(This shot was famously unfaked, and the Enhancements you chose aren't available for this seller. Buy it! manner is pushy and insinuating, with homoerotic undertones. "[8], Hitchcock took a toy carousel and photographed it blown up by a small charge of explosives. A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder.A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder.A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. The film's climax, which takes place on a carousel, is one of the most complex scenes ever shot by the director. "[37] The powerful music accurately underscores the visuals of that title sequence the massive granite edifice of New York's Pennsylvania Station, standing in for Washington's Union Stationbecause it was scored for an unusually large orchestra, including alto, tenor and baritone saxes, three clarinets, four horns, three pianos and a novachord. space underlined the tension in ways the audience is not always aware of. Barbara Morton: From what I hear she pursued it in all directions. 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. "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. Poor unfortunate girl. Anne. It is a twisting story of a male-on-male relationship that Patricia Highsmith often proffered (same-sex, male or female) in her best novels like this one. This piece of film he then enlarged and projected onto a vast screen, positioning actors around and in front of it so that the effect is one of a mob of bystanders into which plaster horses and passengers are hurled in deadly chaos. Psychotic mother's boy Bruno Anthony meets famous tennis professional Guy Haines on a train. Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2022. Miriam and the two boyfriends in her odd mnage 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. The worker who called the police tells them that Bruno, not Guy, is the one he remembers seeing the night of the murder. 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 a police car pulls up Better still, the two-sided DVD edition of this enduring classic includes both the original version of the film and also the longer prerelease British print, which offers a more overt depiction of Bruno's flamboyant and dangerous personality, and his homoerotic attraction to Guy by way of his deviously indecent proposal. Guy wants to move into a career in politics and has been dating a senator's daughter (Ann Morton) while awaiting a divorce from his wife. Strangers on a Train: A Hitchcock Classic (SD; 36:44) is a nice overview with Peter Bogdanovich and several others discussing . He complained privately that Hitchcock was too ready to sacrifice dramatic logic (insofar as it exists) for the sake of a camera effect.[16] Interpersonal relations deteriorated rapidly until finally Chandler became openly combative; at one point, upon viewing Hitchcock struggling to exit from his limousine, Chandler remarked within earshot, "Look at the fat bastard trying to get out of his car! In the casting of Anne Morton, Jack L. Warner got what he wanted when he assigned Ruth Roman to the project, over Hitchcock's objections. revolving ride to get to the controls. Highsmith [36] Although that account continues to be published in books to this day, "it just wasn't true", according to Patricia Hitchcock O'Connell. "[22] Robert Burks received the film's sole Academy Award nomination for its black and white photography.[23]. [48], 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."[4]. "Isn't it a fascinating design?" He found exactly what he needed right on the Warners lot in the person of staff cameraman Robert Burks, who would continue to work with Hitchcock, shooting every Hitchcock picture through to Marnie (1964), with the exception of Psycho. helps explain how Bruno could come so close to carrying out his plan. Add on for my new cinema room setup. 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. The psychopath suggests that because they each want to "get rid" of someone, they should "exchange" murders, and that way neither will be caught. Hitchcock's even-strained response: "Cut. It is a twisting story of a male-on-male Robert Walker is uncanny. is a plot made of ingenuity and amorality, based on the first novel by Patricia After appearances in his 2 best British films, "The 39 Steps" (1935) and "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) , the train was elevated to star billing along with the 2 male leads in "Strangers on a Train" (1951).Not only does the train move its passengers around, it is the location where one's diabolical "you do my murder, I"ll do yours" plot is hatched and used to seduce the other. Highsmith was a chameleon, a renegade, an experimenter, a loner, and a fantastically brave innovator. Hitchcock builds the conflict on this. Aboard a train bound for New York, Guy, the tennis pro, is shocked to discover how much information the wealthy stranger, Bruno, knows about him. But that is precisely what they got: STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. In accordance with the cautious censorship guidelines of the period, Hitchcock would later tame these elements of Walker's memorable performance by trimming and altering certain scenes, so the differences between the original and prerelease versions provide an illuminating illustration of censorship's effect on the story's thematic intensity. Later in life, while still praising Robert Walker's performance as Bruno, she criticized the casting of Ruth Roman as Anne, Hitchcock's decision to turn Guy from an architect into a tennis player, and the fact that Guy does not murder Bruno's father as he does in the novel. The abiding terror in Alfred Hitchcock's life was that he would To amuse another guest, Bruno playfully demonstrates how to strangle a woman. [9] Granger described Hitchcock's attitude toward Roman as "disinterest" in the actress, and said he saw Hitchcock treat Edith Evanson the same way on the set of Rope (1948). 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. Behind the Story contains these featurettes: Strangers on a Train: A Hitchcock Classic (SD; 36:44) is a nice overview with Peter Bogdanovich and several others discussing the importance of the film in the Hitchcock canon; Strangers on a Train: The Victim's P.O.V. Farley Granger, Roman, Ruth, Alfred Hitchcock, Hitchcock, Patricia, Leo G. Carroll, Lorne, Marion, Walker, Robert. A film of noir moments galore. The police question Guy, but cannot confirm his alibi: a professor Guy met on the train was so drunk that he cannot remember their encounter. effective scene shows Guy floating in a little boat through the Tunnel of Love DVD Features: . Brilliant. [69] 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). Robert Walker is uncanny. Hitchcock's trademark cameo) but you can look for yourself, in chapter six of (original music by) Cinematography by Robert Burks . Leopold-Loeb case; it was another story about a murder pact with a homosexual Next shot. excellent suspect because of the genius of the actual killer's original plan: "criss-cross" murder deal in "Strangers on a Train" indeed He narrowed the geographic scope to the Northeast corridor, between Washington, D.C. and New York the novel ranged through the southwest and Florida, among other locales. Summaries A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. Robert Walker plays a psychopathic murderer that is an apathetic rich boy with a lust for the eccentric. Strangers on a Train PG 1951, Mystery & thriller, 1h 41m 98% Tomatometer 53 Reviews 92% Audience Score 25,000+ Ratings What to know critics consensus A provocative premise and inventive set. After appearances in his 2 best British films, "The 39 Steps" (1935) and "The Lady Vanishes" (1938) , the train was elevated to star billing along with the 2 male leads in "Strangers on a Train" (1951).Not only does the train move its Alfred Hitchcock loved trains. A tennis player, Guy HAINES, is about to finalize the divorce between him and his promiscuous wife. The original version (Side A) is an all-time thriller classic. director of photography The unusual angle was a more complex proposition than it seems. "[5], The two characters, Guy and Bruno, can be viewed as doppelgngers. [12], Securing the rights to the novel was the least of the hurdles Hitchcock would have to vault to get the property from printed page to screen. Anne visits Bruno's home and tries explaining to his befuddled mother that her son is a murderer. Hitchcock So much occurs in pairs. be accused of a crime he did not commit. 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 motiveless murders with each other. Beyond all the historical footnotes and film-buff fascination, Strangers on a Train remains one of Hitchcock's crowning achievements and a suspenseful classic that never loses its capacity to thrill and delight. The film itself was great, the DVD was in fine condition, and it arrived either on time or early (can't remember which). 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