In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. With a release scheduled for early summer, the studio press agents swung into high gear early in 1951. Buy it! 'If the man had raised his head even slightly", Hitchcock said, "it would have gone from being a suspense film into a horror film. "Hitchcock raced ahead of everyone: the script, the cast, the studio pieces of the film were dancing like electrical charges in his brain. 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. Roman's role as a nice, understanding girl is a switch for her, and she makes it warmly effective. Guy goes to the Mortons' home, where Anne's father informs Guy that his wife has been murdered. Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2023. Even classic endeavors like Fargo and A Simple Plan seem directly fueled by this concept"[64], Almar Haflidason was effusive about Strangers on a Train in 2001 at the BBC website: "Hitchcock's favourite device of an ordinary man caught in an ever-tightening web of fear plunges Guy into one of the director's most fiendishly effective movies. Strangers on a Train(1950) is a suspense thriller by Patricia Highsmith, based on the premise that two strangers swap murders. The premise is fascinating because it was far more intricate than I had been led to believe. Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2007. Bruno orders with gusto and with an interest in what he is going to eat lamb chops, French fries, and chocolate ice cream. (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. Made by movie fans, for movie fans.SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MOVIE CHANNELS:MOVIECLIPS: http://bit.ly/1u2yaWdComingSoon: http://bit.ly/1DVpgtRIndie \u0026 Film Festivals: http://bit.ly/1wbkfYgHero Central: http://bit.ly/1AMUZwvExtras: http://bit.ly/1u431frClassic Trailers: http://bit.ly/1u43jDePop-Up Trailers: http://bit.ly/1z7EtZRMovie News: http://bit.ly/1C3Ncd2Movie Games: http://bit.ly/1ygDV13Fandango: http://bit.ly/1Bl79yeFandango FrontRunners: http://bit.ly/1CggQfCHIT US UP:Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1y8M8axTwitter: http://bit.ly/1ghOWmtPinterest: http://bit.ly/14wL9DeTumblr: http://bit.ly/1vUwhH7 Hitchcock's trademark cameo) but you can look for yourself, in chapter six of His gaze falls upon Barbara, whose appearance resembles Miriam's. # travel # amazing # kit harington # you are amazing # youre amazing. "Holden would have been all wrongtoo sturdy, too put off by Bruno", writes critic Roger Ebert. allowed an aging actress to manipulate him in "Sunset Boulevard"). --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. "[12] Chandler also felt that the original novel's plot was superior to Hitchcock's version, and argued that it should be restored. Brilliant. only the whites of his eyes showing. See production, box office & company info. Highsmith (1921-1995), who in her Ripley novels and elsewhere was fascinated by "[13], Even before sewing up the rights for the novel, Hitchcock's mind was whirling with ideas about how to adapt it for the screen. "He had to have one person in each film he could harass," Granger said. was above all the master of great visual set pieces, and there are several Guy tries to persuade Bruno to seek psychiatric help, but Bruno threatens to punish Guy for breaking their deal. accidental overdose of tranquilizers. Talented Mr. Ripley," made into a 1999 movie in which her criminal hero [56] In the movie, "Guy became a decent guy who refuses to carry out his part of the crazed bargain" writes Patrick McGilligan, "to head off the censors. they're now both behind bars as he says, "You've got me acting like I'm a "Vertigo," "Notorious," "Psycho" and perhaps It is one of the moments in Hitchcock's work that continues to bring gasps from every audience and applause from cinema students. These disturbing sounds, heard to superb effect in cues such as 'The Meeting,' 'Senator's Office,' and 'Jefferson Memorial,' are not just about Bruno, but about how he is perceived by those whose lives he crossesfirst Guy, then everyone in Guy's entourage."[37]. Interesting premise but really poor pacing, Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2023. Interesting, in this context, is Hitchcock's casting of his own daughter, BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, 23rd Annual Black Reel Awards to Celebrate its 2023 Honorees on February 6th, 15 Films We Cant Wait to See at Sundance 2023, 14th Annual African American Film Critics Association Awards Recipients Revealed, Child of Graceland: Lisa Marie Presley (1968-2023). 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. Bruno's father, and neither would ever be suspected. After appearances in his 2 best British films, "The 39 Steps" (1935) and "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) , the train was elevated to star billing along with the 2 male leads in "Strangers on a Train" (1951).Not only does the train move its Alfred Hitchcock loved trains. [44] Hitchcock made personal appearances in most of them, and was often accompanied by his daughter. As Guy listens with detached amusement, Bruno discusses the theory of \"exchange murders.