 |
|
|
|
Strangers on a Train (1951)
 email this review to a friend
Movie Review by Jarrod
October 6th, 2008
|  |
The premise is deceptively simple; two men happen to sit down next to each other in a train car. One recognizes the other as tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger), and introduces himself as Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). It is an unassuming and casual conversation that suddenly takes a morbid turn. Bruno expresses resentment for his wealthy father, mentions how, sometimes, he has thought of killing him, and Guy laughs, because such thoughts are not uncommon; brief moments of anger may produce them, a heated argument could lead someone to yell "I could kill you", but not really mean it; this was a point made by Henry Fonda in 12 Angry Men and proven by the stubborn and disbelieving Lee J Cobb. Interesting about these opening scenes is that, having watched the movie for the fifth or sixth time, I finally noticed that perhaps this encounter is not mere coincidence; Bruno knows all about Guy's personal life from the papers, knows that he is dating Anne Morgan (Ruth Roman), daughter of a senator, and probably plans on marrying her, once he gets a divorce from his current wife, Miriam. He knows that Guy and Miriam are on sour terms with each other, or can at least intuit as much from their verbal exchange.
Bruno makes Guy an offer, to swap murders, Bruno offers to kill Miriam if Guy agrees to kill Bruno's father. It is perfect, Bruno notes, since the victims will be strangers, and there can thus be no discernible motive. Of course, in Guy's case, he would be the first suspect, but with nothing to link him to the crime physically, the police would have no evidence on which to build a case against him. Guy jokingly (or sarcastically) accepts Bruno's plan, not thinking much of it, but he fails to realize just how serious Bruno is. Bruno is convinced that Guy has agreed to help him, so he tracks down Miriam, stalks her at a carnival, follows her to a secluded location and strangles her, taking her glasses as proof of his deed. As expected, Guy is the prime suspect. Before this, we see his rather tumultuous confrontation with Miriam, who has announced that she is pregnant (by another man) and that she has changed her mind about the divorce, presumably just to make sure that Guy cannot have Anne.
The pregnancy is likely a trap for Guy; she will pretend the baby belongs to Guy, and intends on using this to sabotage the divorce proceedings; it will look bad for Guy if he wants to walk out and leave his pregnant wife behind. Guy remarks to Anne that he is mad at Miriam he could strangle her, a statement that comes back to haunt him later. Guy does not have a good alibi; he chatted with a drunk college professor who, once sober, cannot remember ever speaking to Guy about that calculus speech he gave in New York. Bruno has Guy's trademark lighter, which he left behind in Bruno's compartment, and will plant this as evidence if Guy does not keep up his end of the bargain. Bruno follows Guy everywhere, making him paranoid; a masterful and famous shot shows Bruno in the crowd at one of Guy's tennis matches; he stares at Guy motionlessly as the other spectators are moving their heads back and forth to watch the ball. Bruno, obviously, is a psychopath, who treats murder almost like a sport, a game, an artistic endeavor. He prides himself on being very clever, smarter than Guy, whom he clearly underestimates.
Walker's performance is genius; Bruno Anthony is one of the most memorable characters from the Hitchcock canon, and Walker plays him with a devilish and sinister charm. Granger is also excellent; as Guy, he earns our genuine sympathies almost immediately, but then, to the audience, his innocence is irrefutable. The supporting cast is superb. The film is based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, adapted by Whitfield Cook and the great mystery writer Raymond Chandler (he created the iconic detective Philip Marlowe). Hitchcock ratchets up tension brilliantly, especially during Guy's match, which he tries to finish as quickly as possible, to beat Bruno to the carnival grounds, where Bruno is going to place Guy's lighter at the site of Miriam's death.
Guy plays hurriedly and somewhat sloppily; a tie with his opponent extends the length of the match, while Bruno faces the dilemma of dropping the lighter down a sewer grate, and eventually recovering it, but it slows him down, as well. Bruno and Guy will meet at the carnival for the splendid climax, set on an out-of-control carousel. This is another famous sequence, once again beautifully staged by Hitchcock. Hitch's cameo is also really easy to spot this time. Walker died about a month or so after the movie's release in 1951. The film received only one Oscar nomination, for cinematography. An intense and exciting thriller, flawlessly crafted and executed, one of Hitchcock's best.
email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
Sorry, you must be a member to add comments to reviews.
Join or Login. |
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS
|
