The Lady Vanishes

Alfred Hitchcock's "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) pits Iris Henderson against a trainload of people determined to convince her that Miss Froy, the English lady she met earlier, never existed. Her unlikely ally is a witty (and handsome) ethnomusicologist who helps her unravel the mystery. Like "The 39 Steps" (1935), the plot of this film throws an innocent bystander into the heart of a conspiracy and is laced with fast-paced, lighthearted banter between the main characters—features characteristic of many Hitchcock films.

Named the New York Times Best Picture of 1938, "The Lady Vanishes" was based on The Wheel Spins (1936), a novel by British crime writer Ethel Lina White. Several of White's novels were adapted for the silver screen and television, including "Some Must Watch" which became "The Spiral Staircase" (1945, 1975, and 2000).