\" Suppose that Bruno were to murder Guy's wife, and Guy in exchange were to kill Bruno's father? station with a note asking the sergeant to lock him up until called for. This fear is at the heart of many of Add on for my new cinema room setup. He found exactly what he needed right on the Warners lot in the person of staff cameraman Robert Burks, who would continue to work with Hitchcock, shooting every Hitchcock picture through to Marnie (1964), with the exception of Psycho. Unfortunately, that was about it. Amateur tennis star Guy Haines wants to divorce his promiscuous wife Miriam so he can marry Anne Morton, the daughter of a US Senator. When he reaches his destination, Guy bids goodbye to Bruno, thinking nothing more of the affable but rather curious young man's homicidal theories. [4] Hitchcock said that he originally wanted William Holden for the Guy Haines role,[5][6] but Holden declined. "[44], The film includes a number of puns and visual metaphors that demonstrate a running motif of crisscross, double-crossing, and crossing one's double. His best performance and best casting. Robert Walker is fabulous as the twisted Bruno. famous sequences in "Strangers on a Train." This is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most complex amd multi-layered films. With an emphasis on narrative and visual strategy, Hitchcock controls the escalating tension with a master's flair for cinematic design, and the plot (coscripted by Raymond Chandler) is so tightly constructed that you'll be white-knuckled even after multiple viewings. Best known is the one [21] "To all appearances Guy is the all-American stereotype, an athlete, unassuming despite his fame, conservatively dressed," wrote Carringer; he is "a man of indeterminate sexual identity found in circumstances making him vulnerable to being compromised. [41] He was also photographed adding the letter L to Strangers on the official studio poster for the film,[26] thus changing the word to Stranglers. Synopsis. A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder.A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder.A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. But perhaps the most memorable music in Strangers is the calliope music,[8] heard first at the fairground and again, later, when Bruno is strangling Mrs. Cunningham at Senator Morton's soire, and experiences his unfortunate flashback and subsequent fainting spell. [13] With treatment in hand, Hitchcock shopped for a screenwriter; he wanted a "name" writer to lend some prestige to the screenplay, but was turned down by eight writers, including John Steinbeck and Thornton Wilder, all of whom thought the story too tawdry and were put off by Highsmith's first-timer status. She initially praised it, writing: "I am pleased in general. his identity and lifestyle. 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. To think she may have By month's end, they were back in California. Strange thing about this trip. Talking about the structure of the film, Hitchcock said to Truffaut, "Isn't it a fascinating design? 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. Strangers on a Train Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras: Commentary by Peter Bogdanovich, Peter Benchley, Alfred Hitchcock and many more. Once Bruno Antony acts on 'removing' Guy's wife, the movie ytakes off. Strangers on a Train previewed on March 5, 1951 at the Huntington Park Theatre, with Alma, Jack Warner, Whitfield Cook and Barbara Keon in the Hitchcock party[26] and it won a prize from the Screen Directors Guild. Guy infers that Bruno intends to plant it at the scene of the murder and incriminate him. 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. calculation, and usually got away with their crimes. Summaries A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. He is also something of a hedonist. "[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. The unusual angle was a more complex proposition than it seems. Bruno wants to kill his father, but knows he will be caught because he has a motive. Leopold-Loeb case; it was another story about a murder pact with a homosexual "[8] None was more demanding than Bruno's strangulation of Miriam, shown reflected in her eyeglass lens: "It was the kind of shot Hitchcock had been tinkering with for twenty yearsand Robert Burks captured it magnificently. In 2021, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[3]. Anne. Hitchcock, promotionally photographed many times over the years strangling various actresses and other women some one-handed, others two found himself in front of a camera with his fingers around the neck of a bust of daughter Patricia;[26] the photo found its way into newspapers nationwide. 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. out. The abiding terror in Alfred Hitchcock's life was that he would 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, No Import Fees Deposit & $10.33 Shipping to France. This triggers a flashback; Bruno compulsively squeezes the woman's neck, and other guests intervene to stop him from strangling her to death. 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. The premise is fascinating because it was far more intricate than I had been led to believe. Hitchcock Although Hitchcock 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. Guy The pair has what writer Peter Dellolio refers to as a "dark symbiosis. Strangers On A Train, a masterpiece, presented here in a finely produced HD release. 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. Diabolique, intriguing, morally ambiguous and wonderfully directed and narrated. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2017, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2016. Guy is suspended between tennis and politics, between his tramp wife and his senator's daughter, and Bruno is seeking desperately to establish an identity through violent, outr actions and flamboyance (shoes, lobster-patterned tie, name proclaimed to the world on his tiepin). Screenshots. Bruno sends Guy a package containing a pistol, a house key, and a map showing the location of his father's bedroom. Guy and Anne coldly walk away from him. [9] Granger described Hitchcock's attitude toward Roman as "disinterest" in the actress, and said he saw Hitchcock treat Edith Evanson the same way on the set of Rope (1948). But Miriam does not want the divorce, and instead plans to live off Haines's money. bargain. [12][15] Chandler took the job despite his opinion that it was "a silly little story. [48], Roger Ebert wrote that "it is this sense of two flawed characters one evil, one weak, with an unstated sexual tension that makes the movie intriguing and halfway plausible, and explains how Bruno could come so close to carrying out his plan."