Gaslight ( Gaslight , 1944)" and "my name is Julia Ross ( my is is the name Julia Ross , 1945)" and other large genre, But here, the shadow of the conspiracy is offset by a bright and calm, almost Mozart-like tone of brilliance. Most of the time, we are more than excited and have no time to panic.
The film is presented in a more sporadic way than Hitchcock's habit. In 1937, he was at a turning point in his career. After reaching the forefront of the British film industry with " The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)" and " The 39 Steps (1935)" , Hitchcock and will soon take him to Hollywood The American filmmaker David Selznick (David Selznick) negotiated. However, he still had a contract with Gaumont British, and there was no progress in the script, so he participated in a project that had been launched and was actually almost run by American colleague Roy William Neal a year ago . (Roy William Neill) Execute the project for the filming. Although Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville made significant adjustments (especially the hotel scene at the beginning of the film and the shooting at the end), the script of the film (freely adapted from British writer Isaiah Reville) Ethel Lina White’s " The Wheel Spins " , a thriller that is not terribly horrifying, should still largely be counted as compatriot director Sidney Gilliat (Sidney Gilliat). ) And Frank Launder (Frank Launder) composed of outstanding screenwriting team work results, especially commendable is the richness of the language of this comedy, whether it is Ms. Freud busy appreciating "(Spanish painter Velazquez ( diego Velázquez) paintings) , "the seamstress ( La Costurera"The most fascinating part of "", as the "personal charter" of the supportive actor Basil Radford (Basil Radford) admonishes, "After all, people don't tie nuns everywhere!" "(As Hitchcock travels to the United States, Gilliat and Lawend — as screenwriters, directors, and producers — will remain in the UK and continue to work with a mixture of wit and thrill.)
The comfortable claustrophobia in the movie, from a hard-to-find hotel to a train carriage, reflects the dilemma of the British film industry, which was keeping a close eye on the budget (within this limitation, Hitchcock Mill Develop your own unique coping skills). According to Hitchcock, this was shot on a "90-foot-long set. We used a carriage; the rest are transparent or miniature." A place in the remote Balkans called Ban The enclave of Bandrika, "one of the few undiscovered corners of Europe", an open panorama of an ice-covered toy model railway station, brings a little sense of comfort; perhaps Hitchcock Ke is still a little boy who likes to collect train timetables all over the world. Facing all the innocuous (details) and feeling dizzy, it proved from the beginning that we are in a world constructed by film- the comedy of Ernst Lubitsch , Astaire and Rogers ( The same world that Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers has explored in their musicals-the worst thing that can happen here is the discomfort and embarrassment caused by a tired journey.
Accompanied by the above discomfort is a kind of calm but ubiquitous erotic drive, and its manifestations are also diverse: the narrow-minded and fanatical cricket fan Cowdicott and Caldicott & Charters (Caldicott & Charters) funny supporting roles ( Lennon Dayton Wayne (Naunton Wayne) and Radford wonderful partner, inevitably reminiscent of the classic comedy duo " Laurel and Hardy ( Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy )"), including their being Forced into the maid's room, and was disturbed by subtle sexual cues. The suggestive exchanges between Mr. Todhunter and the "wife" (as their identity title is vague), the former passionate love affairs between them have gradually cooled; the three cannot The resisting young British girl, Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood (Margaret Lockwood) ) and her boudoir friends, for a time made people mistake them as if they were from Bath Busby Berkeley 's musical choir went out of the ordinary. At this moment, it is only necessary to meet at midnight between Iris and the raunchy young folk musician Gilbert (Gilbert, played by Michael Redgrave) -as in the musical comedy movie " Top Hat (1935)" In a reprint of the first scene, she was so noisy to sleep in a Balkan wedding dance performed by a daredevil musician upstairs-to officially start this witty courtship comedy.
Frankly speaking, the emotional tone of this film is sexy. To some extent, it may be incomparable to the films that Hitchcock has since moved to the United States, even the most intimate exchanges (for example, the movie " Notorious ( Notorious , 1946) " in Ingrid Bergman (Ingrid Bergman) and Gary Grant (Cary Grant) is a lingering kiss) also appears to be excessively careful to lay out, and then the lack of adequate space for spontaneity. In contrast, Lockwood and Redgrave looked like the young men and women who had just met each other. Despite the troubles of their acquaintance, they still couldn’t wait to run away together (when they finally found out that each other was sitting in This relief is obvious when in the same taxi). This film may not only be a farewell to the homeland of England, but also a farewell to the lush years of a director who is about to enter the age of confidence. We will not forget that these young people are still on the edge of the adult world: Lockwood married the wrong person and hurriedly entered adulthood with care; Redgrave wandered in the unfettered free world for too long— —Perhaps it was also a prediction of Grace Kelly (James Stewart) and his wife in the movie " Rear Window (1954)" , but the latter approach is more youthful and less neurotic .
