Strangers on a Train (1951)

User Rating:

8.3/10   

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Raymond Chandler (screenplay) and
Czenzi Ormonde (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 July 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Film-Noir | Mystery | Romance | Sport | Thriller

Tagline:

A girl in love with young America's idol--and a good-looking stranger in search of sensation--that's how it all began..! Warner Bros. bring a pounding new tempo to motion picture entertainment!

Plot:

A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder...a theory that he plans to implement.

Plot Keywords:

Tennis | Stranger | Senator | Murder | Amusement Park

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Farley Granger	...	Guy Haines
Ruth Roman	...	Anne Morton
Robert Walker	...	Bruno Anthony
Leo G. Carroll	...	Sen. Morton
Patricia Hitchcock	...	Barbara Morton
Kasey Rogers	...	Miriam Joyce Haines (as Laura Elliott)
Marion Lorne	...	Mrs. Anthony
Jonathan Hale	...	Mr. Anthony
Howard St. John	...	Police Capt. Turley
John Brown	...	Prof. Collins
Norma Varden	...	Mrs. Cunningham
Robert Gist	...	Leslie Hennessy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joel Allen	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Murray Alper	...	Boatman (uncredited)
Monya Andre	...	Dowager (uncredited)
Brooks Benedict	...	Tennis umpire (uncredited)
Al Bridge	...	Tennis judge (uncredited)
John Butler	...	Blind man (uncredited)
Leonard Carey	...	Anthonys' butler (uncredited)
Edward Clark	...	Miriam's boss (uncredited)
Jack Cushingham	...	Fred Reynolds (uncredited)
John Daheim	...	Detective at merry-go-round (uncredited)
John Doucette	...	Det. Hammond (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Party guest (uncredited)
Franklyn Farnum	...	Party guest (uncredited)
Tommy Farrell	...	Miriam's boyfriend (uncredited)
Sam Flint	...	Train passenger requesting light (uncredited)
Edward Hearn	...	Lt. Campbell (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Carnival game proprietor (uncredited)
Harry Hines	...	Man under merry-go-round (uncredited)
Alfred Hitchcock	...	Man boarding train carrying a double bass (uncredited)
Mary Alan Hokanson	...	Secretary (uncredited)
Edna Holland	...	Mrs. Joyce (uncredited)
J. Louis Johnson	...	Mortons' butler (uncredited)
Mike Lally	...	Detective at carnival (uncredited)
Perc Launders	...	Police desk sergeant (uncredited)
Louis Lettieri	...	Boy with balloon (uncredited)
Charles Marsh	...	Bystander at drain (uncredited)
Paul McGuire	...	Man on train (uncredited)
David McMahon	...	Bystander at drain (uncredited)
Charles Meredith	...	Judge Donahue (uncredited)
Ralph Moody	...	Seedy man at carnival (uncredited)
Roland Morris	...	Miriam's boyfriend (uncredited)
Odette Myrtil	...	Madame Darville (uncredited)
Paul Panzer	...	Bystander at merry-go-round (uncredited)
Minna Phillips	...	Dowager (uncredited)
Georges Renavent	...	Monsieur Darville (uncredited)
Dick Ryan	...	Minister (uncredited)
Charles Sherlock	...	Cop (uncredited)
Janet Stewart	...	Girl (uncredited)
Shirley Tegge	...	Girl (uncredited)
Laura Treadwell	...	Mrs. Anderson (uncredited)
Howard Washington	...	Waiter on train (uncredited)
Dick Wessel	...	Bill (uncredited)
Robert Williams	...	Bystander at drain (uncredited)

Directed by
Alfred Hitchcock

Writing credits
Raymond Chandler		(screenplay) and
Czenzi Ormonde		(screenplay)
Whitfield Cook		(adaptation)
Patricia Highsmith		(novel)
Ben Hecht		uncredited

Produced by
Alfred Hitchcock	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Dimitri Tiomkin

Cinematography by
Robert Burks		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
William H. Ziegler		(as William Ziegler)

Art Direction by
Ted Haworth		(as Edward S. Haworth)

Set Decoration by
George James Hopkins

Makeup Department
Gordon Bau	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mel Dellar	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Dolph Thomas	....	sound

Special Effects by
Hans F. Koenekamp	....	special effects (as H. F. Koenekamp)

Stunts
John Daheim	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Leonard J. South	....	first assistant camera (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Leah Rhodes	....	wardrobe

Music Department
Ray Heindorf	....	musical director

Other crew
Barbara Keon	....	production associate

Production Companies

• Warner Bros. Pictures (as Warner Bros.-First National Pictures)

Distributors

• Warner Bros. Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sociedade Importadora de Filmes (SIF) (1952) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1952) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Warner Bros. (1952) (France) (theatrical)
• Warner Home Video (1995) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS) (UK version)
• Warner Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS) (US version)
• Warner Home Video (2001) (Netherlands) (DVD) (UK and US versions)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Germany) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD) (two-disc special edition)
• Warner Home Video (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Turner Classic Movies (TCM) (2008) (USA) (TV)
• Varus Video (19??) (Russia) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (19??) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Warner Home Vídeo (200?) (Brazil) (DVD)

Other Companies

• International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE)  this picture made under the jurisdiction of (as I.A.T.S.E.)

