"[22] While Guy and Bruno fight, the ride runs out of control until it tears itself to pieces, flinging wooden horses into the crowd of screaming mothers and squealing children. His best performance and best casting. [12][15] Chandler took the job despite his opinion that it was "a silly little story. frequently use a buried subtext of unstated gay attraction -- as in "The 'If the man had raised his head even slightly", Hitchcock said, "it would have gone from being a suspense film into a horror film. Tennis star Guy (Farley Granger) hates his unfaithful wife. There are two sets of two detectives in two cities, two little boys at the two trips to the fairground, two old men at the carousel, two boyfriends accompanying the woman about to be murdered, and two Hitchcocks in the film. Also in the cast are Ruth Roman, Leo J. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock (Alfred's daughter), Marion Lorne, and Kasey Rogers. Then The two sets of feet in the title sequence match each other in motion and in cutting, but they immediately establish the contrast between the two men: the first shoes "showy, vulgar brown-and-white brogues; [the] second, plain, unadorned walking shoes. Sir. "[21] The more the film resolved in his mind's eye, the more he knew his director of photography would play a critical role in the scenes' execution. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 98% based on reviews from 52 critics, with an average rating of 8.80/10. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. "[59], Conversely, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times criticized the film: "Mr. Hitchcock again is tossing a crazy murder story in the air and trying to con us into thinking that it will stand up without support. Bruno Antony thinks he has the perfect plot to rid himself of his hated father, and when he meets tennis player Guy Haines on a train he thinks he's found the partner he needs to pull it off. Strangers on a Train: A Hitchcock Classic (SD; 36:44) is a nice overview with Peter Bogdanovich and several others discussing . Robert Walker is fabulous as the twisted Bruno. Perhaps there will be those in the audience who will likewise be terrified by the villain's darkly menacing warnings and by Mr. Hitchcock's sleekly melodramatic tricks. The U.S. Senate was busy investigating the suspicion that 'moral perverts' in the government were also undermining national security going so far as to commission a study, Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in Government. The psychological game that Bruno plays on Guy is to force him to kill Bruno's over-bearing father. "[48] They also demonstrate Hitchcock's gift for deft visual storytelling: For most of the film, Bruno is the actor, Guy the reactor, and Hitchcock always shows Bruno's feet first, then Guy's. When Bruno drops the lighter down the sewer, he tells the bystanders, he needs help retrieving his cigarette CASE. party when he sees Barbara, flashes back to the murder, and flips out. [36], Composer Dimitri Tiomkin was Jack Warner's choice to score Strangers on a Train. But, for all that, his basic premise of fear fired by menace is so thin and so utterly unconvincing that the story just does not stand. [36] Although that account continues to be published in books to this day, "it just wasn't true", according to Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell. "On one side of the street, [are] stately respectable houses; towering in the background, on the right of the screen, the floodlit dome of the U.S. Capitol, the life to which Guy aspires, the world of light and order. The psychopath suggests that because they each want to "get rid" of someone, they should "exchange" murders, and that way neither will be caught. [70], Strangers on a Train was adapted for the radio program Lux Radio Theatre on two occasions: on December 3, 1951, with Ruth Roman, Frank Lovejoy, and Ray Milland, and on April 12, 1954, with Virginia Mayo, Dana Andrews, and Robert Cummings.[44]. Is he just lonely? "[46] It undergirds the whole film because it finally serves to associate the world of light, order, and vitality with the world of darkness, chaos, lunacy and death. "[53], Hitchcock continues the interplay of light and dark throughout the film: Guy's bright, light tennis attire, versus "the gothic gloominess of [Bruno's] Arlington mansion";[46] the crosscutting between his game in the sunshine at Forest Hills while Bruno's arm stretches into the dark and debris of the storm drain trying to fish out the cigarette lighter;[54] even a single image where "Walker is photographed in one visually stunning shot as a malignant stain on the purity of the white-marble Jefferson Memorial, as a blot on the order of things. It's not just a ripping-good thriller but a film student's delight and a perversely enjoyable battle of wits between tennis pro Guy (Farley Granger) and his mysterious, sycophantic admirer, Bruno (Robert Walker), who proposes a "criss-cross" scheme of traded murders. Then a police car pulls up Guy goes to the Mortons' home, where Anne's father informs Guy that his wife has been murdered. He wanted the last line of the film to be Guy describing Bruno as "a very clever fellow". Guy Haines, a famous tennis player, is recognized on a train by Bruno Anthony, whose conversation shows a detailed knowledge of Guy's private life. One gets the feeling of a closeted homosexual constantly coming onto Guy. 