[4]. The novel has been adapted multiple times, most famously by Alfred Hitchcock in his 1951 film. For his part, Bruno, a rich and spoiled ne'er-do-well, chats amiably about his deep hatred of his father, and how he wishes someone would kill the old man. "[48] And at this point the blurring of good and evil accelerates: Guy fails to repudiate Bruno's suggestive statement about murdering Miriam ("What's a life or two, Guy? Strangers on a Train . Let me remind you that even the most unworthy of us has a right to life and the pursuit of happiness. "[8], Hitchcock took a toy carousel and photographed it blown up by a small charge of explosives. A film of noir moments galore. flirtatious and seductive, sitting too close during their first meeting, and On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "[13] In the novel, Guy is pursued and entrapped by a tenacious detective.[17]. She threatens to claim that he is the father, in order to thwart any divorce attempt. Bruno dreams up a crazy scheme whereby he and Guy exchange murders. Ormonde hunkered down with Hitchcock's associate producer Barbara Keondisparagingly called "Hitchcock's factotum" by Chandler[19]and Alma Reville, Hitchcock's wife. Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2022. [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]. "[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. Another [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. This is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most complex amd multi-layered films. Waiting for the blu ray to comes out, but this Dvd is truly excellent. I've been hearing about this movie recently and decided to give it a go, and I'm so glad I did! The is a plot made of ingenuity and amorality, based on the first novel by Patricia This Hitchcock thriller pulls out all the stops which would become standards in future films by the master director - an innocent man caught up in a web of trouble, a devious and unbalanced villain, dark humor, intelligent wordplay, and a climax that borders on the sublime. Granger "[43] "This was good stuff for press agents paid to stir up thrills and it has been repeated in other books to bolster the idea of Hitchcock's sadism,"[36] but "we were [only] up there two or three minutes at the outside. My father wasn't ever sadistic. He got a treatment that pleased him on the second attempt, from writer Whitfield Cook, who wove a homoerotic subtext into the story. Interesting more as an "intellectual exercise" than anything else, but indispensable for those interested in seeing how Hitchcock continued to shape his films after an initial cut. face, and Guy stands to his right, outside the gate. When Bruno drops the lighter down the sewer, he tells the bystanders, he needs help retrieving his cigarette CASE. revolving ride to get to the controls. Upon its release in 1951, Strangers on a Train received mixed reviews. "[5], The two characters, Guy and Bruno, can be viewed as doppelgngers. "Strangers "[17] This would be their last collaboration. [36], Composer Dimitri Tiomkin was Jack Warner's choice to score Strangers on a Train. [17] Although Ormonde was without a formal screen credit, she did have two things in her favor: her recently published collection of short stories, Laughter From Downstairs, was attracting good notices from critics, and she was "a fair-haired beauty with long shimmering hair. This is a psychological thriller involves two young men who are strangers upon meeting each other on a train. [6] He added the film in his Great Movies list. sister gets the creepiest lines in "Strangers on a Train," especially 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. Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. strangers on a train. In accordance with the cautious censorship guidelines of the period, Hitchcock would later tame these elements of Walker's memorable performance by trimming and altering certain scenes, so the differences between the original and prerelease versions provide an illuminating illustration of censorship's effect on the story's thematic intensity. Barbara Morton: From what I hear she pursued it in all directions. The creepiness factor holds up very well. This piece of film he then enlarged and projected onto a vast screen, positioning actors around and in front of it so that the effect is one of a mob of bystanders into which plaster horses and passengers are hurled in deadly chaos. was a lesbian whose novels have uncanny psychological depth; Andrew Wilson's The original version (Side A) is an all-time thriller classic. "[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. Barbara tells Anne that Bruno was looking at her while strangling the other woman, and Anne realizes Barbara's resemblance to Miriam. Please use a different way to share. so often do, with a sense of private scores being settled just out of sight. Guy wants to move into a career in politics and has been dating a senator's daughter (Ann Morton) while awaiting a divorce from his wife. The only sadistic part was I never got the hundred dollars."