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (USA) (complete title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some violence and tension.

Runtime:

101 min | Portugal:96 min (cut version) | 103 min (preview version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Spain:13 | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Australia:PG (TV rating) | Sweden:15 | Germany:12 (DVD) | West Germany:16 (nf) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) (2004) | South Africa:PG | Brazil:16 | USA:TV-PG | Finland:K-16 | France:U (re-release) | UK:PG | USA:Approved (certificate #14946) | USA:PG (new rating) (1996) | Argentina:13 | Norway:16

Filming Locations:

Danbury Railroad Station - 120 White Street, Danbury, Connecticut, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

This was the last full feature for Robert Walker who died eight months after filming finished from an allergic reaction to a drug.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Turley and the detective follow Guy to the station, they see him at the ticket booth. As they carry on to follow him, several people in the background walking through the station and going up the escalator can be seen looking and pointing towards the camera and crew.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Bruno Anthony: I beg your pardon, but aren't you Guy Haines?

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Strangers on a Train': A Hitchcock Classic (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Oh! You Beautiful Doll

A stunning thriller from the master of suspense

Alfred Hitchcock has made many brilliant thrillers, and many of them have gone on to be hailed as some of the greatest films of all time. One film that tends to get somewhat lost under the Vertigo's and the Psycho's is this film; Strangers on a Train, the most compelling film that Hitchcock ever made. The story follows Guy Haines, a tennis player and a man soon to be wed to the Senator's daughter, if he can get a divorce from his current wife. One day, on the way to see his wife, he meets the mentally unstable Bruno Anthony aboard a train and soon gets drawn into a murder plot that he can neither stop nor stall; and one that could ultimately cost him his life.

The conversation aboard the train between Bruno and Guy is one of the cinema's most intriguing and thought provoking of all time. What if two people "swapped" murders, thus resolving themselves of all suspicion of the crime, and rendering their motive irrelevant? Could this truly be the perfect murder? What makes this film all the more frightening is that the events that Guy is lead into could happen to any, normal everyday person. Everyone has someone they'd like to get rid of, so what if you met an insane man aboard a train that does your murder for you and then forces you to do his? The chances of it happening are unlikely, but it's the idea that anyone could be a murderer that is central to the message of Strangers on a Train; and in this situation, anyone could.

Is there any actor on earth that could have portrayed the character of Bruno Anthony any better than Robert Walker? The man was simply born for the part. He manages to capture just the right mood for his character and absolutely commands every scene he is in. The character of Bruno is a madman, but he's not a lunatic; he's a calculating, conniving human being and Robert Walker makes the character believable. His performance is extremely malevolent, and yet understated enough to keep the character firmly within the realms of reality. Unfortunately, Robert Walker died just one year after the release of Strangers on a Train, and I believe that is a great loss to cinema. Nobody in the cast shines as much as Walker does, but worth mentioning is his co-star Farley Granger. Granger never really impresses that much, but his performance is good enough and he holds his own against Walker. Also notable about his performance is that he portrays his character as a very normal person; and that is how it should be. Ruth Roman is Guy's wife to be. She isn't really in the film enough to make a lasting impression, but she makes the best of what she has. Alfred Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia, takes the final role of the four central roles as Barbara, the sister of Guy's fiancé. She is suitably lovely in this role, and she tends to steal a lot of the scenes that she is in.

Alfred Hitchcock's direction is always sublime, and it is very much so in this film. There is one shot in particular, that sees the murder of the film being committed in the reflection of a pair of sunglasses. This is an absolutely brilliant shot, and one that creates a great atmosphere for the scene. Hitchcock's direction is moody throughout, and very much complies with the film noir style. The climax to the film is both spectacular and exciting, and I don't think that anyone but Hitchcock could have pulled it off to the great effect that it was shown in this film. It's truly overblown, and out of turn from the rest of the movie; but it works. There is a reason that Hitchcock is often cited as the greatest director of all time, and the reason for that is that he doesn't only use the script to tell the film's story, but he also uses to camera to do so as well. Strangers on a Train is one of the greatest thrillers ever made. Its story is both intriguing and thought provoking, and is sure to delight any fan of cinema. A masterpiece.