The story concerns two strangers who meet on a train, a young tennis player and a charming psychopath. FADE IN: EXT. It should be removed. And just like its Strangers On a Train (Tom Finn) - 4:20 rating: *** stars The title track was a mess, unable to decided whether it wanted to be a power ballad, or a slice of power-pop. 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. Hermione Granger is the first person to meet Harry on the Hogwarts Express, not Ron Weasley. This mid-20th century American crime novel was the basis for Hitchcock's famous film of the same name. "[28], Hitchcock was, above all, the master of great visual setpieces,[31] and "[p]erhaps the most memorable sequence in Strangers on a Train is the climactic fight on a berserk carousel. Fast, exciting, and woven with wicked style, this is one of Hitchcock's most efficient and ruthlessly delicious thrillers. ... Perhaps there will be those in the audience who will likewise be terrified by the villain's darkly menacing warnings and by Mr. Hitchcock's sleekly melodramatic tricks. What level of language does Bruno use most of the time? [67], Strangers on a Train was adapted for the radio program Lux Radio Theatre on two occasions: on December 3, 1951, with Ruth Roman, Frank Lovejoy, and Ray Milland, and on April 12, 1954, with Virginia Mayo, Dana Andrews, and Robert Cummings.[43]. HITCHCOCK DIDN'T LIKE THE ENDING—EITHER OF THEM. This is an excellent book, and I would have given it 5 stars (or 4.5 if that was allowed), except for the ending. One could study it forever. IT CAME FROM THE WOMAN WHO ALSO INVENTED THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY (AND CAROL ).. Miriam and the two boyfriends in her odd ménage à trois bring "The Band Played On" to life by singing it on the merry-go-round, lustily and loudly... Grinning balefully on the horse behind them, Bruno then sings it himself, making it his motto. Great page-turner, suspense, & writing. "[19] Hitchcock, who had drawn gay characters so sharply yet subtly in Rope in 1948, "drafted the left-leaning Cook... expressly because he was comfortable with sexually ambiguous characters. This warped symmetry feeds into Bruno’s latent homosexual attraction to Guy, which Highsmith subtly hints at without driving the point too far. You still cannot sit on the outside tables there, but the cafe does the best brewed coffee and so I treated myself to a grande and Mary to a single sausage . Bruno is delayed when he accidentally drops Guy's lighter down a storm drain and must retrieve it. Here we encounter Guy Haines and Charles Anthony Bruno, passengers on the same train. 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. A carnival worker crawls underneath it and applies the brakes too abruptly, causing the carousel to violently spin off its support, trapping the mortally injured Bruno underneath. As Bruno carries out his twisted plan, Guy is trapped in Highsmith's perilous world, where, under the right circumstances, anybody is capable of murder. He isn't talking about murder. [17], Even while the torturous writing stage was plodding its course, the director's excitement about the project was boundless. Strange thing about this trip. There can be no compromise in his work, his food or his wines. SPOILERS BELOW !!! There was a problem loading your book clubs. [66] A two-disc DVD edition was released in 2004 containing both versions of the film, this time with the "British" version titled "Preview Version" (102:49 long) and the "Hollywood" version titled "Final Release Version" (100:40 long). Folk - Rock - Cabaret This is a classic story based upon the idea that two strangers meet on a train and commit murder for each other, apparently safe in the knowledge that they are completely unconnected to each other. The psychopath commits the first murder, then tries to force the tennis player to complete the bargain. I purchased the kindle version and noted immediately that huge portions were missing and it read like a made for TV adaptation. While he had previous Hitchcock experience on Shadow of a Doubt (1943), and would go on to score two more consecutive Hitchcock films, the director and composer "simply never developed much of a kinship"[21] and "the Hitchcock films are not Tiomkin's best". And the chocolate ice cream is probably what he thought about first. His gaze falls upon Barbara, whose glasses and physical appearance resemble Miriam's. Please try again. Anne visits Bruno's home and unsuccessfully tries to explain to his befuddled mother that her son is a murderer. He is seen carrying a double bass as he climbs onto a train. Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020. "[19] The more the film resolved in his mind's eye, the more he knew his director of photography would play a critical role in the scenes' execution. "The scene gives a beautifully exact symbolic expression to Guy's relationship with Bruno and what he stands for. I did miss the lack of incidents like the broken merry go round that kills Bruno in the film (here he suddenly commits suicide by jumping off a boat), but enjoyed it overall. Believing that Guy is trying to escape, a police officer shoots at him, but the shot misses, and instead kills the carousel operator, causing the carousel to spin out of control. Guy wants to move into a career in politics and has been dating Senator Morton's daughter Anne while awaiting a divorce from his wife. Overview. [66] According to biographer Charlotte Chandler (Lyn Erhard), Hitchcock himself did not like either the "British" or the "American" version: Hitchcock told [Chandler] that the picture should have ended with Guy at the amusement park after he has been cleared of murdering his wife. [16], There was not much time though — less than three weeks until location shooting was scheduled to start in the East. Guy humors Bruno by pretending to find his idea amusing, but is so eager to get away from Bruno that he carelessly leaves behind his engraved cigarette lighter, which Bruno keeps. In Hitchcock's cameo he carries a double bass. As the train was readied for departure, our party entered the last carriage, which gave us an uninterrupted view of the three groups, and settled in for the journey. [19], Carringer has argued that the film was crucially shaped by the Congressional inquiries, making Guy the stand-in for victims of the homophobic climate. "An incredible study of psychological torture and how fine the membrane is between normality and the underlying darkness.". One studio press release gave rise to a myth that still lingers on today. Yet both men, like so many of Hitchcock's protagonists, are insecure and uncertain of their identity. To the man committed to a career in politics, Bruno represents a tempting overthrow of all responsibility. American Film Institute listed the film as #32 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills. [37], 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. It was not enough for Hitchcock to construct merely a world of doubles — even contrasting doubles — in a strict polar-opposite structure; for Hitchcock, the good-and-evil, darkness-and-light poles "didn't have to be mutually exclusive. Together the three women, working under the boss's guidance and late into most nights,[15] finished enough of the script in time to send the company East. [40] He was also photographed adding the letter L to Strangers on the official studio poster for the film,[25] thus changing the word to Stranglers. The film was later made available on Blu-ray in 2012 with the same contents as the 2004 DVD edition. It is those flaws that set up the real themes of Strangers. "[43], The film includes a number of puns and visual metaphors that demonstrate a running motif of crisscross, double-crossing, and crossing one's double. "I have always given it careful consideration, so that my characters never eat out of character. Guy tries to persuade Bruno to seek psychiatric help; Bruno threatens to punish Guy for breaking their deal. " Strangers on a Train is a moral-vertigo thriller: Crime and Punishment for a post-atomic age." Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2021, On a train journey to meet up with his flirtatious wife in the hope of her agreeing to a divorce, Guy Haines falls into conversation with another passenger, Charles Bruno. ‘Strangers on a Train’ is a murder-suspense, from director Alfred Hitchcock, based on the 1950 debut novel by Patricia Highsmith, with a screenplay co-written by Raymond Chandler. This triggers a flashback; Bruno compulsively squeezes the woman's neck, and other guests intervene to stop him from strangling the woman to death. Strangers on a Train is also a perfect portrait of obsession. Shop Strangers on a Train [DVD] [1951] at Best Buy. The film stars Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, and Robert Walker. First, in Anne’s case, Guy has to come to terms with probably the more standard idea of happiness and domestic bliss. Synopsis It starts with a shriek of a train whistle…and ends with shrieking excitement. The basic plot of the reciprocal murders of an unfaithful wife and a hated, overbearing father remains the same, though many of the details are different. Guy creeps into Bruno's father's room to warn him of his son's murderous intentions, but instead he finds the suspicious Bruno there waiting for him; the father is not at home. Don't buy the Kindle Version of this book, Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2016. [47], Roger Ebert wrote that "it is this sense of two flawed characters — one evil, one weak, with an unstated sexual tension — that makes the movie intriguing and halfway plausible, and explains how Bruno could come so close to carrying out his plan."