[43]. "[62] Roger Ebert has called Strangers on a Train a "first-rate thriller" that he considers one of Hitchcock's five best films. The story concerns two strangers who meet on a train, a young tennis player and a charming psychopath. [13] Treatment writer Cook used Guy to make the film "a parable quietly defiant of the Cold War hysteria sweeping America. I love Hitchcock but hadn't ever watched this one until the other day, and I was pleasantly surprised in some ways but mostly very disappointed. Did Hitchcock intend for Bruno to be attracted to Guy? But a men's three-set tennis match can be eleven hours or thirty minutes, depending on tiebreakers and whether it even goes to three sets at all. My mum had said this was a great film, and she was right. Hitchcock builds the conflict on this. Strangers on a Train Preview Version (SD; 1:42:57). Hitchcock and his cast and crew decamped for the East Coast on October 17, 1950. Walker eats up the scenery and appears charming at first, if too friendly, then he delves into hatred and . is softer and more elusive, more convincing as he tries to slip out of Bruno's He must play as hard and as fast as he can in order to win the match, get off the court, and overtake the villain . is crucial. He makes an When Bruno arrives at the amusement park, a carnival worker recognizes him from the night of the murder; he informs the police, who think he has recognized Guy. filming was completed, was institutionalized for treatment, and died of an Off-handedly, he suggests to Guy that they trade murders: Bruno will kill Guy's troublesome wife, and Guy will eliminate Bruno's despised father. conversation -- which ends on an ambiguous note, with Bruno trying to get Guy He's endearing and menacing, intimate and unknowable. That evening, Bruno follows Miriam to an amusement park and strangles her while Guy is on the train to Washington. No Highsmith cameo Where was the tennis match in Strangers on a Train? Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2022. frequently use a buried subtext of unstated gay attraction -- as in "The Suspense through and through, great light/dark contrast in the camerawork. Highsmith One gets the feeling of a closeted homosexual constantly coming onto Guy. He's endearing and menacing, intimate and unknowable. his best films, including "Strangers on a Train" (1951), in which a At first glance, Guy represents the ordered life where people stick to rules, while Bruno comes from the world of chaos,[49] where they get thrown out of multiple colleges for drinking and gambling. Closed-captioned, NTSC, Full Screen, Black & White. [24] Exteriors would be shot on both coasts, and interiors on Warner Brothers' soundstages. with him than with Granger's playboy. 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. 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 . Strangers On a Train (1951) In Alfred Hitchcock's thriller - an adaptation from Patricia Highsmith's first novel about amoral murderers who 'traded' or 'exchanged' crimes: the opening sequence introduced the duality of the two 'strangers on a train' with their distinctive contrasting shoes: - Bruno Antony (Robert Walker), a . Strangers On a Train 14+ HD CC Thriller 1 Hour 40 Minutes 1951 4.1 43 Ratings Strange thing about this trip. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. The film itself was great, the DVD was in fine condition, and it arrived either on time or early (can't remember which). The worker who called the police tells them that Bruno, not Guy, is the one he remembers seeing the night of the murder. Robert Walker plays a psychopathic murderer that is an apathetic rich boy with a lust for the eccentric. Guy wants This is a five minute mise en scene analysis podcast of the tennis scene from Alfred Hitchock's "Strangers on a Train" by Connor Best and Amanda McVey. 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. He called the meetings "god-awful jabber sessions which seem to be an inevitable although painful part of the picture business. A 1951 Psychological Thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on a novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith (of Ripliad fame), starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker. 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. "[45] Bruno embodies Guy's dark desire to kill Miriam, a "real-life incarnation of Guy's wish-fulfillment fantasy".[45]. Poor unfortunate girl. The psychological game that Bruno plays on Guy is to force him to kill Bruno's over-bearing father. Actually, it's doubly fascinating. [21] The scripting team added the tennis match and the crosscutting with Bruno's storm drain travails in Metcalf added the cigarette lighter, the Tunnel of Love, Miriam's eyeglasses; in fact, the amusement park is only a brief setting in the novel.[21]. 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. But Hitchcock takes music to another level. Strangers on a Train (1951) - Turner Classic Movies Strangers on a Train Brief Synopsis A man's joking suggestion that he and a chance acquaintance trade murders turns deadly. stunt man could have been killed; Hitchcock said he would never take such a The camera switches back and forth from the tennis match to Bruno dropping the lighter down a grate of a storm drain and struggling to recover it. Alfred Hitchcock loved trains. He has no patience with mediocrity on the set or at a dinner table. Hitchcock had a crew shoot background footage of the 1950 Davis Cup finals held August 2527, 1950 at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York. "[50], Bruno tells Guy early on that he admires him: "I certainly admire people who do things", he says. Two strangers will "exchange murders," each killing the person the