571:"What we're competing with here is not the real picture but people's memory of it", said George Axelrod. "Hitchcock's film had some brilliant things in it, but as a whole picture you'd have to admit it's pretty creaky. The four or five things people remember from the original receive a homage in our version – which raises the question of when a homage becomes a rip off."
371:, the plot follows two Americans travelling by train across 1939 Germany. Together, they investigate the mysterious disappearance of an English nanny also travelling on the train. The remake's setting is essentially similar to Hitchcock's, but is openly set in pre-Second World War Germany rather than in the original fictional country. The Austrian fountain of
430:
The train resumes its journey and Amanda is attacked. Miss Froy's broken glasses are found and Condon now believes Amanda's story. They surmise that Miss Froy was lured to the baggage car and is being held captive — and that the heavily bandaged "accident victim" is in fact now Miss Froy. This proves
426:
When Amanda wakes up, Miss Froy has vanished. Her fellow travellers, including a German baroness, deny seeing Miss Froy and declare that she never existed. Amanda begins to doubt her own mental condition. She starts to investigate, joined only by a sceptical Condon. The train stops to pick up a badly
574:
Axelrod admitted the script was "not like the stuff I normally do, which is two people in and around a bed" but he agreed to do the adaptation because "this picture is actually going to be shown in theatres for actual people to see". Axelrod's involvement resulted from ABC TV wanting him to write a
439:
with a vital coded message (she hums a tune to them) that must be delivered to a senior official in London. She leaves the train and disappears. Condon, Charters and
Caldicot contrive to take over the engine and drive the train back to the main line and over the Swiss border. Back in London at the
434:
At the next station the train is diverted onto a branch line and only the buffet car and one carriage are left. The train stops and Helmut von Reider, an SS officer (son of Miss Froy's former employer), approaches the train, demanding that Miss Froy be surrendered. The passengers refuse and a
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The old films suffer technically against today's. The pace of modern films is much faster. The style of acting is different. Those old actors were marvellous, but if you consult the man in the street, he's more interested in seeing a current artist than someone who's been dead for
38:
674:
magazine notes that the script is "best when dwelling on
English eccentricity to make the film's most endearing impression...Shepherd and Gould stack up as contrived cliches, characters that jar rather than complement."
679:'s review agrees, writing that the two leads are "ruthlessly upstaged by loveable old coves Arthur Lowe and Ian Carmichael as cricket-mad Charters and Caldicott". It calls it a "watchable remake".
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That evening Amanda gets very drunk and is knocked unconscious. The following morning, badly hungover, she finds herself in a train compartment with Miss Froy, an elderly
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Foreign Office, the duo attempt to remember the tune she sang, then suddenly they hear someone humming the same tune. It is Miss Froy who managed to escape her captors.
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Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of
British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 302. Figures are distributor's gross.
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notes that "Comparisons are odious, but this remake of
Hitchcock's thriller continually begs them by trampling heavily over its predecessor".
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to be the case and Dr Hartz instructs his wife, dressed as a nun (with high heels), to drug their drinks, but his wife chooses not to do so.
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burnt and heavily bandaged automobile accident victim. Shortly thereafter, a "Miss Froy" apparently re-appears, but it is not her.
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Among
Axelrod's changes to the original were setting the new film in 1939 Germany, and altering the hero to a photographer from
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for ABC, but none was picked up. The rights then reverted to Rank Films, who asked
Axelrod to work on the film.
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666:, in the entry about director Anthony Page, says it is "about as witless and charmless as could be conceived".
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650:, assigned the film a score of 42 out of 100, based on five critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.
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is part of the setting. In addition, both leads have their nationality changed from
British to American.
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Tuohy, William. (30 December 1977). "PRODUCTION INCREASES: Fog Lifts on
British Film Industry".
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The consensus of critics is that the film suffers by comparison to
Hitchcock's 1938 film. On
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of Rank who agreed to finance. Williams had recently agreed to finance a remake of
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408:-Von Hoffsteader-Kelly, and Robert Condon, a wise-cracking American photographer.
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In August 1939, a motley group of travellers find themselves in a small hotel in
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gunfight ensues. Miss Froy chooses this moment to confess that she is in fact a
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962:. Manchester & New York City: Manchester University Press. p. 578.
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character." The script was constantly rewritten as filming went along.
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Tony
Williams Interviewed by Andrew Spicer, London, 18 March 2011,
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James Bernard, composer to Count Dracula: a critical biography
423:"larking about" with his mistress, and Dr Egon Hartz.
630:. It started public performances the following day.
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589:. He ended up writing three different versions of
726:"The lucrative case for believing in yesterday".
956:McFarlane, Brian; Slide, Anthony, eds. (2013).
562:; he defended the idea of remaking a classic:
1091:
581:(1974) – he suggested they buy the rights to
554:The producer formed a package and approached
8:
622:The film had a Royal world premiere at the
1368:Films scored by Richard Hartley (composer)
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600:and the heroine to be a screwball "rompy,
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614:were originally announced for the leads.
1338:Films with screenplays by George Axelrod
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781:
788:Mills, B. (28 January 1979). "Movies".
709:Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography
700:
814:Mann, R. (22 October 1978). "MOVIES".
809:
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19:For other films of the same name, see
1358:English-language comedy mystery films
852:"The Lady Vanishes (advertisement)".
