Detailed item info | Movie description | STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, quickly became one of Alfred Hitchcock's most successful thrillers and remains one of his most popular films. En route from Washington, D.C., champion tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets pushy playboy Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). What begins as a chance encounter turns into a series of morbid confrontations, as Bruno manipulates his way into Guy's life. Bruno is eager to kill his father and knows Guy wants to marry a senator's daughter (Ruth Roman) but cannot get a divorce from his wife, Miriam (Laura Elliot). So Bruno suggests the men swap murders, which would leave no traceable clues or possible motives. Though Guy refuses, it will not be so easy to rid himself of the psychopathic Bruno. The film is tightly paced and disturbing from beginning to end, an effect heightened by Hitchcock's inventive camera work, including a terrifying sequence shot through a pair of eyeglasses that have been knocked to the ground.
| | Credits | | Writer: | Raymond Chandler | | Producer: | Alfred Hitchcock | | Cast: | Jonathan Hale, Leo G. Carroll, Marion Lorne, Robert Walker |
| | Notes | DVD Features:
Region 1
Snap Case
Complete US and UK Versions of the Film
Full Frame - 1.33:1
Audio:
Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono - English
Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono - French (US version only)
Additional Release Material:
Filmographies
Production Notes
Trailers - Theatrical (5)
Hitchcock Newsreel Footage
Interactive Features:
Scene Access
Hitchcock cameo: See Hitch boarding the train with a double bass, echoing the duality theme that is prevalent throughout the film.
The film is based on the Patricia Highsmith novel STRANGERS ON A TRAIN.
Hitchcock paid $7,500 dollars for the rights to the novel.
Patricia Hitchcock, the director's only daughter, is featured in a supporting role.
When Hitchcock could not sign William Holden for the role of the tennis pro, Farley Granger was hired instead.
| | Editorial reviews | "...STRANGERS ON A TRAIN remains a timeless treat, a marvelous display of Hitchcock's absolute mastery of his medium and a deliciously dark comedy as well..."
Los Angeles Times - p.F5 - Kevin Thomas
"...Walker is spine-chilling....With intense attention to detail and award-winning photography, this is Hitchcock at his best..."
Total Film - Lucy Aitken (10/01/2000)
"[A] first-rate thriller with odd little kinks now and then. It proceeds, as Hitchcock's films so often do, with a sense of private scores being settled just out of sight."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (12/21/2003)
"STRANGERS is one of Hitch's best."
Premiere - Andy Webster (07/01/2004)
"Alfred Hitchcock launched his richest period with this rousing adaptation..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (09/10/2004)
|
Portions of this page Copyright 1981 - 2009 Muze Inc.  All rights reserved. |
Back to home page
) 
NorthKeyMovies
Print
Report item