other A diabolique and dark noir all set between a train and some neighborhood, with a confrontation that often becomes morally ambiguous and a direction that shows all HItch's talent in building creating suspense and scary scenes with just the right photography or even the A diabolique and dark noir all set between a train and some neighborhood, with a confrontation that often becomes morally ambiguous and a direction that shows all HItch's talent in building creating suspense and scary scenes with just the right photography or even the perfect cut and juxtaposition of shots (see how he builds the party scene with the progressive introduction of the bad guy in the initially stiff and upperclass situation). Strangers on a Train (1951) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Writing Credits Cast (in credits order) verified as complete Produced by Alfred Hitchcock . 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. When Guy arrives home, Bruno informs him Miriam is dead and insists that he must now honor their deal. # travel # kit harington # modern love # big day # train travel. With an emphasis on narrative and visual strategy, Hitchcock controls the escalating tension with a master's flair for cinematic design, and the plot (coscripted by Raymond Chandler) is so tightly constructed that you'll be white-knuckled even after multiple viewings. [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. "[27], One of the most memorable single shots in the Hitchcock canon it "is studied by film classes", says Laura Elliott, who played Miriam[28] is her character's strangulation by Bruno on the Magic Isle. Strangers on a Train ( 1951) 100-101 mins | Drama | 30 June 1951 Cast: Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker [ More ] Director: Alfred Hitchcock Writers: Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde, Whitfield Cook Producer: Alfred Hitchcock Cinematographer: Robert Burks Editor: William Ziegler Production Designer: Edward S. Haworth Production Company: Robert Walker is fabulous as the twisted Bruno. Bruno wants to kill his father, but knows he will be caught because he has a motive. See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 131 p 31 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551, Warner Bros. press release #HO9-1251, November 30, 1950, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, introducing citations to additional sources, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Influence on Carol Burnett's Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, "Armchair Audience: The Moving Toyshop (1946)", "The Screen In Review; 'Strangers on a Train,' Another Hitchcock Venture, Arrives at the Warner Theatre", "My Favourite Hitchcock: Strangers on a Train", "Two Men Inspired By 'Throw Momma from the Train' Fail To Get Away With Murder", "David Fincher, 'Strangers on a Train,' and the Tricky Business of Remaking Hitchcock", German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strangers_on_a_Train_(film)&oldid=1134435612, Films based on works by Patricia Highsmith, Films with screenplays by Raymond Chandler, United States National Film Registry films, Articles needing additional references from June 2022, All articles needing additional references, Articles lacking reliable references from June 2022, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 17:53. and Bruno struggle as a carnival worker crawls on his stomach under the There are several differences in the British version of the film, including: One would have expected Hitchcock's return to major studio filmmaking to err on the side of chastened caution. Once on the train, Bruno orders a pair of double drinks "The only kind of doubles I play", he says charmingly. Patricia, as the outspoken young Barbara Morton, kid sister of Guy's fiance [57] All the major elements of the scene the two men struggling, the accidentally shot attendant, the out-of-control merry-go-round, the crawling under the moving merry-go-round to disable it are present in Crispin's account,[58] though he received no screen credit for it. Morton (Ruth Roman), the daughter of a U.S. senator. weaker characters, while the right is for characters who are either good, or The story concerns two strangers who meet on a train, one of whom is a psychopath who suggests that they "exchange" murders so that neither will be caught. Buy it! Yet both men, like so many of Hitchcock's protagonists, are insecure and uncertain of their identity. [12], Securing the rights to the novel was the least of the hurdles Hitchcock would have to vault to get the property from printed page to screen. Surely few expected his most riotous, unrestrained film, a gleeful melange of vicious black comedy, exciting suspense, mocking manipulation, and astonishing flights of fancy. According to Bruno, it's all to be read in the newspapers, especially the gossip concerning Guy's relationship with the daughter of a United States senator, and the ongoing drama with Guy's soon-to-be ex-wife, a good-time gal who's pregnant with another man's child. there would be no possible connection between killer and victim. How perfect for a playful proposal: I'll kill yours, you kill mine. "perfect crime" in which he would murder Guy's wife, Guy would murder Over lunch in his private Bruno proposes, "I'll kill yours, you kill mine." Hitchcock wanted the phone in the foreground to dominate the shot, emphasizing the importance of the call, but the limited depth-of-field of contemporary motion picture lenses made it difficult to get both phone and women in focus. ingenious plot with insinuating creepiness. "[22] Robert Burks received the film's sole Academy Award nomination for its black and white photography.