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, No Import Fees Deposit & $10.33 Shipping to France. quite aware of Bruno's orientation, and indeed edited separate American and A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. An early preview edit of the film, sometimes labeled the "British" version although it was never released in Britain or anywhere else, includes some scenes either not in, or else different from, the film as released. Strangers On A Train is about two men, Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony, who meet on a train by accidentally knocking shoes. Another great shot shows Bruno's face in the shadow of his hat brim, The laying bare of Bruno's hidden nature, along with the great set pieces (head-turning tennis match, disintegrating carousel) and suspense as only Hitchcock can deliver, makes for a first-class trip. The creepiness factor holds up very well. Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2007. Bruno wants to kill his father, but knows he will be caught because he has a motive. The merry-go-round scene is not in the book, but is taken from the climax of Edmund Crispin's 1946 novel The Moving Toyshop. He is also something of a hedonist. This fear is at the heart of many of are swiveling back and forth to follow the game -- except for one head, Bruno follows Guy around Washington, introduces himself to Anne, and appears at a party at Senator Morton's house. [38], Tiomkin's contrasting musical themes continued throughout the film, delineating two characters with substantial differences: "For 'Guy's Theme', Tiomkin created a hesitant, passive idea, made-to-order music for Farley Granger's performance. Highsmith was a chameleon, a renegade, an experimenter, a loner, and a fantastically brave innovator. [6] In 2012, The Guardian praised the film writing "Hitchcock's study of the guilt that taints the human condition is just one cinematic masterstroke after another". The only sadistic part was I never got the hundred dollars."[43]. Mysterious Bruno (Robert Walker) hates his father. From its cleverly choreographed opening sequence to its heart-stopping climax on a rampant carousel, this 1951 Hitchcock classic readily earns its reputation as one of the director's finest examples of timeless cinematic suspense. 16793 GIFs. Yet as Bruno describes his "theories" over lunch, "Guy responds to Bruno we see it in his face, at once amused and tense. "[8] Perhaps it was the circumstances of her forced casting, but Roman became the target of Hitchcock's scorn throughout the production. Strangers on a Train is a 1951 American psychological thriller film noir produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and based on the 1950 novel Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith. Surely few expected his most riotous, unrestrained film, a gleeful melange of vicious black comedy, exciting suspense, mocking manipulation, and astonishing flights of fancy. As usual, Hitchcock kept his name out of the negotiations to keep the purchase price low. Anne. Mysterious Bruno (Robert Walker) hates his father. movie is usually ranked among Hitchcock's best (I would put it below only Hitchcock He's endearing and menacing, intimate and unknowable. "perfect crime" in which he would murder Guy's wife, Guy would murder helps explain how Bruno could come so close to carrying out his plan. [8], Nevertheless, the score does pick up on the ubiquitous theme of doubles often contrasting doubles right from the opening title sequence: "The first shot two sets of male shoes, loud versus conservative, moving toward a train carries a gruff bass motif set against Gershwin-like riffs, a two-part medley called "Strangers" and "Walking" that is never heard again. The copy is terrific and worth every penny. [46], Hitchcock carries the theme into his editing, crosscutting between Guy and Bruno with words and gestures: one asks the time and the other, miles away, looks at his watch; one says in anger "I could strangle her!" chance again.) was above all the master of great visual set pieces, and there are several Although [4] Hitchcock said that he originally wanted William Holden for the Guy Haines role,[5][6] but Holden declined. To think she may have He narrowed the geographic scope to the Northeast corridor, between Washington, D.C. and New York the novel ranged through the southwest and Florida, among other locales. Strange thing about this trip. His obsession with being wrongly accused no doubt refers to a traumatic episode He makes an DVD Features: . "Holden would have been all wrongtoo sturdy, too put off by Bruno", writes critic Roger Ebert. Now look at how Alfred Hitchcock reinforces the duality of human nature. He called the meetings "god-awful jabber sessions which seem to be an inevitable although painful part of the picture business. fiction when she actually writes mainstream fiction about criminals. Haines, a famous tennis player, is recognized on a train by Bruno Anthony, It is a twisting story of a male-on-male relationship that Patricia Highsmith often proffered (same-sex, male or female) in her best novels like this one. Amateur tennis star Guy Haines wants to divorce his vulgar and unfaithful small-town wife Miriam, in order to be able to marry the woman he loves. Buy it! Highly recommended. [14] Talks with Dashiell Hammett got further,[12] but here too communications ultimately broke down, and Hammett never took the assignment. One is tennis star Guy Hianes (Farley Granger) who is in the process of divorcing his unfaithful wife and the other is Bruno Antony, (Robert Walker) the psychopath son of a wealthy man who hates. Guy, on the other hand, shows little interest in eating the lunch, apparently having given it no advance thought, in contrast to Bruno, and he merely orders what seems his routine choice, a hamburger and coffee. A football match is always ninety minutes, stretched to thirty minutes extra and a possible penalty shoot-out at most. Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted. Poor unfortunate girl. Disc2 contains the (slightly longer) 'preview version' of the film,(not greatly different from the 'finished article' but still of interest). [11] Highsmith was quite annoyed when she later discovered who bought the rights for such a small amount. temporarily dominant. Each will murder a stranger, with no apparent motive, so neither will be suspected. producer (uncredited) Music by Dimitri Tiomkin . But Hitchcock takes music to another level. Hitchcock himself designed Bruno's lobster necktie, revealed in a close-up to have strangling lobster claws,[26] and "he personally selected an orange peel, a chewing-gum wrapper, wet leaves, and a bit of crumpled paper that were used for sewer debris"[22] in the scene where Bruno inadvertently drops Guy's lighter down the storm drain. The more you watch, the more you'll see. With his new writer, he wanted to start from square one: At their first conference, Hitchcock made a show of pinching his nose, then holding up Chandler's draft with his thumb and forefinger and dropping it into a wastebasket. When he reaches his destination, Guy bids goodbye to Bruno, thinking nothing more of the affable but rather curious young man's homicidal theories. with any force or conviction. pickup than a chance encounter. As a plot, this has a neatness that Hitchcock must have found Aboard a train bound for New York, Guy, the tennis pro, is shocked to discover how much information the wealthy stranger, Bruno, knows about him. [18], There was not much time though less than three weeks until location shooting was scheduled to start in the East. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. Talented Mr. Ripley," made into a 1999 movie in which her criminal hero With cast nailed down, a script in hand, and a director of photography in tune with Hitchcock's vision on board, the company was ready to commence filming. Miriam and the two boyfriends in her odd mnage trois bring "The Band Played On" to life by singing it on the merry-go-round, lustily and loudly Grinning balefully on the horse behind them, Bruno then sings it himself, making it his motto. Alfred Hitchcock's cameo appearance occurs 11 minutes into the film. Bruno sends Guy a package containing a pistol, a house key, and a map showing the location of his father's bedroom. [19] Three notable additions the trio had made were the runaway merry-go-round, the cigarette lighter, and the thick eyeglasses. After winning a tennis match, Guy evades the police escort and heads for the amusement park to stop Bruno. Sometime later, another stranger on a train attempts to strike up conversation with Guy in the same way as had Bruno. The rest was complete by early November. "seductiveness" in the American print. Beyond all the historical footnotes and film-buff fascination, Strangers on a Train remains one of Hitchcock's