The Lady Vanishes (2013)

Good concept, poorly executed.

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

Blistering performances.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

This BBC remake of The Lady Vanishes reverts to the source novel, The Wheel Spins rather than the Hitchcock film from 1938.Iris Carr (Tuppence Middleton) is a self centred young socialite in the Balkans of the 1930s. Returning back to England by train she strikes up a conversation with an English governess Miss Froy and later alarmed by the mysterious disappearance of her. However no one else in the train remembers seeing Miss Froy, Iris thinks that some of the passengers may have a motive to lie.Luckily for her a handsome Englishman, Max Hare (Tom Hughes) comes to her aid and also lend some romance.The film was trailed as a dashing mystery adventure with romance. It actually came across as rather dull and creaky. The reason being the book it was based on probably is not that good hence why the Hitchcock film added certain plot elements and the comedic characters Charters and Caldicott.This film is actually rather flat, hampered by the lack of suspense and mystery.

The only reason I sat through this dreadful remake was because I am suffering from a persistent chest cold which prevents me from going out on Saturday night which is when I saw this televised version of the famous Hitchcock 1939 definitive film.I constantly was making mental comparisons with the latter.Oh how I missed the carefully crafted characters and humour that Hitchcock directed especially Charters & Caldicott.Instead we had two very boring women with whom I didn't care a fig.Even Hitchcock's Mr & Mrs "Todhunter" were 10 times more interesting than the characters in this 2013 telefilm.I agree with all the negative comments said above by other IMDb.com users.I suppose the actors felt lucky just being in this travesty considering most are out of work at any one time.This version was slow, tedious and lacked suspense & I don't care if the plot followed nearer the original author's novel.I didn't recognise most of the actors in the leading roles.

I'm writing this review because I really enjoyed this remake of "The Lady Vanishes" When I looked it up on IMB it had a low rating and not very kind reviews,after watching it i wanted to let others know Its very good. British TV at its best with an excellent performance from Tuppence Middleton as the socialite Ms Carr and the wonderful Tom Hughes. The Vicar and his wife were also very convincing and very real performers. This is my favorite period in history, just before the war, the clothes are wonderful with the young people rich and glamorous seemingly having it all with there frivolous fun filled holiday in Italy, with the other hotel members frowning on there loose morals, Ms Carr the rudest of them. This is all very well set up as the train journey begins the story twists and turns with everyone playing there part so well as the suspense is building. Its a top notch remake of a great story with the best ending! Very well done by all the actors involved.

Based on the 1938 Hitchcock thriller of the same name (which I haven't seen), this looked like rather a good whodunnit. The cast if full of young up-comers and old stalwarts, many of whom seem to be doing the rounds in British TV at the moment. The premise: a beautiful young socialite, Iris Carr, is making her way back to England by train after a Balkans holiday and finds herself befriended by a kind older lady who calls herself Mrs Froy. Disorientated by a fall at the station earlier, Iris drifts off to sleep, only to find on awakening that Mrs Froy has disappeared and nobody else seems to have seen her - in fact they don't believe she existed in the first place. Of course there are only two possible outcomes: the woman isn't real and Iris is barking mad, or she has genuinely disappeared and there's some sort of conspiracy going on. Unfortunately the final hour dedicated to resolving the mystery is slow-paced, boring and ultimately all a bit predictable. Apart from Sandy McDade and Tuppence Middleton, all the other characters are stereotypes who get to do very little with their screen time. Middleton is superb, tackling Iris's transition from petulant snobbery to concern and brave determination with aplomb, but the plodding script can't keep up with her enthusiasm. It's definitely a Sunday afternoon movie, and one you can watch with Grandma - just don't expect edge-of-your-seat thrills.