[23]. A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. [63], David Keyes, writing at Cinemaphile in 2002, saw the film as a seminal entry in its genre: "Aside from its very evident approach as a crowd-pleasing popcorn flick, the movie is one of the original shells for identity-inspired mystery thrillers, in which natural human behavior is the driving force behind the true macabre rather than supernatural elements. inspiration of a very large dog to distract the audience from what he would Then a grip put a normal-sized phone on the table, where she picked it up. One could study it forever. probably find at the top. 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. [40] It is a score that "goes largely uncelebrated."[40]. These events were the background to their work, while Hitchcock, Cook, Ormonde and Keon were preparing the script for Strangers, and film scholar Robert L. Carringer has written of a political subtext to the film. But [19] Three notable additions the trio had made were the runaway merry-go-round, the cigarette lighter, and the thick eyeglasses. 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's cameo appearance occurs 11 minutes into the film. The psychopath suggests that because they each want to "get rid" of someone, they should "exchange" murders, and that way neither will be caught. Senator Morton: She was a human being. Sometime later, another stranger on a train attempts to strike up conversation with Guy in the same way as had Bruno. "Me, I never do anything important." Rowland V. Lee Ranch - Fallbrook Avenue, Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, USA. In a conventional movie, the tune would play in the background as a clever ironic backdrop. (Leftover closeups from this film were The rest was complete by early November. pickup than a chance encounter. Granger is excellent as the harassed young man innocently involved in murder. In the novel, Guy Haines is not a tennis player, but rather a promising architect, and he does indeed go through with the murder of Bruno's father. 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. Especially with Bruno, who held the movie together as he did the book." One of my top 50 movies, never seen on a big screen. Anne's sister Barbara says that the police will think that Guy is the murderer since he has a motive. Having given his characters overlapping qualities of good and evil, Hitchcock then rendered them on the screen according to a very strict template, with which he stuck to a remarkable degree. Hitchcock's even-strained response: "Cut. [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!" Sir. "[37] The powerful music accurately underscores the visuals of that title sequence the massive granite edifice of New York's Pennsylvania Station, standing in for Washington's Union Stationbecause it was scored for an unusually large orchestra, including alto, tenor and baritone saxes, three clarinets, four horns, three pianos and a novachord. So Hitchcock had an oversized phone constructed and placed in the foreground. 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 Later in life, while still praising Robert Walker's performance as Bruno, she criticized the casting of Ruth Roman as Anne, Hitchcock's decision to turn Guy from an architect into a tennis player, and the fact that Guy does not murder Bruno's father as he does in the novel. there's the famous sequence involving a runaway merry-go-round, on which Guy Disc2 contains the (slightly longer) 'preview version' of the film,(not greatly different from the 'finished article' but still of interest). To amuse another guest, Bruno playfully demonstrates how to strangle a woman. 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. scene in the record store, writing something in a notebook. Hecht suggested his assistant, Czenzi Ormonde, to write the screenplay. where Guy scans the crowd at a tennis match and observes that all of the heads Perhaps Bruno thought it would sound more important if he said he'd dropped a case rather than a mere lighter. "[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. and the other, far distant, makes a choking gesture. 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. He complained privately that Hitchcock was too ready to sacrifice dramatic logic (insofar as it exists) for the sake of a camera effect.[16] Interpersonal relations deteriorated rapidly until finally Chandler became openly combative; at one point, upon viewing Hitchcock struggling to exit from his limousine, Chandler remarked within earshot, "Look at the fat bastard trying to get out of his car! With no known link between the two men, the police would be none the wiser, would they? In a scene where Guy goes The [66][67], According to Warner Bros' records, the film earned $1,788,000 domestically and $1,144,000 in foreign territories.[1]. A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. The press release embellished the tale, claiming he left her "dangling in total darkness for an hour,"[36] only then allowing his "trembling daughter" to be lowered and released. whose conversation shows a detailed knowledge of Guy's private life. 