Review of Strangers on a Train (1951) by Will C — 28 Feb 2011

"Excuse me, but aren't you Guy Haines?" purrs a placid, smiling Robert Walker as Bruno Anthony. A seemingly innocent conversation starter, but before these two men - complete strangers to each other - have gotten off their train, they have discussed between them the perfect murder. Each has someone they want to get rid of, so why don't they just swap murders? There's no connection either way and would lead the police baffled. A simple set-up, but more sinister things lie in wait in one of Hitchcock's greatest thrillers.

Hitchcock weaves an atmosphere of suspense, unease and dark humour from the start right through to the end of its 101 minute run time. Bruno Anthony, the psychotic, sinisterly good-natured fellow is the inescapable menace who can never seem to vanish from Guy Haines' depth of field - always watching him from the darkness and in the midst of a tennis match crowd, where his head is the only one not moving to follow the ball.

It is this slavish attention to detail that makes the film such a delight to watch; the B/W cinematography is thoroughly impressive and effective on the big screen. Armed with a reasonable budget, Hitchcock set out to make several scenes that would be remembered for years to come; such as the tense yet undeniably tongue-in-cheek fight on an out-of-control merry-go-round. The dialogue is also brilliant as you would expect from a Hitchcock film as well as the acting. The young Patricia Hitchcock was surprisingly unused in many of her father's films, which is a shame as she was very good in this.

Wonderful film.