The Lady Vanishes (1938 Film) - Plot

Plot

A beautiful English tourist named Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) arrives back at the Gasthof Petrus inn with her two friends after a long hike, and prepares to return to Britain to marry a "blue-blooded cheque chaser" she does not love. A nearby avalanche has blocked the railway line, and Iris and her friends, as well as several other travellers, are forced to spend the night in this scenic "undiscovered corner" of Europe. Among the stranded tourists are two quintessential Englishmen, Charters and Caldicott—single-minded cricket enthusiasts who are rushing back to England to see the last days of the Test match. Also among the stranded are Miss Froy (Dame May Whitty), an elderly former governess, and Gilbert (Michael Redgrave), a young musicologist who is studying the folk songs of the region.

That night, Iris complains to the innkeeper about the loud folk music and dancing coming from the room above hers. She bribes him to take care of the annoyance. Later, when the musicologist Gilbert shows up at her room after being thrown out of his own room for his loud music, Iris has little choice but to ask the innkeeper to give him back his room. Meanwhile, Miss Froy listens appreciatively to a haunting ballad performed by a folk singer beneath her window. As she closes her window, the singer is murdered by an unseen villain.

The next morning, as the train prepares to leave, Iris is struck on the head by a falling planter meant for Miss Froy, who helps Iris onto the train, where she faints. Also on board are Charters and Caldicott, Gilbert, and an ambitious lawyer named Mr. Todhunter and his mistress "Mrs." Todhunter. After the train pulls away, Iris wakes up in a compartment with Miss Froy and several strangers. She joins Miss Froy in the dining car for some tea. While introducing herself to Iris—unable to be heard above the train noise—the elderly lady writes her name on the window with her finger. Soon after, they return to their compartment where Iris falls asleep.

When Iris awakens, she discovers that Miss Froy has vanished. The strangers in her compartment claim to know nothing about an English lady. Even Todhunter in the next compartment, who spoke with Miss Froy earlier, pretends not to remember her—wanting to avoid any attention to his illicit affair. Iris searches the entire train, but cannot find her elderly travelling companion. During her search, she meets up with Gilbert who agrees to help her straighten things out. They encounter Dr. Hartz (Paul Lukas), a brain surgeon who suggests that Iris is suffering from hallucinations caused by the blow she received to the head. Charters and Caldicott also pretend not to know about the lady—whom they met in the dining car—not wanting to delay their train back to Manchester for the Test cricket match.

With Gilbert still supporting her, Iris refuses to give up her search, even after another lady appears, dressed exactly like Miss Froy. Just as they begin to discover evidence of Miss Froy's disappearance, they are attacked by the knife-wielding magician, Signor Doppo. Later, they come to believe that Dr. Hartz's patient, whose face is covered by bandages, is in fact Miss Froy, who has been abducted for some reason. Before they can prove their theory, Dr. Hartz instructs his fellow conspirator, who is dressed as a nun, to drug the couple. Convinced they will soon be dead, he admits to being involved in the conspiracy and leaves. But the nun refused to poison them as instructed. Gilbert and Iris escape and are able to free Miss Froy and replace her with one of the conspirators.

When the train stops near the border, Dr. Hartz discovers the switch and arranges to have the train diverted to a branch line, where troops will be waiting. When Gilbert and Iris figure out what is happening, they approach their fellow passengers and inform them about the attempted abduction of Miss Froy and the danger they now all face. When the train pulls to a stop, a uniformed soldier boards the train and requests that they all accompany him to the British embassy. Gilbert knocks him unconscious, and another soldier fires and wounds Charters in the hand. During the ensuing gunfight, Miss Froy pulls Gilbert and Iris aside and reveals that she is a British agent. She instructs Gilbert to memorise a coded tune containing the vital clause of a secret pact between two European countries, and to deliver the tune back to the Foreign Office in Whitehall. After Miss Froy leaves the train, Gilbert and Caldicott are able to commandeer the locomotive and escape with their countrymen.

Back in London, as Gilbert and Iris prepare to say goodbye, Iris jumps into a cab with Gilbert in order to avoid her fiancé. Gilbert takes her in his arms and kisses her. When they arrive at the Foreign Office to deliver the coded tune to the authorities, Gilbert is not able to remember it properly. Then he hears the correct melody drifting in from an adjacent room, where they joyfully discover Miss Froy, who has made it back safely after all, playing it on the piano.