In 1951, Alfred Hitchcock made a superb film called Strangers on a Train. It had a screenplay by Raymond Chandler from a novel by Patricia Highsmith. A superb cast headed by Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman and Leo G Carroll revelled in the Hitchcock brand of filmmaking.
Warner Bros. utilised their 21-year contract rights and remade it here on the cheap with Frank Tarloff taking over Chandler’s job and Robert Sparr given the job of doing a “Hitchcock” (in his last directing project). Neither was equal to the task.
Psychiatrist Dr Haggis (Whit Bissell) is treating crazed bikini beauty Diana Granger (Carol Lynley) who has psychotic tendencies.
When she overhears him planning to have her returned to another institution she wants him dead, recruiting drunken pro golfer Jerry Marshall (Paul Burke).
Diana knows that Jerry hates his (superior) rival Mike Wilson (Philip Carey) and makes a pact with him to kill each other’s target. He doesn’t take her seriously until she kills Wilson with Jerry’s golf club. Now, she expects him to kill her doctor.
It’s a terrible, pointless remake that is painful to watch.
Director Robert Sparr died in a plane crash on 28 August 1969 while scouting locations for Barquero (1970) and Once You Kiss A Stranger was released posthumously.
Diana Granger
Carol Lynley Jerry Marshall
Paul Burke Lee Marshall
Martha Hyer Pete Delaney
Peter Lind Hayes Mike Wilson
Philip Carey Lt. Tom Gavin
Stephen McNally Dr David Haggis
Whit Bissell Sharon Livingston
Elaine Devry Margaret Granger
Kathryn Givney Announcer
George Fenneman Johnny Parks
Jim Raymond Harriet Parks
Maura McGiveney Raymond
Orville Sherman Lee’s Mother
Ann Doran
Director
Robert Sparr
Related Posts
Bridge at Remagen, The (1969) In the late stages of World War II, aristocratic German officer Major Paul Krueger (Robert Vaughn) delays Hitler's order to…
Downhill Racer (1969) When a skier is injured in a fall, David Chappellet, an ambitious downhill racer from Colorado, gains a coveted place…
Italian Job, The (1969) "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!" The Italian Job is a classic British movie, telling the story of…
Obsession (1976) High melodrama, creeping insanity and barely contained delirium abound in this dizzying tribute to the high-tension thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock…
True Grit (1969) After 40 years in films, John Wayne finally won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Rooster Cogburn,…
Optimists (Of Nine Elms), The (1973) This wonderfully warm film presents the flipside view to the Swinging Sixties dream as it fades into the Sour Seventies…
Once a Thief (1965) Eddie Pedak (French actor Alain Delon in his first Hollywood film) has served 18 months in San Quentin for armed…
Out of the Clouds (1955) Directed by Basil Dearden, and taking place over the course of twenty-four hours, Out of the Clouds is an ensemble…
Warner Bros. utilised their 21-year contract rights and remade it here on the cheap with Frank Tarloff taking over Chandler’s job and Robert Sparr given the job of doing a “Hitchcock” (in his last directing project). Neither was equal to the task.
