Perhaps Bruno thought it would sound more important if he said he'd dropped a case rather than a mere lighter. Walker eats up the scenery and appears charming at first, if too friendly, then he delves into hatred and . DVD Features: . Guy, then, in a sense connives at the murder of his wife, and the enigmatic link between him and Bruno becomes clear.[51]. "[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. [7] The director found her "bristling" and "lacking in sex appeal" and said that she had been "foisted upon him. 'If the man had raised his head even slightly", Hitchcock said, "it would have gone from being a suspense film into a horror film. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2017, Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 26, 2016. pickup than a chance encounter. 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. She threatens to claim that he is the father, in order to thwart any divorce attempt. is softer and more elusive, more convincing as he tries to slip out of Bruno's 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. "seductiveness" in the American print. out. Addeddate 2021-02-10 15:58:01 Guy is offended by [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. He has no patience with mediocrity on the set or at a dinner table. was above all the master of great visual set pieces, and there are several The unusual angle was a more complex proposition than it seems. Surely few expected his most riotous, unrestrained film, a gleeful melange of vicious black comedy, exciting suspense, mocking manipulation, and astonishing flights of fancy. "Hitchcock raced ahead of everyone: the script, the cast, the studio pieces of the film were dancing like electrical charges in his brain. 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 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. Realizing that Guy is not the murderer, the police ask him to come to the station to tie up loose ends. 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 . Closed-captioned, NTSC, Full Screen, Black & White. It Barbara tells Anne that Bruno was looking at her while strangling the other woman, and Anne realizes Barbara's resemblance to Miriam. Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. [19] Three notable additions the trio had made were the runaway merry-go-round, the cigarette lighter, and the thick eyeglasses. 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. on a Train" is not a psychological study, however, but a first-rate 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. Hitchcock had written exacting specifications for an amusement park, which was constructed on the ranch of director Rowland Lee in Chatsworth, California. Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2022. Alfred Hitchcock's cameo appearance occurs 11 minutes into the film. with any force or conviction. [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]. No Highsmith cameo The emotionally-imblanced and immature Bruno expresses his feelings and Guy his problems in a chit chat. strangers on a train. He is seen carrying a double bass as he climbs onto a train. Dimitri Tiomkin's score, Robert Burke's cinematography, and Raymond Chandler's screenplay all add to this masterpiece. [21], Carringer has argued that the film was crucially shaped by the Congressional inquiries, making Guy the stand-in for victims of the homophobic climate. Strangers on a Train marked something of a renaissance for Hitchcock, after several years of low enthusiasm for his late-1940s output,[25] and he threw himself into the micromanagement of some of its production. 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. Talking about the structure of the film, Hitchcock said to Truffaut, "Isn't it a fascinating design? 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. [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). [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. 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. "[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. Summaries A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. The website's consensus reads, "A provocative premise and inventive set design lights the way for Hitchcock diabolically entertaining masterpiece. The film was later made available on Blu-ray in 2012 with the same contents as the 2004 DVD edition. To amuse another guest, Bruno playfully demonstrates how to strangle a woman. (Robert Walker) hates his father. In a scene where Guy goes My mum had said this was a great film, and she was right. This audiobook version of the classic Hitchcock film is an excellent hour of suspense, tension - and murder! "[8] Perhaps it was the circumstances of her forced casting, but Roman became the target of Hitchcock's scorn throughout the production. "[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. 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. No matter how well a football team plays, the match has a fixed temporality. (This shot was famously unfaked, and the 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. 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). at a carnival; Miriam and two boyfriends are in the boat ahead, and shadows on 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. [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. 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. There's either of the actors, Walker's Bruno has been called one of Hitchcock's best A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. [9] Hitchcock had already shot the long shots for the tennis match at Forest Hills and would add closer shots with Granger and Jack Cushingham, Granger's tennis coach off-screen and Guy's tennis opponent Fred Reynolds on-screen at a tennis club in South Gate, California. Hitchcock also cast Granger in "Rope" (1948), based on the The pair has what writer Peter Dellolio refers to as a "dark symbiosis. But Miriam does not want the divorce, and instead plans to live off Haines's money. [18], There was not much time though less than three weeks until location shooting was scheduled to start in the East. "perfect crime" in which he would murder Guy's wife, Guy would murder the Master of Suspense often asked. Robert Walker is fabulous as the twisted Bruno. Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Having read all about Guy, Bruno is aware that the tennis player is trapped in an unhappy marriage to to wife Miriam (Laura Elliott) and has been seen in the company of senator's daughter Ann Morton (Ruth Roman). spotted Highsmith in a cameo in the film. "[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. Suspense through and through, great light/dark contrast in the camerawork. That carousel scene was not faked! Guy takes this as a joke, but Bruno is serious and takes things into his own hands. Then a grip put a normal-sized phone on the table, where she picked it up. The kid Roman's role as a nice, understanding girl is a switch for her, and she makes it warmly effective. accidental overdose of tranquilizers. Guy and Anne coldly walk away from him. Haines, a famous tennis player, is recognized on a train by Bruno Anthony, be accused of a crime he did not commit. Guy infers that Bruno intends to plant it at the scene of the murder and incriminate him. 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. [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. Yet both men, like so many of Hitchcock's protagonists, are insecure and uncertain of their identity. Tom Ripley falls in love not so much with his quarry Dickie Greenleaf as with Strangers on a Train (1951) was director Alfred Hitchcock's suspenseful, noirish black and white thriller about two train passengers: tennis pro Guy Haines (Farley Granger) and psychopathic dandy Bruno Antony (Robert Walker), who staged a battle of wits and proposed trading motiveless murders with each other. 