Despite hailing from different eras, Hercule Poirot movies.

With the number of times TV shows and movies have attempted to retell this story from the vast library of Agatha Christie books, there's certainly much to explore for those who enjoyed Kenneth Branagh's Murder on the Orient Express. The most obvious place to look next would be Sidney Lumet's critically acclaimed 1974 movie, but other noteworthy options exist as well. And not all are necessarily adaptations of this particular Agatha Christie. Arguably one of the best alternatives is actually a movie version of a different 1930s mystery novel - which was directed by none other than Alfred Hitchcock.

The Lady Vanishes Is A Mystery Movie Set On A Train

The Lady Vanishes' Central Mystery Features A Host Of Interesting Suspects

Released in 1938, Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes is a black-and-white thriller that adapts The Wheel Spins, a book written in 1936 by mystery novelist Ethel Lina White. The British film stars Margaret Lockwood as Iris Henderson, a wealthy young woman who gets embroiled in a conspiracy aboard a train on the way back to her home in England. After making small talk with an elderly woman named Miss Froy, Iris' curiosity is piqued when her fellow enger disappears.

The success of The Lady Vanishes is what set the stage for Alfred Hithcock to become a prominent director in Hollywood.

Furthering the ominous feel of the story is a strangling that occurred before the train took off, and one that Iris eventually realizes may have something to do with Miss Froy. It gradually becomes apparent to Iris that something nefarious is taking place, especially when so many people aboard the train deny even seeing Miss Froy. It reaches a point when the old woman's mere existence comes into question.

Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes was the first of three movie versions of The Wheel of Spins, all of which sharing the title of the 1938 film, not the book.

Although Miss Froy is only a casual acquaintance to Iris, she refuses to let the matter go, and teams up with another enger, Michael Redgrave's Gilbert, to get to the bottom of it. Over the course of the movie, Iris and Gilbert interact with a slew of people on the train, with nearly all of them being worthy of suspicion. Nothing is as it seems in The Lady Vanishes, and it takes a great deal of sleuthing from Iris to figure out which of the engers are involved in Miss Froy's disappearance and which are allies.

Why The Lady Vanishes Is Perfect For Fans Of Murder On The Orient Express

The Lady Vanishes Has A 98% Score On Rotten Tomatoes

Not unlike Murder on the Orient Express, The Lady Vanishes employs the setting of a train to deliver an intricately woven tale of mystery. And while The Lady Vanishes' main plot is more of a missing persons case than a murder mystery ala Murder on the Orient Express, a murder at the beginning of the film does factor heavily into the narrative and ultimately helps shape the movie's tone and story. And akin to the Agatha Christie tale, The Lady Vanishes is ed by a colorful cast of characters, with the train setting allowing a way for the main protagonist to get to know them throughout the film.

Alfred Hitchcock, who had yet to make the vast majority of his best movies, was still early in his directing career, but his talent is apparent even in The Lady Vanishes. He uses the concept - the idea of a woman going missing and no one seemingly ing her - to build a compelling mystery, littered with suspenseful moments. The director manages to get the most out of an intriguing concept, making the film one of Alfred Hitchcock's most underrated movies.