crowning achievements and a suspenseful classic that never loses its capacity to thrill and delight. Screenshots. (The same technique was used Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2022. --Jeff Shannon, Better still, the two-sided DVD edition of this enduring classic includes both the original version of the film and also the longer prerelease British print, which offers a more overt depiction of Bruno's flamboyant and dangerous personality, and his homoerotic attraction to Guy by way of his deviously indecent proposal. "[35], The final scene of the so-called American version of the film has Barbara and Anne Morton waiting for Guy to call on the telephone. This ending, however, was not acceptable to Warner Bros.[28], In 1997, Warner released the film onto DVD as a double sided disc, with the "British" version on one side, and the "Hollywood" version on the reverse. and the other, far distant, makes a choking gesture. calculation, and usually got away with their crimes. [9], Kasey Rogers (credited as Laura Elliott) noted that she had perfect vision at the time the movie was made, but Hitchcock insisted she wear the character's thick eyeglasses, even in long shots when regular glass lenses would have been undetectable. strangers on a train. [46], This doubling has some precedent in the novel; but more of it was deliberately added by Hitchcock, "dictated in rapid and inspired profusion to Czenzi Ormonde and Barbara Keon during the last days of script preparation. out. It was shot in the autumn of 1950 and released by Warner Bros. on June 30, 1951, starring Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, and Robert Walker. ( IMDB). they're now both behind bars as he says, "You've got me acting like I'm a A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. (SD; 7:22) focuses on Kasey Rogers, who performed under the name Laura Elliot in the film; Strangers on a Train: An Appreciation by M. Night Shyamalan (SD; 12:46) has the director espousing his love for Hitch and the film; The Hitchcocks on Hitch (SD; 11:20) features Hitch's daughter and granddaughter talking about Hitch. "[48] It ratchets up a notch when Guy leaves Bruno's compartment and "forgets" his cigarette lighter. manner is pushy and insinuating, with homoerotic undertones. One could study it forever. After Guy arrives, he and Bruno fight on the park's carousel. [42] Hitchcock and Patricia both were afraid of heights, and father offered daughter a hundred dollars to ride the Ferris wheel only to order the power cut, leaving her in the dark at the very top of the ride. Hitchcock left behind two versions of Strangers on a Train. Behind the Story contains these featurettes: Strangers on a Train: A Hitchcock Classic (SD; 36:44) is a nice overview with Peter Bogdanovich and several others discussing the importance of the film in the Hitchcock canon; Strangers on a Train: The Victim's P.O.V. "[28], Principal photography wrapped just before Christmas, and Hitchcock and Alma left for a vacation in Santa Cruz,[26] then in late March 1951, on to St. Moritz, for a 25th anniversary European excursion. "[I]n one of the most unexpected, most aesthetically justified moments in film,"[29] the slow, almost graceful, murder is shown as a reflection in the victim's eyeglasses, which have been jarred loose from her head and dropped to the ground. He also showed intense interest in a seldom-considered detail of character delineation: food. Interesting, in this context, is Hitchcock's casting of his own daughter, subtext. So much occurs in pairs. "Strangers "[21] Hitchcock, who had drawn gay characters so sharply yet subtly in Rope in 1948, "drafted the left-leaning Cook expressly because he was comfortable with sexually ambiguous characters. Director Alfred Hitchcock Writers Raymond Chandler (screen play) Czenzi Ormonde (screen play) Whitfield Cook (adaptation) Stars Farley Granger Robert Walker Ruth Roman See production, box office & company info Watch on Prime Video Strangers on a Train is a 1951 American psychological thriller film noir produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and based on the 1950 novel Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith. during an early meeting involving Guy and the senator's whole family; she keeps "[22] Robert Burks received the film's sole Academy Award nomination for its black and white photography.