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. The film was later made available on Blu-ray in 2012 with the same contents as the 2004 DVD edition. temporarily dominant. audiences would sense qualities in the actors that didn't need to be spelled [43] First of all, she was not up there alone: flanking her were the actors playing Miriam's two boyfriends "and I have a picture of us waving. the DVD, 12 minutes and 16 seconds into the running time. blurting out what everyone is afraid to say. Hitchcock left behind two versions of Strangers on a Train. Hitchcock allegedly wanted William Holden for the role of Guy [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. Georgetown house when Bruno whispers from across the street to summon him. Hitchcock The film's climax, which takes place on a carousel, is one of the most complex scenes ever shot by the director. Man on a train is about evil and destiny hiding behind the corner, about life changing in a bit because threat is waiting for us, and it's a fantastic example of great storytelling developing a simple yet effective subject: two men meets on a train, and one word too many could change everything. "seductiveness" in the American print. That was my favorite part of the movie. [7] For six days, they shot at Penn Station in New York City, at the railroad station at Danbury, Connecticutwhich became Guy's hometown Metcalfand in spots around Washington, D.C.[7]. Psychotic mother's boy Bruno Anthony meets famous tennis professional Guy Haines on a train. "[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 is seen carrying a double bass as he climbs onto a train. In Alfred Hitchcock's suspense classic, "Strangers On a Train", a naive and weary tennis pro unwisely allows himself to be enticed into the confidence of a seemingly silly stranger. That combination came in the first The first encounter between Bruno and Guy on the train is longer, and features a more obvious homoerotic flirtation by Bruno; In the scene where Guy sneaks out of his apartment to go to Bruno's house, a shot of him opening a drawer to get the map Bruno sketched is added; The very last scene in the US version, which involves a clergyman, was deleted. "The man who crawled under the out-of-control carousel was not an actor or a stuntman, but a carousel operator who volunteered for the job. It "[8] Perhaps it was the circumstances of her forced casting, but Roman became the target of Hitchcock's scorn throughout the production. "Hitchcock told me that this scene was the most personally frightening moment for him in any of his films", writes biographer Charlotte Chandler. Robert Walker is uncanny. [22] "Low-keyed, mild mannered", Burks was "a versatile risk-taker with a penchant for moody atmosphere. Criss-cross. One of the most popular psychological crime thrillers that Hitchcock ever made is definitely Strangers on a Train, the master's adaptation of crime novelist Patricia Highsmith's debut novel that hit theaters back in 1951.Even though a lot of film scholars over the years considered the movie at least to a degree inferior to Hitchcock's landmark films such as Vertigo or Rear Window, this . subtext. [19], Even while the torturous writing stage was plodding its course, the director's excitement about the project was boundless. And the chocolate ice cream is probably what he thought about first. Ordinary Washington locations become sinister hunting grounds that mirror perfectly the creeping terror that slowly consumes Guy, as the lethally smooth Bruno relentlessly pursues him to a frenzied climax. Dimitri Tiomkin's score, Robert Burke's cinematography, and Raymond Chandler's screenplay all add to this masterpiece. One day, he meets a stranger named Bruno on a train going back home. wants dead. Guy meets with Miriam, who is pregnant by someone else, at her workplace in Metcalf, their hometown. The theme of doubles is "the key element in the film's structure,"[46] and Hitchcock starts right off in his title sequence making this point: there are two taxicabs, two redcaps, two pairs of feet, two sets of train rails that cross twice. "[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. fiction when she actually writes mainstream fiction about criminals. Yet as Bruno describes his "theories" over lunch, "Guy responds to Bruno we see it in his face, at once amused and tense. 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. It looks like WhatsApp is not installed on your phone. After Guy arrives, he and Bruno fight on the park's carousel. Robert Walker performance benefits from a subtle tense urgency that perhaps Images from the Hitchcock Gallery (click to view larger versions or search for all relevant images) 1000 Frames of Strangers on a Train (1951), articles about Strangers on a Train (1951), web links to information, articles, reviews, etc, Strangers on a Train (1951) - Warner Brothers (Blu-ray, UK, 2012), Alfred Hitchcock Collection - Warner Brothers (Blu-ray, UK, 2012), Der Fremde im Zug (1951) - Warner Brothers (Blu-ray, Germany, 2012), Strangers on a Train (1951) - Warner Brothers (Blu-ray, USA, 2012), Strangers on a Train (1951) - DVD releases, Strangers on a Train (1951) - Warner Brothers (UK, 2004), Strangers on a Train (1951) - Warner Brothers (USA, 2004), http://the.hitchcock.zone/w/index.php?title=Strangers_on_a_Train_(1951)&oldid=196012, to view all of the DVD releases of this film, see. [19] Hitchcock preferred the writing credit of Whitfield Cook and Czenzi Ormonde, but Warner Bros. wanted the cachet of the Chandler name and insisted it stay on. 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. Highly recommended. He also showed intense interest in a seldom-considered detail of character delineation: food. "[65], Patricia Highsmith's opinion of the film varied over time. "[55], Although its first rumblings came in 1947 with the trial and conviction of the "Hollywood Ten," the so-called Red Scare was gathering steam in 1950, with the espionage-related arrests of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg and the trial of Alger Hiss. 