Arthur lowe and ian carmichael as the two old english gents Charters and Caldicott, on their way back to the test match at lords, were comic gems sadly missing in this effort!
The lead character in this adaptation was so pushy and self obsessed she was insufferable.
So this remake isn't as good as the previous remake which was a flop & awfully reviewed? Personally I enjoyed it.
You realise the original was made in 1939 by Hitchcock and is considered a masterpiece?
I thought it was quite good, the lead actress played the role well. I understand remakes need a twist but I agree with another poster that Mitchel and Webb would have slipped in nicely as the comic turn of the cricket fans.
shareThe Lady Vanishes is based on a novel, The Wheel Spins, by Ethel Lina White. I haven't read it, but I've just read several synopses of the story on the internet (which I acknowledge isn't the same thing) and this latest production appears to follow the novel quite closely. It seems that Hitchcock made a number of changes in his film.
To the poster who said that the lead was insufferably pushy and self obsessed, I think that was the point. Miss Carr is meant to be a rich and selfish socialite - who becomes less selfish as the story progresses.
Who knows where the time goes?
Hitch always made more than just a number of changes. Strangers on a Train hardly resembles Patricia Highsmith's novel when you start adding up the psychological balance sheet.
I glued myself to this because I have been waiting for Tuppence Middleton to get a role she could get her teeth into and she does seem to be quite busy now. Thankfully.
As an adaptation of White's novel, it was really successful. She was great as a non-archetypal, bright young thing with bad manners, vile bodies for chums and a nice, fresh line in selfish, hoity-toity English superiority. ('Air nyeeeair', said the Baroness Midfordshire, leaving the Viennese railway platform by the gate that didn't say "Foreigners'. "Hyme not a foreigner. You're the foreigners".)
But standing in the shadow of Hitch's original, shorn of all his brilliant additions, it looked pale and ended far too abruptly, without giving all the abominable Brits a chance to redeem themselves.
If you watch the remake of Psycho, or Steve Martin's recreation of Clouseau, you are left thinking why on earth did these people want to show everyone the gulf between themselves and masters like Hitchcock or Sellers?
And that's what happened here, really. Great central performances but it all ended before the main course that everyone will have been waiting for. Because when it comes to it, 'it' being film, Hitch is a much better storyteller than White.
No shame, because he's a much better storyteller than anyone. But it does make you wonder why people keep proving this by tinkering with his work.
SPOILERS
Hi alfa.
Perhaps they should have called it The Wheel Spins, to avoid comparisons with the film. (Although The Lady Vanishes has a better ring to it.)
I enjoyed it, though I agree the ending was a bit rushed. But I liked the way the British passengers all had their own reasons for lying and weren't, after all, part of some conspiracy. I can't remember how this disclosure was handled in the film - it's been years since I saw it.
Who knows where the time goes?
Haven't seen the earlier versions although I do want to now.
This is what British TV does best. It sucks at sitcoms, but it does period intrigue and mystery very well.
I thought Max and Iris were brilliant. I hope he finds her hotel!
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Perfect solution, Supergran.
The connection could have been made to the films and people's interest would have been positively piqued by the differences, rather than negatively having their expectations disappointed.
I still really enjoyed it.
But I had convinced myself I had misunderstood when there was 10 minutes to go and the train was still in Croatia. I thought there must be another episode.
Handsomely mounted but inert, I cut my losses after 20 minutes and went back to evil laughs with the grandling, explaining that supervillains need to do the evil laugh from behind a cloak. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Marlon, Claudia and Dimby the cats 1989-2005, 2007 and 2010.
But I liked the way the British passengers all had their own reasons for lying and weren't, after all, part of some conspiracy. I can't remember how this disclosure was handled in the film - it's been years since I saw it.
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"The Lady Vanishes is based on a novel, The Wheel Spins, by Ethel Lina White."
completely true but if their going to do a faithful adaption of The Wheel Spins(though why would you) calling it The Lady Vanishes is an absolute cop-out you either film the book or you remake the film not and not have a total half and half mess ...i tried to like this but its a pale shadow of not only the original masterpiece but the 1979 version as well ...no Charters and Caldicott lessened this production by a mile
im sorry to say but this is definitely NOT The Lady Vanishes
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The only decent adaptation so far which never stooped to cheap laughs but preserved the original story of THE WHEEL SPINS perfectly.
shareVerily I say unto thee...I found it to de dull and lifeless throughout. The villains such as they were might as well have said "It's s fair cop" when they were so easily apprehended at the end.
shareThe 1979 film was a flop and not a patch on the Hitchcock version.
This version was an adaptation of the novel that inspired the Hitchcock version. All I can say, there were good reasons why the films departed from the book somewhat.
Its that man again!!
The denouement felt so incredibly rushed: I looked at my watch at 2145 and thought this surely isnt going to come to a conclusion in less than 15 minutes - but lo and behold it did!
shareYou are completely right, the cast of the 1979 film are also a contributing factor to that movie being better. I disliked Iris, but I absolutely loathed the Professor.
shareThe lead character mumbled too fast at times. I enjoyed Cybill Shepherd's heiress version and Angela Lansbury's rendition of Miss Froy, both from 1979.
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