Strangers On a Train [M]

Guy Haines, famous tennis player, meets an innocuous stranger named Bruno Anthony, on a train ride to his hometown. Both men have a person in their lives that they would rather be without: Guy, his trampy wife, and Bruno, his domineering father. As the two idly chat, Bruno puts forward the idea to commit the perfect murder, by simply swapping victims. Guy brushes off this crazy idea, but soon after, his wife is murdered and Bruno begins blackmailing him into fulfilling his side of the bargain. 

Another classic from possibly the cleverest filmmaker in cinematic history: Alfred Hitchcock. Strangers On a Train is a wonderfully chilling film that’s packed with suspense, murder, blackmail, and all things that make you shiver. It’s bloody brilliant. 

Guy Haines, a famous tennis player, meets an innocuous stranger named Bruno Anthony, on a train ride to his hometown. Both men have a person in their lives that they would rather be without: Guy, his trampy, conniving wife, and Bruno, his domineering father. As the two idly chat, Bruno puts forward the idea of committing the perfect murder: by simply swapping victims. Guy brushes this notion off as a crazy idea, but soon after that, his wife is murdered and Bruno begins blackmailing him into fulfilling his part of the bargain. 

What makes Hitchcock such a great filmmaker? He uses things very simply and leaves the audience to their own devices. Case in point, one of the most spine-tinglingly spooky scenes in this film is one in which Guy is on the sidelines of a tennis game and Bruno catches his eye. The camera just focuses on that section of the crowd, all moving their heads in unison to follow the game; all except Bruno who remains stock still, staring at Guy. One of the simplest scenes in the entire film and yet it’s the most powerful. 

There are three key elements that Hitchcock seems to favour in many of his films: a good, solid story filled with intrigue and some comedy, a group of good, solid, but subtly colourful actors, and finally, a haunting and dramatic soundtrack that accurately creates the feeling of certain tension and suspense. Strangers On a Train had them all. 

It has to be said at this point that the show did belong to Robert Walker, who played Bruno. He was just such a good baddy. On the surface, he was charming and there was a subtle magnetism about him, but then, as you talk to him more and more, you begin to see this dark and deranged side of him. It really was like a snake hiding in the rose bush. Absolutely brilliant. 

Starring Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock, Kasey Rogers, Marion Lorne, Jonathan Hale, Howard St. John, John Brown, Norma Varden, and Robert Gist, Strangers On a Train was another classic Hitchcock film that has earned its place in The Book. Filled with action, suspense, romance, dark comedy, and one of the most intriguingly elegant murder scenes in cinematic history, it’s a real killer.