ENTERTAINMENTS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 60, Issue 304, 1 October 1940, Page 2

ENTERTAINMENTS.

ST. JAMES THEATRE. S ' England scores heavily with “The Lady Vanishes,” which is now at the St. James. Here is a film which any Hollywood producer might have wished to make, hut perhaps of all producers, only Alfred Hitchcock could have given it intensity, lightness and humanity. It is an accomplishment to achieve a train mystery with an entirely new angle, with people so beautifully natural that you live the story with them, with absurdities which bring almost incessant laughter, and yet with a climax so tense that you lean forward lest you miss a movement, a syllable. The lady who vanishes is an English governess, She is travelling alone, just as Margaret Lockwood is travelling alone. Following some deliciously and beautifully handled scenes in an Alpine hotel, the governess, excellently portrayed by Dame May Wliitty, and Margaret Lockwood find themselves together in a railway carriage. From then on the intriguing story moves with gloriously etched light and shade to an admirable climax. The players are all to he commended. Michael Redgrave is utterly unlike 'the typed manly hero of the screen. His understatement is masterly, and his casualness perfectly fits the role of Gilbert. Hailed as a screen find, lie is certainly that and much more, for his acting marks him out among a thousand players. Margaret Lockwood is pretty enough for any film fan, and has the advantage of being able to suggest high intelligence. As the two selfish Englishmen, Naunton Wayne and Basil Radford, could scarcely have been bettered. It is not possible to command support for any picture, however good, hut “The Lady Vanishes” certainly deserves the heartiest commendation which audiences can give. Gainsborough Films and Gaiimont-British-Dominions are to bo congratulated.