[3]. He also showed intense interest in a seldom-considered detail of character delineation: Food. Some audience feedback arriving at Jack Warner's office condemned the film for its sordid story, while just as many others were favorable. The novel depicts well the increasing guilt that Guy Haines (a prominent architect as opposed to a tennis player in the film) feels at knowing the secret as to who murdered his estranged wife, and here, unlike in the film, he actually commits the reciprocal murder of Bruno's father. I also didn't want the book to end in a way because it was so good. Once on the train, Bruno orders a pair of double drinks — "The only kind of doubles I play", he says charmingly. Strangers on a Train (1951) was director Alfred Hitchcock's suspenseful, noirish black and white thriller about two train passengers: tennis pro Guy Haines (Farley Granger) and psychopathic dandy Bruno Antony (Robert Walker), who staged a battle of wits and proposed trading murders with each other. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. Between the two versions of the film, the "British" version most prominently omits the final scene on the train. Loving the Alien. [17] Hitchcock preferred the writing credit of Whitfield Cook and Czenzi Ormonde, but Warner Bros. wanted the cachet of the Chandler name and insisted it stay on. Strangers on a Train (1951), is a typical film noir built around the central characters Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) and Guy Haines (Farley Granger). [43] Hitchcock made personal appearances in most of them, and was often accompanied by his daughter. [43] Of greater interest to Warner was the box office take, and the "receipts soon told the true story: Strangers on a Train was a success, and Hitchcock was pronounced at the top of his form as master of the dark, melodramatic suspense thriller. The book and film together are the Trope Namer, Trope Maker, and Trope Codifier for "Strangers on a Train"-Plot Murder, although there's a lot more to the plot than just that one trope. When looking for books to turn into movies, the ever-crafty... 3. By: bonded4life. [55] In the movie, "Guy became a decent guy who refuses to carry out his part of the crazed bargain..." writes Patrick McGilligan, "to head off the censors. "[26], One of the most memorable single shots in the Hitchcock canon — it "is studied by film classes", says Laura Elliott, who played Miriam[27] – is her character's strangulation by Bruno on the Magic Isle. Psychotic mama's-boy Bruno Antony meets famous tennis player Guy Haines on a train. Once again, I was led to certain expectations about this book - with mixed results. "[7] Perhaps it was the circumstances of her forced casting, but Roman became the target of Hitchcock's scorn throughout the production. This was the final completed film for Robert Walker, who died suddenly of drug and alcohol abuse less than two months after release. For his part Finn seemed to think he could power his way through the song and bring it all together. [11], Hitchcock then tried Raymond Chandler, who had earned an Oscar nomination for his first screenplay, Double Indemnity, in collaboration with Billy Wilder. [42] 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. He got a treatment that pleased him on the second attempt, from writer Whitfield Cook, who wove a homoerotic subtext (only hinted at in the novel) into the story and softened Bruno from a coarse alcoholic into a dapper, charming mama's boy — a much more Hitchcockian villain. By month's end, they were back in California. They argue loudly. Warner Bros financial information in The William Shaefer Ledger. A 1951 Psychological Thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker. 2. An early preview edit of the film, sometimes labeled the "British" version although it was never released in Britain or anywhere else, includes some scenes either not in, or else different from, the film as released. Strangers on a Train (1950) is a suspense thriller by Patricia Highsmith, based on the premise that two strangers swap murders. "[47] It ratchets up a notch when Guy leaves Bruno's compartment and "forgets" his cigarette lighter. [35] Although that account continues to be published in books to this day, "it just wasn't true", according to Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell. Strangers on a Train (1951) [Officiel]Best Full Movie. Alfred Hitchcock's cameo appearance occurs 11 minutes into the film. You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition. [18], There was one point of agreement between Chandler and Hitchcock, although it would come only much later, near the release of the film: they both acknowledged that since virtually none of Chandler's work remained in the final script, his name should be removed from the credits. Guy correctly infers that Bruno intends to plant it at the scene of the murder, and incriminate him. "[59] Leslie Halliwell felt that Hitchcock was "at his best" and that the film "makes superior suspense entertainment," but called the story "unsatisfactory. Received the film, the crew had done some other location scouting which seem to be strangers on a train inevitable although part... 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