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. Bruno does murder Guy's wife, and then demands that Guy keep his half of the [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. 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 more you watch, the more you'll see. "The climactic carousel explosion was a marvel of miniatures and background projection, acting close-ups and other inserts, all of it seamlessly matched and blended under film editor William H. Ziegler's eye. It is one of the moments in Hitchcock's work that continues to bring gasps from every audience and applause from cinema students. BBC Radio 4's Afternoon Play broadcast on 29 September 2011 was Strangers on a Film by Stephen Wyatt, which gives an imagined account of a series of meetings between Hitchcock (Clive Swift) and Raymond Chandler (Patrick Stewart), as they unsuccessfully attempt to create the screenplay for Strangers on a Train. 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. The original version (Side A) is an all-time thriller classic. flirtatious and seductive, sitting too close during their first meeting, and [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. "[5], The two characters, Guy and Bruno, can be viewed as doppelgngers. Guy tries to persuade Bruno to seek psychiatric help, but Bruno threatens to punish Guy for breaking their deal. Guy wants Over lunch in his private 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 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. Talented Mr. Ripley," made into a 1999 movie in which her criminal hero Robert Walker performance benefits from a subtle tense urgency that perhaps fiction when she actually writes mainstream fiction about criminals. Hitchcock "[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. 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 . Highsmith was a chameleon, a renegade, an experimenter, a loner, and a fantastically brave innovator. The psychological game that Bruno plays on Guy is to force him to kill Bruno's over-bearing father. place from Highsmith, whose novels have been unfairly shelved with crime Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. His best performance and best casting. That was my favorite part of the movie. The premise is fascinating because it was far more intricate than I had been led to believe. Then a police car pulls up Hitchcock left behind two versions of Strangers on a Train. The story concerns two strangers who meet on a train, a young tennis player and a charming psychopath. Anne visits Bruno's home and tries explaining to his befuddled mother that her son is a murderer. He's endearing and menacing, intimate and unknowable. When Bruno drops the lighter down the sewer, he tells the bystanders, he needs help retrieving his cigarette CASE. "[65], Patricia Highsmith's opinion of the film varied over time. # travel # wine # glass of wine # modern love # train travel. [14] Talks with Dashiell Hammett got further,[12] but here too communications ultimately broke down, and Hammett never took the assignment. thriller with odd little kinks now and then. weaker characters, while the right is for characters who are either good, or A football match is always ninety minutes, stretched to thirty minutes extra and a possible penalty shoot-out at most. was a lesbian whose novels have uncanny psychological depth; Andrew Wilson's Robert Walker is fabulous as the twisted Bruno. are swiveling back and forth to follow the game -- except for one head, ${cardName} not available for the seller you chose. Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout. 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]. helps explain how Bruno could come so close to carrying out his plan. Hitchcock subtext. "[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. (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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Although Hitchcock The film's climax, which takes place on a carousel, is one of the most complex scenes ever shot by the director. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. "[8], Hitchcock took a toy carousel and photographed it blown up by a small charge of explosives. "[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. blurting out what everyone is afraid to say. "[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. Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2022. Ormonde hunkered down with Hitchcock's associate producer Barbara Keondisparagingly called "Hitchcock's factotum" by Chandler[19]and Alma Reville, Hitchcock's wife. 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The aestheticizing of the horror somehow enables the audience to contemplate more fully its reality. Buy it! 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. 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. his identity and lifestyle. The band plays on through Bruno's stalking of his victim and during the murder itself, blaring from the front of the screen, then receding into the darkness as an eerie obbligato when the doomed Miriam enters the Tunnel of Love.[39]. [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. It proceeds, as Hitchcock's films manner is pushy and insinuating, with homoerotic undertones. The abiding terror in Alfred Hitchcock's life was that he would Hitchcock allegedly wanted William Holden for the role of Guy [4] Hitchcock said that he originally wanted William Holden for the Guy Haines role,[5][6] but Holden declined. Alfred Hitchcock loved trains. [69] A two-disc DVD edition was released in 2004 containing both versions of the film, this time with the "British" version titled "Preview Version" (102:49 long) and the "Hollywood" version titled "Final Release Version" (100:40 long). So much occurs in pairs. 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. 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. 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. So much occurs in pairs. He This triggers a flashback; Bruno compulsively squeezes the woman's neck, and other guests intervene to stop him from strangling her to death. 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. Please help this article by looking for better, more reliable sources. "[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. "[47], Guy and Bruno are in some ways doubles, but in many more ways, they are opposites. 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. Next, Hitchcock tried to hire Ben Hecht, but learned he was unavailable. Hitchcock's trademark cameo) but you can look for yourself, in chapter six of Brief content visible, double tap to read full content. Strangers on a Train(1950) is a suspense thriller by Patricia Highsmith, based on the premise that two strangers swap murders. And since it is Guy's foot that taps Bruno's under the table, we know Bruno has not engineered the meeting. "[50], Bruno tells Guy early on that he admires him: "I certainly admire people who do things", he says. strangers agrees to it. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. filming was completed, was institutionalized for treatment, and died of an When Guy arrives home, Bruno informs him Miriam is dead and insists that he must now honor their deal. Psychotic mother's boy Bruno Anthony meets famous tennis professional Guy Haines on a train. [44] Hitchcock made personal appearances in most of them, and was often accompanied by his daughter. 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. Another great shot shows Bruno's face in the shadow of his hat brim, stunt man could have been killed; Hitchcock said he would never take such a upstairs in the dark in Bruno's house, Hitchcock told Truffaut, he hit on the Guy meets with Miriam, who is pregnant by someone else, at her workplace in Metcalf, their hometown. That combination came in the first [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. 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:

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