Classic Movie Catchup: The Lady Vanishes

A little note before we jump into the post:
It looks like this morning I passed 10,000 total page views. I know that compared to some blogs that's not a lot, but I'm still hugely excited about hitting that mark. I've had a bit of an uptick in traffic lately, and while I'm not sure where it's come from (generally increased visibility from having done this for six or seven months now, I guess), it definitely makes me happy.
So, basically, thank you! Thank you for reading my ramblings. Thank you for commenting on my posts. Thank you for having your own blogs, which are a huge source of inspiration, entertainment, and camaraderie. I love doing this, and knowing that people read and enjoy it makes it feel worthwhile.

Let's call this my happy dance.
Ok, so on to the actual topic at hand.

At the risk of sounding like a bad vintage-y person, or even a bit of a poser, I have to admit that I have never watched a Hitchcock movie before watching The Lady Vanishes this weekend. Nope, not even Psycho. Of course, Hitchcock is so much a part of pop culture that it would be hard not to have some knowledge of him. It's just one of those things that I categorize in my head as, "well everyone knows about that." The shower scene from Psycho; the birds in, well, you know; the plane swooping low over Cary Grant's head in North by Northwest; and, of course, the succession of icy blonde vixens in his movies that gave us the term "Hitchcock blonde."
I don't think The Lady Vanishes is all that well known, as far as Hitchcock films go. I know I hadn't heard of it until I decided that I wanted to watch a Hitchcock movie, and lo and behold, here is was - literally the only one available on Netflix. What the hell? I will never understand their licensing agreements, but stuff like that is why I still have the subscription for actual, physical DVDs. There are a startling number of movies that aren't available for streaming out there, and I'd still like to have access to them.

This chick seriously makes me want some 30s style eyebrows...
But anyway, the movie! It was the last one that Hitchcock made while working in England, and it's pretty well regarded. It stars the very lovely Margaret Lockwood as Iris, a tourist visiting a fictional country that seems to be situated somewhere between Germany and Italy. While waiting for the train back to England, she befriends a sweet old lady, Miss Froy, who, shortly after the train departs, vanishes. With the help of an impish musicologist named Gilbert, she searches for her missing friend.
There is a lot to like about this movie. It's from 1938, and the costumes are fantastic - I was making mental notes about various outfits and pieces the entire film. It's also surprisingly funny. There's some very silly physical comedy in the movie, and the dialog is sharp and witty. I also really enjoyed the chemistry between the two leads, which seemed very natural and affectionate.

Saucy minx, hanging out of a table top in your underwear while the poor, distracted butler dude has to try and work.
While I enjoyed the movie, the plot is kind of beside the point. The sweet old lady is a spy, carrying an important message embedded in a folk tune; my reaction to that development was something along the lines of "um, ok...." The back and forth between the main leads as they match wits with all of the baddies on the train is the real reason to watch the movie, because it's freaking adorable. I also love that a major plot point involves a fake nun who gives herself away by wearing high heels, as well as two dudes who love cricket so much they lie about not seeing our elderly espionagette so they don't miss a big match.
So what's your favorite Hitchcock film? Or are you a philistine like me who has never seen some of classic cinema's best known thrillers?