So Long at the Fair Movie Review

You may have vague memories of The Vanishing Lady, a 1955 Alfred Hitchcock Presents episode starring his daughter Pat. Originally titled Into Thin Air, it was reportedly based on a true story of 1889's Paris World Exposition: a young woman checks into a hotel with a relative who immediately becomes quite ill. A doctor is called, he sends her to fetch the medication and when she comes back, the relative is gone, and absolutely no one recalls who they are. She thinks she's going mad, but there IS a rather horrible explanation. Well, there's only so much that can be done in 30 minutes and Hitchcock himself didn't direct, so try to find So Long at the Fair, an outstanding British drama co-directed by Anthony Darnborough and Terence Fisher. Jean Simmons and David Tomlinson are Victoria and John Barton, who check into the hotel run by Mme. Herve (Cathleen Nesbitt). Brother John gets sick, Victoria sends for Dr. Hart (Andre Morell, a future Professor Quatermass) and then the mystery begins. It's a beautifully done interpretation of Anthony Thorne's novel (Thorne co-scripted), and the acting throughout is first rate. And who could wish for a more attractive and kind ally than Dirk Bogarde's George Hathaway. Honor Blackman, then in her English rose period, is in it too, and so is another future Bond girl, Zena Marshall.

1950 86m/B GB Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde, David Tomlinson, Honor Blackman, Cathleen Nesbitt, Felix Aylmer, Marcel Poncin, Austin Trevor, Andre Morell, Zena Marshall, Betty Warren; D: Terence Fisher, Anthony Darnborough; W: Hugh Mills, Anthony Thorne; C: Reg Wyer.