Discuss The Lady Vanishes
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Hitchcock rules! Behold the QUINTUPLE fakeout
posted by rooprectSTAFFMOD on August 4, 2023 at 6:22 PM
Not a double fake, not even a triple fake, nor a quadruple fake, but a QUINTUPLE fakeout.
I'm talking about the poisoned brandy scene. SPOILERS FOR THE SCENE (not the movie)...
Iris & Gilbert are sitting with the villain (we know he's the villain but they don't). He offers them each a drink, and we know from the prior scene that he had given some dastardly instructions to the evil nun. We can guess the drinks are going to be poisoned.
Fakeout #1 - Gilbert accepts so he's a goner, but Iris refuses ...we breathe a sigh of relief. ...UNTIL Gilbert convinces her to have one & she accepts. Argh.
Fakeout #2 - The tray comes, the villain & steward exchange a sneaky nod. Our heroes are toast. But wait, something jostles the tray, they'll spill and our heroes will be saved! ...UNTIL the villain catches them just in time. D'oh!!
Fakeout #3 - Throughout the whole scene our eyes are glued to those glasses of brandy, but nobody's drinking. Oh drat, the villain raises a toast and Gilbert downs his. Our hearts sink. But at least Iris hasn't touched hers. They get up to leave. Hooray. Iris is saved! ...UNTIL at the last minute Gilbert reminds her to finish her drink. She gulps it down. NOOOOOOOOOO!
Fakeout #4 - The villain reveals himself, locks them in the next car and tells them the brandy was poisoned. During his speech they both flop down unconscious. The villain leaves. Our heroes are doomed and we are crushed... UNTIL Gilbert suddenly opens an eye... he was faking! He rouses Iris and tells her they can slow the poison if they stay active. Phew!
Fakeout #5 - But we know it's just a matter of time. As Gilbert climbs out the window and confronts the evil nun, we're wondering when the poison will finish him, or the evil nun, or both. Suspense overload! Can your poor heart take it? ...UNTIL, the coup de fâke,
the evil nun turns out to be on their side: she never put poison in their drinks in the first place.
This whole 5-part fakeout, which must've lasted a merciless 10 minutes, was all over nothing.
I declare Alfred Hitchcock to be emperor of the universe.
Reply by genplant29
on August 14, 2023 at 2:12 PM
Indeed, awesome quintuple fakeout!
This is one of my fave Hitchcock movies, and I think probably the very most fun one. (If you love it, Young and Innocent - also known as "The Girl Was Young" - that immediately preceded it, is similarly enjoyable, as well as likewise very good, though far lesser known and more "lite".)
I have the TLV Criterion DVD (also Y&I and certain other Hitch films), which your recent posts now have me wanting to view again sometime soon (despite my having viewed the movie probably at least two dozen times already throughout my lifetime, including once during the last twelve months)!
Reply by rooprect
on August 14, 2023 at 11:29 PM
Yup, this is definitely the most fun Hitchcock movie I've seen! Worth watching over & over, as I'm about to do this time with the commentary track.
The Criterion essay points out that its fun vibe has a lot to do with the timing of when it was made. 1938 was just before WW2 got really ugly. So TLV is a rare, last-of-its-kind espionage film that focuses on comedy & adventure rather than the dark reality of WW2. The villain even wishes them "jolly good luck".
I'll definitely put Y&I on my list; I had never even heard of it til now!
Reply by genplant29
on August 15, 2023 at 2:24 AM
Here's a thread I created about it. The MGM Premiere Collection DVD, now out of print, is a great release of it to get, if you can find it.
That movie is a real charmer. Includes a couple familiar faces, Mary Clare and Basil Radford, from TLV. I believe you'd enjoy it. It's another old movie I can watch time and time again, yet never tire of.
Btw, it and TLV viewed back to back make for a terrific double-bill!
Reply by rooprect
on August 18, 2023 at 9:52 AM
Popping back in to share a few more tidbits about this epic scene. The Criterion features talk a lot about it!
In order to keep the audience's attention firmly riveted on those untouched glasses of brandy, Hitch used a lot of unconventional camera angles to keep them constantly in frame.
One of the best is a low shot, from table height, with the glasses taking up the foreground while we watch the actors through the glasses. To do this, he used a set of prop glasses which were enormous, giving the effect of crazy deep focus and exaggerating the size of the glasses.
Suddenly I remembered Hitch used this same trick in Notorious (1946). In Notorious I think he really expanded it, making sure that enormous coffee mug was right in our faces (though nicely out of focus so it's not too obvious). Notorious is a much darker film than The Lady Vanishes, and I think a comparison of the 2 poison scenes shows Hitch's change in approach. TLV is almost like a playful back & forth with all the fakeouts, whereas Notorious has no fakeouts, it's just 1 inevitable outcome slowly unraveling while we the audience are powerless to stop it.
I can't find the TLV scene on youtube but the Notorious poison scene is here at around 2:18. Watch for the GIANT coffee mug lol
https://youtu.be/jsaFQYOSXTo?t=138
Reply by genplant29
on August 19, 2023 at 2:13 AM
roo, do you happen to know whether Hitch invented the camera illusion of using an oversized prop glass when filming deep-focus dramatic-emphasis shots seen through a glass? (I'm unable to decide quite how to word that sentence right, and hopefully have.)
I really do need to give my TLV DVD a new viewing one day or week soon!
Reply by rooprect
on August 19, 2023 at 3:27 AM
I was wondering the same thing… My gut tells me it had to be him. But you never know, it could be an old trick from the days of German Expressionism, Cabinet of Dr Caligari and all those. Actually I believe you’re the resident expert on silent films so your gut may be a better indicator!
Reply by genplant29
on August 19, 2023 at 4:25 AM
I've always heard that Hitch lifted lots of techniques from German silent cinema.