Strangers on a Train (1951)

Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock | 101 minutes | drama, thriller, crime | Actors: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock, Kasey Rogers (as Laura Elliott), Marion Lorne, Jonathan Hale, Howard St. John, John Brown, Norma Varden, Robert Gist

Since the Second World War, the train has ceased to be just a peaceful symbol of progress in modern cinema. Instead, in movies like ‘Shoah’ (1985), it’s more of a metaphor for civilization gone off the rails. The black, thundering steam trains refer to a grim past. The train also plays an important role in many crime or action movies. In films such as ‘Mission: Impossible’ (1996), ‘The Peacemaker’ (1997) and many Bond films, the train often plays an extraordinary role; it is the moving set where secret agents can jump on and off and where the heroes and villains of the story can fight on the roof of the train. In one of the most famous train films, Hitchcock’s 1951 classic ‘Strangers on a Train’, a chance encounter between a tennis player and a seriously confused nobleman leads to a violent murder.

When famed tennis player Guy Haines is accosted by the charming gentleman Bruno Anthony during a train journey, he has no idea that this is the start of a destructive chain of events. After all, Bruno offers Guy to murder his annoying wife, who viciously refuses a divorce from the tennis player. The only condition is that Guy, in turn, gets rid of Bruno’s father. ‘Criss-cross’: committing each other’s murder in order to exclude any link to a motive. Guy, shocked, declines the offer, but Bruno interprets the situation differently. He strangles Guy’s wife, and when he continues to refuse to kill his father, he stalks, threatens and pressures the tennis player. Guilt and impotence torment Guy, but he cannot grasp the only way out of his predicament – ​​killing Bruno’s father. And so, psychopath Bruno decides to leave defamatory evidence of his nemesis at the scene of the strangulation, forcing Guy to try to stop him in a nail-biting race against time.

Around 1950, Alfred Hitchcock’s career was in a bit of a slump. He was still one of the most powerful directors in Hollywood, but had produced three consecutive commercial flops and his own production company Transatlantic Pictures had closed after two films. But there was light at the end of the tunnel. Hitchcock signed a contract with Warner Bros. in the early 1950s. that tied him to the studio for several years. And he had finally found a story that he liked one hundred percent, based on a thriller by debut writer Patricia Highsmith. The filmmaker was so delighted with the story that he would later remark that this adaptation was his first real Hollywood film. ‘Strangers on a Train’, however, is more than that. It is his ultimate masterpiece.

Because in addition to a fascinating scenario, there is the presence of Robert Walker as psychopath Bruno Anthony. His memorable portrayal of the villain belongs in the ranks of Norman Bates (‘Psycho’) and Hannibal Lector (‘The Silence of the Lambs’). Walker manages to inject his character with so much sympathy that by the end of the film you hope he succeeds. It’s a shame that the part of Guy Haines is played by the wooden Farley Granger, who can give his character little shine. The supporting roles are well done. But not only in terms of acting performances ‘Strangers on a Train’ is a high flyer. After all, the film features some of the best visual finds from the Master of Suspense’s long career. Most astonishing is the point-of-view Hitchcock chooses in the murder of Guy’s wife. He films the gruesome strangulation from its reflection in the victim’s glasses that have fallen to the ground. The hollow deformation of this murder isn’t just a visual gem; it also emphasizes the inhuman horror of the act.

Hitchcock has many masterpieces to his credit and it is difficult to say which film is the best. But ‘Strangers on a Train’ certainly belongs in the list of ‘Rear Window’, ‘Vertigo’, ‘North by Northwest’ and ‘Psycho’. If you want to be on the edge of your seat from the first to the last minute, you should definitely watch this film.