Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»Movies - 1950s
    Movies - 1950s Movies - S 2 Mins Read

    Strangers On A Train (1951)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    Based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith, the plot to Strangers On A Train is delightfully straightforward and quickly revealed.

    Professional tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets playboy Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) on a train – as the film’s title announces – and their idle conversation eventually turns to the subject of murder.

    Guy would like to get rid of his estranged, cheating wife Miriam (Kasey Rogers) – their marital problems have been well reported in the press – so he can be with his beautiful Washington DC girlfriend, Anne Morton (Ruth Roman). She’s a Senator’s eldest daughter, and Guy wants a career in politics.

    Bruno, meanwhile, wants someone to murder his domineering, disapproving father, a wealthy local aristocrat.

    They agree (hypothetically) that performing each other’s murder would be a good plan, as – with prior knowledge of the crime – both could establish an airtight alibi and never be linked to the crime.

    The trouble is . . . Guy is just kidding but Bruno isn’t and he murders Guy’s wife. He then shadows Guy trying to force him to fulfil his side of their “agreement”.

    Walker is a splendid villain – smooth, creepy and amoral, and at times it is hard not to identify more with Bruno than with the weaker Guy.

    Strangers On A Train is not one of Hitchcock’s masterpieces but nonetheless a gripping film with a climactic carousel scene that leaves audiences gasping. It’s a jarring finale to what is largely an internalised film about madness, blackmail, and guilt, yet Hitchcock pulls it off brilliantly.

    His use of lighting and camera work is outstanding and adds to the atmosphere and suspense. In particular, Bruno’s un-moving face in a sea of tennis spectators, all turning their heads back and forth in unison is wonderful, as is the reflection of the murder in his victim’s glasses.

    Guy Haines
    Farley Granger
    Anne Morton
    Ruth Roman
    Bruno Antony
    Robert Walker
    Senator Morton
    Leo G. Carroll
    Barbara Morton
    Patricia Hitchcock
    Miriam Joyce Haines
    Kasey Rogers
    Mrs Antony
    Marion Lorne
    Mr Antony
    Jonathan Hale
    Police Captain Turley
    Howard St. John
    Professor Collins
    John Brown
    Mrs Cunningham
    Norma Varden
    Detective Leslie Hennessey
    Robert Gist

    Director
    Alfred Hitchcock

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Stooge, The (1951)
      Stooge, The (1951)
      Bill Miller (Dean Martin) is an unsuccessful Broadway performer until his agent Leo Lyman, (Eddie Mayehoff), convinces him to enhance…
    • Silver Streak (1976)
      Silver Streak (1976)
      George Caldwell (Gene Wilder) is an overworked and exhausted publisher who boards a train from Los Angeles to Chicago. As…
    • 6.5 Special (1958)
      6.5 Special (1958)
      This film was made to capitalise on the tremendous success of the BBC pop music TV show, Six-Five Special. It…
    • An Inspector Calls (1954)
      An Inspector Calls (1954)
      Set in the year 1912, an upper crust English family dinner is interrupted by a police inspector who brings news…
    • Vertigo (1958)
      Vertigo (1958)
      When his fear of heights starts to impinge on his effectiveness as a San Francisco cop, John "Scottie" Ferguson (Stewart)…
    • Desert Rats, The (1953)
      Desert Rats, The (1953)
      A rather aloof desert-stormer, meant as a follow-up to The Desert Fox (1951) and again boasting James Mason as Field Marshal…
    • Father of the Bride (1950)
      Father of the Bride (1950)
      This superb domestic comedy brilliantly illustrates a fond father's reactions to the many problems - mostly financial - which arise…
    • Sting, The (1973)
      Sting, The (1973)
      Quite clearly designed to exploit the successful teaming of Paul Newman and Robert Redford in 1969's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleStraight To Hell (1987)
    Next Article Strawberry Statement, The (1970)

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Old Mother Riley, Headmistress (1950)
      This knockabout comedy interlaced with songs features Arthur […]
    • Revenge Of The Nerds (1984)
      Gilbert Lowell (a pre-TV hunk Anthony Edwards who would become […]
    • Adventures of Sinbad, The
      1 9 9 6 – 1 9 9 8 (Canada) 42 x 60 minute episodes In this […]
    • Body Heat (1981)
      The controversial directorial debut of The Empire Strikes […]
    • Sylvania Waters
      1 9 9 2 (Australia) 12 x 30 minute episodes In the […]
    • Ramar of the Jungle
      1 9 5 2 – 1 9 5 4 (USA) Adults shook their heads at this […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.