#32: STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)

THRILL SCALE 1-10

10

HAVE I SEEN IT BEFORE?

Never

BEST SEQUENCE

Both sequences at the carnival, but especially the earlier one, watching Bruno stalk his prey and pounce

BEST LINE

"Each fellow does the other fellow's murder. Then there's nothing to connect them. Each one has murdered a total stranger. Like you do my murder, I do yours."

ROTTEN TOMATOES SCORE

98%

ROTTEN TOMATOES CRITICS CONSENSUS

"A provocative premise and inventive set design lights the way for Hitchcock's diabolically entertaining masterpiece."

IMDB SYNOPSIS

"A psychopath tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person."

DIRECTOR

Alfred Hitchcock

MAIN CAST

Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock (Alfred's daughter), Kasey Rogers

THOUGHTS

• I thought this movie was fantastic. Terrifically thrilling, and entertaining all the way through, it's my favourite Hitchcock movie that I've reviewed so far, by a long shot. Despite this, I debated giving it a 9.5/10. I figured, I still have a lot of Hitchcock movies left to go, so I wanted to leave some room just in case there ends up being a movie I like better. But then I thought, to what end? Strangers on a Train is a perfect thriller with a brilliant premise and great performances. Even if there does end up being a Hitchcock film I like better, it wouldn't take away from how much I enjoyed this one, so I'm happy to give it the 10/10 I think it deserves
• Remember, I've reviewed three Hitchcock movies so far (Notorious, Dial M for Murder and Rebecca), and Dial M for Murder was my favourite before this one, at 7.5/10. There are still five more to go, and three of them are in the top ten. I do even think there might be a chance that Strangers on a Train could end up being my favourite of the bunch
• I knew about the general idea: two guys meet on a train, and they consider swapping murders to avoid suspicion. This happens in the first ten minutes of the movie. But what I didn't realize, and what really ratchets up the tension, is the fact that only one of the men is actually fully onboard for the plan. Not only does this add layers to the intrigue and tension, but it also gives us a distinct hero and a very distinct villain
• And what a villain! Robert Walker is incredible as the sociopathic, manipulative Bruno. His icy, nonchalant demeanour is chilling, and I love the way his eyes flit back and forth while he's talking to someone. Sadly, Walker's mental health was not good at this point in his life, and he died only a couple months after the movie was released
• Farley Granger is also good, if slightly less memorable, as the protagonist, Guy. Granger had previously appeared in Hitchcock's movie Rope, released in 1948, a movie that I had seen before and remembered liking, and even thought about adding as a supplemental review. In fact, I rewatched it last night, and it's very good! Famous for telling its story in real time, and for Hitchcock making it seem like it was filmed all in one shot, give or take a cut or two. Some critics found this trickery distracting, but I thought it worked very well and added to the tension, including some very effective camerawork. That's about all I have to say about Rope, though, so I don't think a full review is necessary. I would probably give it an 8/10 for thrills
• Back to the movie at hand, though! Watch Strangers on a Train. Undeniably one of Hitchcock's best, and it may wind up being my favourite at the end of this project of mine

Up next: Speaking of directors that are well represented on this list, it's another movie from Steven Spielberg: 1977's Close Encounters of the Third Kind