The Lady Vanishes

(Alfred Hitchcock, UK 1938, 96 min., DCP)

A pair of train travelers (Michael Redgrave and Margaret Lockwood) befriend an elderly English governess, then undertake a search for her when she goes missing. However, none of the other passengers claim to have seen the diminutive old woman at all, and all evidence of her existence has disappeared. Piecing together the passengers’ stories as well as various small details, the couple slowly form a puzzle the film dares you to piece together. This quintessential train murder mystery imposes a blessedly double strain: when your sides are not aching from laughter, your brain is throbbing in its attempts to outguess the director.