Movie Review: Strangers on a Train

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Great, twisty plot

Cons: Small niggles with the climax

The Bottom Line:

A friendly stranger

With a deadly idea

Hitchcock masterpiece

Pre-Review Note:  I went through a phase several years ago where I watched a bunch of Hitchcock movies.  I always intended to get back and watch more.  How ironic that I am finally do so as I am posting my reviews of those Hitchcock movies originally watched in 2007 and 2008.

"You Do My Murder, I Do Yours."

What would you do if someone you just met by chance suggested you commit a murder for him?  No, this isn’t something out of The Twilight Zone (well, since I’ve never seen the show, maybe it is).  It’s the set up for one of Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpieces.

I always intended to get back to more Hitchcock.  But I got distracted and sidetracked and never got around to it.  Then seven months ago, a couple of them were on TCM, and I recorded them.  I finally got Strangers on a Train watched.  And it reminded me why I wanted to watch more Hitchcock in the first place.

The movie centers on Guy (Farley Granger) and Bruno (Robert Walker).  They bump into each other, literally, on a train one day.  Bruno recognizes Guy because Guy is rising in the ranks of amateur tennis even though he really wants to be a politician.  As the two talk, Bruno mouths off many wild theories, including how to get away with the perfect murder.  He even suggests they try it since Guy has a wife who has been cheating on him and Bruno would love to get rid of his father, who insists that Bruno actually work for a living.

Guy finally disentangles himself and tries to move on with his life only to learn his wife has been murdered.  With horror, he knows who did it.  But can he get anyone to believe him?

I knew that much about the movie going in, but even so I began to get caught up in the story right from the start.  It’s obvious there is something not quite right with Bruno from the beginning, although he mostly appears harmless.  As the story progresses, you see just how crazy he is.

And as the story progresses, you get pulled further and further into the plot.  It really is hard to see how Guy is going to get out of this mess, a mess that isn’t his doing at all.  And to show you just how much of a master Hitchcock is, I found myself on the edge of my seat during a tennis match.  Mind you, I’m not a sports fan in general.  Obviously, it wasn’t about the score.

The climax?  Well, it was a bit over the top, and there was an effect that didn’t quite work for me.  I’ll cut the film some slack since it was 1951 after all.  I was certainly on the edge of my seat during it, especially since I didn’t know just how it would turn out.

The acting is wonderful.  Both Farley Granger and Robert Walker are perfect for the parts of some rather complex characters.  Frankly, there wasn’t anyone in the cast I was particularly familiar with before.  They were all superb, even Hitchcock’s daughter Patricia who played the younger daughter of a Senator who Guy works for when he's not playing tennis.

Really, I’ve got to get back to watching more of the Hitchcock movies I bought.  If the ones I haven’t seen are as good as Strangers on a Train, I am in for some great entertainment.