The master of suspense also used trains to thrilling effect in Strangers on a Train (1951) and North by Northwest (1959).
Confining most of the action to the carriages, The Lady Vanishes also makes amusing use of the baggage car for a tussle with an Italian magician, whose escaped rabbits take cover in his top hat. Climaxing in a branch line shootout, this skirmish between foreign dastardliness and British fair play is made all the more mischievous by the similarity between villainous doctor Paul Lukas and British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain. The master of suspense also used trains to thrilling effect in Strangers on a Train (1951) and North by Northwest (1959).