707:Tom Johnson and Deborah Del Vecchio,
7:
914:from the original on 3 December 2022
689:Remakes of films by Alfred Hitchcock
626:in London on 8 May 1979 attended by
382:The film was the last production by
308:, based on the screenplay of 1938's
882:from the original on 6 October 2020
1144:I Never Promised You a Rose Garden
21:The Lady Vanishes (disambiguation)
14:
1363:English-language spy comedy films
985:"Film reviews: The Lady Vanishes"
1136:F. Scott Fitzgerald in Hollywood
997:from the original on 7 June 2019
959:The encyclopedia of British film
664:The Encyclopedia of British Film
730:. 18 December 1978. p. 11.
1333:Films directed by Anthony Page
1308:Films shot at Pinewood Studios
545:Peter Schratt – German Officer
419:, and "Todhunter", an English
1:
1328:Films based on mystery novels
1323:Films based on British novels
1303:Hammer Film Productions films
1348:1970s English-language films
1278:British comedy mystery films
1224:Chernobyl: The Final Warning
1022:. Accessed 1 February 2011.
578:Murder on the Orient Express
946:. Accessed 1 February 2011.
902:"The Lady Vanishes Reviews"
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1318:Films about missing people
1268:1970s comedy mystery films
870:"The Lady Vanishes (1979)"
369:1938 film of the same name
18:
1114:
35:
16:1979 film by Anthony Page
1313:Remakes of British films
1283:British spy comedy films
1216:Scandal in a Small Town
1128:The Missiles of October
1026:21 October 2011 at the
938:18 October 2012 at the
202:Hammer Film Productions
1273:1970s spy comedy films
775:accessed 16 April 2014
765:Michael Klinger Papers
711:, McFarland, 1996 p379
624:Odeon Leicester Square
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1120:Inadmissible Evidence
564:
213:The Rank Organisation
1293:Films set in Germany
983:Pit. (16 May 1979).
771:4 March 2016 at the
386:for 29 years, until
227:8 May 1979
1353:1970s British films
1298:Films set on trains
518:– Rose Flood Porter
322:, in turn based on
1106:Films directed by
1071:TCM Movie Database
417:cricket test match
293:is a 1979 British
1343:1979 comedy films
1288:Films set in 1939
1250:
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1160:The Lady Vanishes
1066:The Lady Vanishes
1055:The Lady Vanishes
1044:The Lady Vanishes
839:Los Angeles Times
816:Los Angeles Times
591:The Lady Vanishes
587:The Lady Vanishes
500:– "Mrs" Todhunter
332:. The film stars
311:The Lady Vanishes
290:The Lady Vanishes
286:
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31:The Lady Vanishes
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749:David Huckvale,
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648:weighted average
365:Alfred Hitchcock
324:Ethel Lina White
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167:Douglas Slocombe
105:Ethel Lina White
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524:– Evelyn Barnes
522:Rosalind Knight
462:Angela Lansbury
456:Cybill Shepherd
452:– Robert Condon
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389:Beyond the Rave
342:Angela Lansbury
338:Cybill Shepherd
329:The Wheel Spins
304:and written by
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326:'s 1936 novel
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306:George Axelrod
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858:. p. 21.
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1108:Anthony Page
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999:. Retrieved
988:
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916:. Retrieved
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884:. Retrieved
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384:Hammer Films
381:
373:Oberdrauburg
358:
327:
309:
302:Anthony Page
300:directed by
289:
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243:Running time
220:Release date
95:
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55:Anthony Page
25:
1240:My Zinc Bed
1232:Middlemarch
1208:Monte Carlo
1176:Grace Kelly
612:Ali MacGraw
583:Night Train
575:version of
534:Wolf Kahler
474:Arthur Lowe
468:Herbert Lom
464:– Miss Froy
350:Arthur Lowe
346:Herbert Lom
298:comedy film
149:Arthur Lowe
144:Herbert Lom
114:Produced by
51:Directed by
44:film poster
1263:1979 films
1257:Categories
1152:Absolution
918:3 December
907:Metacritic
753:(2006) 238
695:References
644:Metacritic
550:Production
516:Madge Ryan
506:– Baroness
470:– Dr Hartz
279:Box office
247:95 minutes
231:1979-05-08
194:Production
101:1936 novel
1192:Forbidden
886:3 January
824:158662943
798:171835421
634:Reception
487:Caldicott
413:governess
173:Edited by
117:Tom Sachs
83:1938 film
1060:AllMovie
1024:Archived
995:Archived
944:Time Out
936:Archived
912:Archived
880:Archived
820:ProQuest
794:ProQuest
769:Archived
683:See also
659:Time Out
536:– Helmut
478:Charters
421:diplomat
392:(2008).
260:Language
183:Music by
122:Starring
71:Based on
1069:at the
990:Variety
671:Variety
618:Release
437:courier
406:Mdivani
402:Bavaria
295:mystery
263:English
252:Country
229: (
196:company
1243:(2008)
1235:(1994)
1227:(1991)
1219:(1988)
1211:(1986)
1203:(1986)
1195:(1984)
1187:(1983)
1179:(1983)
1171:(1981)
1163:(1979)
1155:(1978)
1147:(1977)
1139:(1975)
1131:(1974)
1123:(1968)
1016:Review
1001:18 May
966:
933:Review
822:
796:
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