It wasn't until 24 minutes before the movie started that the first dark note of Hitchcock's dangerous atmosphere invaded the screen, strangling to death a serenade singer who obviously wouldn't provoke trouble. After that, the fascinating plot took over the film with surprisingly quick explanation. From the heroine-who was hit in the head by a pot of green plants that were originally aimed at Ms. Floyd-went into her compartment, and her fellow passengers who were strangely assigned to one room From the moment we face each other, we are firmly attracted by a narrative rhythm that is very calm and energetic. In just a few minutes, we saw the episode where she and Ms. Floyd were drinking tea. Here , Dame May Whitty strengthened an impression, which was unlucky the night before her. When the cricket fans of cricket meet unexpectedly, she has formed, that is, she seems to be the most humble and honest among British women, a poetic fantasies about the snowy mountains, but she is meticulous when preparing her afternoon tea , A slightly weird female tutor. Since she will disappear after a period of time, Ms. Floyd has to dominate everything for a period of time. Whitty did this and even went a step further: she gave us a deep feeling for Ms. Floyd, and her disappearance It seems to be an unspeakable insult and the least threatening attack on Englishness itself.
The turning point was the close-up shot of Whitty and Lockwood in the conversation between them sitting in the compartment of the carriage, the former humming the haunting melody sung by the strangled folk singer during his lifetime, while the latter fell asleep, and the time of sleep was determined by A montage of spinning wheels, cables, and railroad tracks are intertwined. She will wake up in a completely changed reality, and everything will become no longer reliable. The intimacy of the last eye contact between the two women was full of sadness, and it also inspired a series of scenes that followed: Lockwood and Redgrave were persistently searching around in the train corridor; the psychiatrist Dr. Hartz ( The appearance of Dr. Hartz ( played by Paul Lukas) , the theory of hallucinations that he explained smoothly, and all kinds of denial, cover-up, and secret exchange of scenes.
Finally, near the midpoint of the movie, Ms. Floyd's name suddenly reappeared on the dusty window of the dining car (a phantom that appeared or disappeared at the right time), embroiled Lockwood in a crisis , And she realized that even Redgrave could hardly believe her. This is a moment of great Hitchcock resonance. From her desperate rage-"Why don't you do something before it's too late?"-we have glimpses of the future and more moments depicted in pain: the movie " Shadow of a Doubt ( Shadow of a Doubt , 1943) " in Teresa Wright (Teresa Wright) outbreak in crime uncle know the secret of weight, taken in the US film " the Man Who Knew Too Much ( at the Man from Much the Who Knew Too , 1956) " in Doris Doris Day screamed in surprise because she had to choose between saving the life of a stranger and risking her own life, and the movie " The Wrong Man (1956)" which was released in the same year . in Vera Miles (Vera Miles) after her husband suffered unrighted wrong went crazy.
However, the film’s Margaret Lockwood is the first calf and the least experienced among the Hitchcock girls. What she experienced is not so much despair, but rather her rejection. The determination to break the casserole to the end. Her persistence in the reality she saw with her own eyes became her only conclusive guide in the maze of false chaos, despite the insidious Hartz’s repeated attempts to convince her that the missing Ms. Freud was “just a vivid subjective impression” . As he said, isn't the whole train a collection of vivid subjective impressions? From the magician’s rabbit looking around from a hat in a fierce fight in the luggage compartment, to a nun in high heels staring at a mummy-wrapped accident victim. This train of the European Express, boarded by the evil baron and grinning magician, is destined to be a special train with a dangerous future.
From start to finish, the film put Britain in a position to compete with the world, although the British characters in the film did not always give full play to their "advantages." Todd Hunter, the boring derailed Mr. (Cecil Parker presented his most imaginary and perverted play code) is a vivid portrayal of moral indifference, only Whitty and Redgrave have a foreign terroir. Renqing has a strong interest, regardless of whether they are slightly condescending or not. Wayne and Radford, as a pair of fan partners eager to return to England in time to catch up with the cricket match, they stole away effortlessly by virtue of their witty and carefree confusion about all exotic things from time to time. The audience's attention. However, such a movie that mocked Britain’s isolated and conservative island nation’s character and hypocrisy ended in a tribute to the courage and unity of the British, because almost every British character (except for the cowardly appeaser Todd Hunter, Waving the white flag but still being shot) The ultimate show is still a kind of heroic and unyielding nature: even the evil nun is in fact a good British girl who went astray, as for the casual pair of cricket fans, everyone When he was in danger, he transformed himself into a sharpshooter with a will of steel. Even Dr. Hartz-one of the most amiable villains-had no choice but to wish them "good luck" in the end. The climax of the entire plot is like one kind of "boys own ( Boy's Own )" magazine-style adventure novels heroic deeds of sublimation - just blood Radford hands a little too real. There was a terrible shock on his unsmiling face, as if a sign of a real threat, after all, it was inevitable that he would meet the movie in the end.
Back in the past, people are accustomed to seeing Hitchcock’s films after he moved to the United States as a period of decline. "A Lady Missing" is one of the things that film critics often use as a measure and critic of his later works. Benchmarks-lamenting the loss of their keen wisdom, free innovation, agile rhythm, and frothiness that is lighter than air-as if this is a symbol of stylized creation, if he stays in his home country , Maybe he will continue to shoot like this. But given that that year was 1938, the atmosphere of "A Lady Missing" seems unlikely to be easily maintained or reproduced. This is a soap bubble that belongs to that moment in history-or a statement that even in the face of the darkest evil forces in Central Europe, it will eventually win a fairy-tale victory full of humor and youthful vitality-it turned out at the very last moment of the movie For reality, such a beautiful soap bubble is not out of reach. We can watch it over and over again, just like children can listen to the same fairy tale over and over again, and we are surprised to find that even on the edge of the abyss of war, such peace and play can still flourish and grow.
This film review was originally included in the 2007 DVD version of Criterion Collection "The Missing Lady" .
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