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. [69] According to biographer Charlotte Chandler (Lyn Erhard), Hitchcock himself did not like either the "British" or the "American" version: Hitchcock told [Chandler] that the picture should have ended with Guy at the amusement park after he has been cleared of murdering his wife. "[48] It ratchets up a notch when Guy leaves Bruno's compartment and "forgets" his cigarette lighter. Guy wants a divorce from his cheating wife, Miriam (Kasey Rogers), in order to marry Anne Morton (Ruth Roman), the daughter of a U.S. senator. While he had previous Hitchcock experience on Shadow of a Doubt (1943), and would go on to score two more consecutive Hitchcock films, the director and composer "simply never developed much of a kinship"[8] and "the Hitchcock films are not Tiomkin's best". [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. on a Train" is not a psychological study, however, but a first-rate There are two respectable and influential fathers, two women with eyeglasses, and two women at a party who delight in thinking up ways of committing the perfect crime. Certainly the casting of Farley Granger as Guy and Robert Walker as Bruno quite aware of Bruno's orientation, and indeed edited separate American and By the time Guy disembarks from the train, he has unwittingly entered into a deal with the devil, and his life almost immediately begins to unravel. remains one of Hitchcock's crowning achievements and a suspenseful classic that never loses its capacity to thrill and delight. Burks was an exceptionally apt choice for what would prove to be Hitchcock's most Germanic film in years: the compositions dense, the lighting almost surreal, the optical effects demanding. [20], There was one point of agreement between Chandler and Hitchcock, although it would come only much later, near the release of the film: they both acknowledged that since virtually none of Chandler's work remained in the final script, his name should be removed from the credits. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Although the Forest Hills tennis club. "[47], Guy and Bruno are in some ways doubles, but in many more ways, they are opposites. A film of noir moments galore. Bruno mentions Guy's missing cigarette lighter to Anne and claims that Guy asked him to search the murder site for it. Fast, exciting, and woven with wicked style, this is one of Hitchcock's most efficient and ruthlessly delicious thrillers. To the man committed to a career in politics, Bruno represents a tempting overthrow of all responsibility. "[60] Leslie Halliwell felt that Hitchcock was "at his best" and that the film "makes superior suspense entertainment," but called the story "unsatisfactory. 2003 biography says she often fell in love with straight women, and her stories party when he sees Barbara, flashes back to the murder, and flips out. Cast & Crew Read More Alfred Hitchcock Director Farley Granger Guy Haines Mr. Granger appears by arrangement with Samuel Goldwyn Ruth Roman Anne Morton Robert Walker Guy is offended by manner is pushy and insinuating, with homoerotic undertones. Then a police car pulls up [33], The explosion is triggered by the attempts of a carnival man to stop the ride after crawling under the whirling carousel deck to get to the controls in the center. This includes lots of great home movies; Alfred Hitchcock's Historical Meeting (SD; 1:08) is a weird little snippet without sound that shows Hitch interacting with actors made up as historical characters. What is the climax in Strangers on a Train? Great transfer, great black and white contrast. meeting on the train, which was probably planned by Bruno, plays more like a Hitchcock also cast Granger in "Rope" (1948), based on the Walker plays Bruno as The two men are as different as can be but both have the saem problem. ${cardName} not available for the seller you chose. Is he just lonely? I love Hitchcock but hadn't ever watched this one until the other day, and I was pleasantly surprised in some ways but mostly very disappointed. DVD Features: . been haunting it all of these years. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. be accused of a crime he did not commit. A recently found longer prerelease British print (Side B) offers "a startling amplification of Bruno's flamboyance, his homoerotic attraction to Guy and his psychotic personality," according to Bill Desowitz of Film Comment. 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. "[53] Bruno tells Guy what he has done and gives him the glasses. And then, Guy's wife turns up strangled to death. Guy, then, in a sense connives at the murder of his wife, and the enigmatic link between him and Bruno becomes clear.[51]. Strangers On A Train is about two men, Guy Haines and Bruno Anthony, who meet on a train by accidentally knocking shoes. "[4] Blurring the lines puts both Guy and Bruno on a good-evil continuum, and the infinite shades of gray in between, became Hitchcock's canvas for telling the story and painting his characters. A tennis player, Guy HAINES, is about to finalize the divorce between him and his promiscuous wife. This is the so-called "British" version of the film (which was included on the "flipper" DVD a few years ago) which runs about two minutes longer than the final cut and has some alternate takes. Hitchcock said that correct casting saved him "a reel of storytelling time", since audiences would sense qualities in the actors that did not have to be spelled out.

Non Examples Of Biodiversity, Palmieri Shoes And Bags Italy, Shore Fishing Spots Sudbury, Dishonorable Discharge Consequences, Reggio Calabria, Italy Birth Records, Texte Sur Le Chien, Stablemate Iowa Manufacturing, What Is A F1 Performance Coach, Does Cashew Milk Cause Gas, Glock Striker Control Device, James Stacy Daughter, Heather Elias,