[43] First of all, she was not up there alone: flanking her were the actors playing Miriam's two boyfriends "and I have a picture of us waving. [4] Hitchcock said that he originally wanted William Holden for the Guy Haines role,[5][6] but Holden declined. probably find at the top. Have watched this movie at least twice previously but it had been many years since I last saw it. "[12] Chandler also felt that the original novel's plot was superior to Hitchcock's version, and argued that it should be restored. [66][67], According to Warner Bros' records, the film earned $1,788,000 domestically and $1,144,000 in foreign territories.[1]. [36] Although that account continues to be published in books to this day, "it just wasn't true", according to Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell. A diabolique and dark noir all set between a train and some neighborhood, with a confrontation that often becomes morally ambiguous and a direction that shows all HItch's talent in building creating suspense and scary scenes with just the right photography or even the A diabolique and dark noir all set between a train and some neighborhood, with a confrontation that often becomes morally ambiguous and a direction that shows all HItch's talent in building creating suspense and scary scenes with just the right photography or even the perfect cut and juxtaposition of shots (see how he builds the party scene with the progressive introduction of the bad guy in the initially stiff and upperclass situation). ingenious plot with insinuating creepiness. Leopold-Loeb case; it was another story about a murder pact with a homosexual Hitchcock builds the conflict on this. With his new writer, he wanted to start from square one: At their first conference, Hitchcock made a show of pinching his nose, then holding up Chandler's draft with his thumb and forefinger and dropping it into a wastebasket. (SD; 7:22) focuses on Kasey Rogers, who performed under the name Laura Elliot in the film; Strangers on a Train: An Appreciation by M. Night Shyamalan (SD; 12:46) has the director espousing his love for Hitch and the film; The Hitchcocks on Hitch (SD; 11:20) features Hitch's daughter and granddaughter talking about Hitch. Robert Walker is fabulous as the twisted Bruno. His gaze falls upon Barbara, whose appearance resembles Miriam's. allowed an aging actress to manipulate him in "Sunset Boulevard"). To think she may have I love Hitchcock but hadn't ever watched this one until the other day, and I was pleasantly surprised in some ways but mostly very disappointed. "The climactic carousel explosion was a marvel of miniatures and background projection, acting close-ups and other inserts, all of it seamlessly matched and blended under film editor William H. Ziegler's eye. and the other, far distant, makes a choking gesture. Hitchcock left behind two versions of Strangers on a Train. Guy, then, in a sense connives at the murder of his wife, and the enigmatic link between him and Bruno becomes clear.[51]. Guy nervously steps into the shadows with Bruno, literally behind the bars of an iron fence; "You've got me acting like I'm a criminal", he says. flirtatious and seductive, sitting too close during their first meeting, and rotate in the same direction -- except one.). [38], Tiomkin's contrasting musical themes continued throughout the film, delineating two characters with substantial differences: "For 'Guy's Theme', Tiomkin created a hesitant, passive idea, made-to-order music for Farley Granger's performance. Psychotic mother's boy Bruno Anthony meets famous tennis professional Guy Haines on a train. [36], Composer Dimitri Tiomkin was Jack Warner's choice to score Strangers on a Train. This triggers a flashback; Bruno compulsively squeezes the woman's neck, and other guests intervene to stop him from strangling her to death. His obsession with being wrongly accused no doubt refers to a traumatic episode Bruno agrees to kill Guy's unfaithful wife, in return for which Guy will (or so it seems) kill Bruno's spiteful father. the Forest Hills tennis club. The novel has been adapted multiple times, most famously by Alfred Hitchcock in his 1951 film. Interesting, in this context, is Hitchcock's casting of his own daughter, chance again.) Strangers on a Train (1951) - Turner Classic Movies Strangers on a Train Brief Synopsis A man's joking suggestion that he and a chance acquaintance trade murders turns deadly. --Jeff Shannon, Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon, [{"displayPrice":"$8.99","priceAmount":8.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"8","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"ljxr4RXVFhT%2BPKRvZQtlYfMQPNkFvRWItSCJh6gvH8GODWGblG4sOglXU76ALdS03DRPExbb%2FgT4ZclL52JN1JP63V80l0djKnnQ%2FjE7RB2b7X5Iga6UtCyo5UN0UwFtFdwFKEiMfxcgxAttav%2FH4txtYXoihOdmJf71qTDZgulgppJc7UoNeUIOV4CKcI3Q","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED"}]. homosexuality still dared not speak its name very loudly in 1951, Hitchcock was Interesting premise but really poor pacing, Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2023. "[5], The two characters, Guy and Bruno, can be viewed as doppelgngers. Even classic endeavors like Fargo and A Simple Plan seem directly fueled by this concept"[64], Almar Haflidason was effusive about Strangers on a Train in 2001 at the BBC website: "Hitchcock's favourite device of an ordinary man caught in an ever-tightening web of fear plunges Guy into one of the director's most fiendishly effective movies. [28] Anne reaches for the big phone, but actually answers a regular one: "I did that on one take", Hitchcock explained, "by moving in on Anne so that the big phone went out of the frame as she reached for it. There are several differences in the British version of the film, including: One would have expected Hitchcock's return to major studio filmmaking to err on the side of chastened caution. Bruno's father, and neither would ever be suspected. "[37] Bruno, who tells Guy on the train that he admires people "who do things", gets a more vigorous musical treatment from Tiomkin: "Harmonic complexity defines the motifs associated with Bruno: rumbling bass, shocking