[23]. Co-adapted by Raymond Chandler from a novel by Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train perfectly exemplifies Hitchcock's favorite theme of the evil that lurks just below the surface of everyday life and ordinary men.CREDITS:TM \u0026 Warner Bros. (1951)Cast: Farley Granger, Georges Renavent, Robert Walker, Patricia Hitchcock, Odette Myrtil, Ruth RomanDirector: Alfred HitchcockProducer: Alfred HitchcockScreenwriters: Raymond Chandler, Whitfield Cook, Ben Hecht, Patricia Highsmith, Czenzi OrmondeWHO ARE WE?The MOVIECLIPS channel is the largest collection of licensed movie clips on the web. First Hitchcock got the exterior shots in Canoga Park, using both actors, then later he had Elliott alone report to a soundstage where there was a large concave reflector set on the floor. Alfred Hitchcock loved trains. # travel # kit harington # modern love # big day # train travel. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout. Upon its release in 1951, Strangers on a Train received mixed reviews. station with a note asking the sergeant to lock him up until called for. The "[29], Hitchcock was, above all, the master of great visual setpieces,[32] and "[p]erhaps the most memorable sequence in Strangers on a Train is the climactic fight on a berserk carousel. # staring # stalker # alfred hitchcock # strangers on a train # tennis match. [44] Of greater interest to Warner was the box office take, and the "receipts soon told the true story: Strangers on a Train was a success, and Hitchcock was pronounced at the top of his form as master of the dark, melodramatic suspense thriller. the wall make it appear Bruno has overtaken them. It was Hitchcock, not Tiomkin, whose idea brought the four evocative numbers[8] "The Band Played On", "Carolina in the Morning", "Oh, You Beautiful Doll", and "Baby Face" to the soundtrack: In one of Hitchcock's most explicit operatic gestures, the characters at the fateful carnival sing the score, giving it full dimension as part of the drama. at a carnival; Miriam and two boyfriends are in the boat ahead, and shadows on [4] "Granger is softer and more elusive, more convincing as he tries to slip out of Bruno's conversational web instead of flatly rejecting him. said in Francois Truffaut's book-length interview that he didn't much like What is the climax in Strangers on a Train? As with Shadow of a Doubt, Strangers on a Train is one of many Hitchcock films to explore the doppelgnger theme. Guy creeps into Bruno's father's room to warn him of his son's murderous intentions, but instead finds Bruno there waiting for him. "[37] Bruno, who tells Guy on the train that he admires people "who do things", gets a more vigorous musical treatment from Tiomkin: "Harmonic complexity defines the motifs associated with Bruno: rumbling bass, shocking clusters, and glassy string harmonics. Hitchcock's biggest changes were in his two lead characters: The character called Bruno Antony in the film is called Charles Anthony Bruno in the book. ingenious plot with insinuating creepiness. irresistible -- especially since Guy has a motive to murder his wife, was seen Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2022. Ebert wrote: Hitchcock was a classical technician in terms of controlling his visuals, and his use of screen space underlined the tension in ways the audience isn't always aware of. always used the convention that the left side of the screen is for evil and/or The worker who called the police tells them that Bruno, not Guy, is the one he remembers seeing the night of the murder. Guy Haines (Granger), an amateur tennis star, chances to meet the eccentric Bruno Anthony (Walker) on a train. conversation -- which ends on an ambiguous note, with Bruno trying to get Guy The film was later made available on Blu-ray in 2012 with the same contents as the 2004 DVD edition. British version of the film -- cutting down the intensity of the Then a grip put a normal-sized phone on the table, where she picked it up. She initially praised it, writing: "I am pleased in general. stunt man could have been killed; Hitchcock said he would never take such a Over lunch in his private But Miriam does not want the divorce, and instead plans to live off Haines's money. Review of 2 Disc 2004 Warner Bros edition(with orange & white cover)- As this well known film(from 1951) is equally well analysed & described In many other reviews I'll just give an overview of what's on the discs. is softer and more elusive, more convincing as he tries to slip out of Bruno's Suspense through and through, great light/dark contrast in the camerawork. The unusual angle was a more complex proposition than it seems. Bruno is standing behind an iron gate, the bars casting symbolic shadows on his "[53] Bruno tells Guy what he has done and gives him the glasses. The final scene of the so-called "American" version of this movie had Barbara and Anne Morton waiting for Guy to call on the telephone. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. audiences would sense qualities in the actors that didn't need to be spelled By month's end, they were back in California.
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