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The Herald (12/Jul/2007) - The mystery of the classic film list... where's Hitch

(c) The Herald (12/Jul/2007)

The mystery of the classic film list... where's Hitch?

Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but this is to be "the Summer of British Film". The BBC and the UK Film Council are collaborating in an extended celebration and the council have picked seven classic films which are being restored and will be screened in cinemas across Britain using the latest digital technology.

Needless to say, the choice of the "magnificent seven" British classics is controversial. Here it is, with the category each film represents in brackets. "Billy Liar" (social realism), "Henry V" (costume drama), "Withnail and I" (comedy), "The Wicker Man" (horror/fantasy), "Brief Encounter" (romance), "The Dam Busters" (war) and "Goldfinger" (thriller).

It is the last of these that irritates me. I don't even think "Goldfinger", the third Bond film, was the best in the series: for me that is "From Russia with Love", notable for the terrific sequence in which two superb actors, Sean Connery and Robert Shaw, confronted each other. Almost like Pacino and De Niro in Michael Mann's "Heat", though that was a much briefer scene.

But if not "Goldfinger", what should the best British thriller be? I would suggest a short list of three: "Brighton Rock", "The Third Man" and "The Lady Vanishes", the second last film Alfred Hitchcock made in Britain before he departed for the US.

Of that trio, I'd choose "The Lady Vanishes", which is not only authentically thrilling, but also funny and enormously clever. Even the title is very clever. "The Lady Vanishes" obviously refers to the lady who does vanish in the film, a sweet old British governess called Miss Froy, (played with consummate charm by Dame May Whitty) who turns out to be a British spy.

But the more subtle meaning in the title is the change in the film's heroine, Margaret Lockwood, from a typically silly and stuffy British "lady" to, by the end of the film, a real, down-to-earth woman. The lady vanishes, the woman emerges. This sexy and exciting transition reflected the director's somewhat splenetic view of women actors, or as they were known in his day, actresses. Hitchcock once notoriously opined that he did not exactly hate women, he just did not think they were as good at acting as men. And he contrasted English actresses and "their love of being a lady" with American female stars, many of whom, he noted, came from the poorest homes. Whereas English film actresses always wanted to appear ladylike and so became cold and lifeless.

For a man who didn't like women, Hitchcock could certainly tease good performances from them. Think of Janet Leigh in "Psycho", or Kim Novak in "Vertigo" - and of course, May Whitty and Margaret Lockwood in "The Lady Vanishes".

The film was made in 1938 in a tiny, shabby and inadequate studio in Islington. There was a meagre budget; there was no outside shooting. Yet it's a masterpiece and is still adored by, in particular, the French, who have always appreciated Hitchcock (the last time I saw it was in a small cinema in Paris).

This lovely film shows that technology is secondary: all you need is a decent screenplay, a competent cinematographer, a fine cast and a wonderful, improvising genius of a director. I really don't think classic films require to be restored using the latest digital technology. Indeed, overuse of technology ruins many modern films, most of which lack charm and restraint. (It is interesting that the most up-to-date film in the council's seven classics is "Withnail and I", made over 20 years ago.) Although he was only 38 when he made "The Lady Vanishes", Hitchcock had already directed an amazing 17 films. And before that he had learned his trade in an extended apprenticeship as a writer, publicist, art director and production manager. To be fair, he was becoming frustrated with the limitations of the British film industry, even in its golden era: the parsimony and - I admit - the lack of technical support. And so he switched to America, where he was to direct undisputed classics such as "Strangers on a Train" and "The Birds".

His move to the US was greatly helped by the ecstatic American reaction to "The Lady Vanishes". Orson Welles, mesmerised, watched it 12 times. It won the New York Critics'Award and one reviewer actually wrote in all seriousness that it reminded him of Cezanne and Stravinsky, perhaps a slightly exaggerated tribute to Jack Cock's camerawork and Cecil Milner's music.

So I reckon that any list of seven classic British movies must include at least one directed by Hitchcock, the most significant figure British cinema has produced, and a genuine cultural giant. Meanwhile, talking of ladies vanishing, whatever became of Dame May Whitty? She too went to the US, where she appeared in one or two movies, such as William Wyler's "Mrs Miniver". After which, as far as I know, she simply - vanished.

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