Tuesday, 4 May 2021

THE LADY VANISHES 2013

 

I’ve just watched the BBC’s new dramatization of The Lady Vanishes and I have to say hats off to Screen Writer Fiona Seres who reworked the Hitchcock classic to the point that only the title remained.

I should say that the excellent cast should in no way feel any responsibility for this flop after all you can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear.

I can only assume that she had never seen the original 1938 version of the British comic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and Written by Sidney Gilliat and Frank Launderand.

This classic starred Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave and was both critically acclaimed as a masterpiece and was a box office smash.

Even director Anthony Pages 1979 remake, though a pale imitation of Hitchcock’s original, was a far superior offering than the one served up last night.

Ms Seres should also be commended not only for the Lady Vanishing but also the iconic characters, Charters and Caldicott, on top of which she managed to vanish any hint of suspense.

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