clusters, and glassy string harmonics. "Me, I never do anything important." in his childhood, when his father sent naughty little Alfred to the police For his part, Bruno, a rich and spoiled ne'er-do-well, chats amiably about his deep hatred of his father, and how he wishes someone would kill the old man. Then The laying bare of Bruno's hidden nature, along with the great set pieces (head-turning tennis match, disintegrating carousel) and suspense as only Hitchcock can deliver, makes for a first-class trip. Bruno is standing behind an iron gate, the bars casting symbolic shadows on his "I have always given it careful consideration, so that my characters never eat out of character. Add on for my new cinema room setup. These disturbing sounds, heard to superb effect in cues such as 'The Meeting,' 'Senator's Office,' and 'Jefferson Memorial,' are not just about Bruno, but about how he is perceived by those whose lives he crossesfirst Guy, then everyone in Guy's entourage."[37]. Two strangers will "exchange murders," each killing the person the other With no known link between the two men, the police would be none the wiser, would they? Strangers on a Train Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras: Commentary by Peter Bogdanovich, Peter Benchley, Alfred Hitchcock and many more. First Hitchcock got the exterior shots in Canoga Park, using both actors, then later he had Elliott alone report to a soundstage where there was a large concave reflector set on the floor. Hitchcock had written exacting specifications for an amusement park, which was constructed on the ranch of director Rowland Lee in Chatsworth, California. Ebert wrote: Hitchcock was a classical technician in terms of controlling his visuals, and his use of screen space underlined the tension in ways the audience isn't always aware of. the wall make it appear Bruno has overtaken them. conversation -- which ends on an ambiguous note, with Bruno trying to get Guy Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. [9] Hitchcock had already shot the long shots for the tennis match at Forest Hills and would add closer shots with Granger and Jack Cushingham, Granger's tennis coach off-screen and Guy's tennis opponent Fred Reynolds on-screen at a tennis club in South Gate, California. Burks was an exceptionally apt choice for what would prove to be Hitchcock's most Germanic film in years: the compositions dense, the lighting almost surreal, the optical effects demanding. But, for all that, his basic premise of fear fired by menace is so thin and so utterly unconvincing that the story just does not stand. stunt man could have been killed; Hitchcock said he would never take such a Strangers on a Train Preview Version (SD; 1:42:57). Strangers on a Train: A Hitchcock Classic (SD; 36:44) is a nice overview with Peter Bogdanovich and several others discussing . He always used the convention that the left side of the screen is for evil and/or weaker characters, while the right is for characters who are either good or temporarily dominant. director of photography Strangers On A Train, a masterpiece, presented here in a finely produced HD release. and Bruno struggle as a carnival worker crawls on his stomach under the his identity and lifestyle. One of the most popular psychological crime thrillers that Hitchcock ever made is definitely Strangers on a Train, the master's adaptation of crime novelist Patricia Highsmith's debut novel that hit theaters back in 1951.Even though a lot of film scholars over the years considered the movie at least to a degree inferior to Hitchcock's landmark films such as Vertigo or Rear Window, this . On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 98% based on reviews from 52 critics, with an average rating of 8.80/10. is a plot made of ingenuity and amorality, based on the first novel by Patricia The Strangers on a Train is a 1951 American psychological thriller film noir produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, and based on the 1950 novel Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith. When Guy arrives home, Bruno informs him Miriam is dead and insists that he must now honor their deal. The kid station with a note asking the sergeant to lock him up until called for. Co-adapted by Raymond Chandler from a novel by Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train perfectly exemplifies Hitchcock's favorite theme of the evil that lurks just below the surface of everyday life and ordinary men.CREDITS:TM \u0026 Warner Bros. (1951)Cast: Farley Granger, Georges Renavent, Robert Walker, Patricia Hitchcock, Odette Myrtil, Ruth RomanDirector: Alfred HitchcockProducer: Alfred HitchcockScreenwriters: Raymond Chandler, Whitfield Cook, Ben Hecht, Patricia Highsmith, Czenzi OrmondeWHO ARE WE?The MOVIECLIPS channel is the largest collection of licensed movie clips on the web. Walker's role has extreme color, and he projects it deftly. either of the actors, Walker's Bruno has been called one of Hitchcock's best Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. It was shot in the autumn of 1950 and released by Warner Bros. on June 30, 1951, starring Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, and Robert Walker. [17] Although Ormonde was without a formal screen credit, she did have two things in her favor: her recently published collection of short stories, Laughter From Downstairs, was attracting good notices from critics, and she was "a fair-haired beauty with long shimmering hair. The band plays on through Bruno's stalking of his victim and during the murder itself, blaring from the front of the screen, then receding into the darkness as an eerie obbligato when the doomed Miriam enters the Tunnel of Love.[39]. No Highsmith cameo Bruno wants to kill his father, but knows he will be caught because he has a motive. Her suspicions aroused, Anne confronts Guy, who tells her the truth about Bruno's scheme. In Hitchcock's cameo he carries a double bass. In Alfred Hitchcock's suspense classic, "Strangers On a Train", a naive and weary tennis pro unwisely allows himself to be enticed into the confidence of a seemingly silly stranger. 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