Grade: B+
Synopsis: A tennis star (Farley Granger) meets a man (Robert Walker) on a train who innocuously proposes that they could each murder someone the other would like to have out of the way.
Strangers on a Train is a brilliant melding of the film-noir, thriller, and horror genres from director Alfred Hitchcock and screenwriter Raymond Chandler that ranks among the director’s best pictures. This despite the fact that Hitchcock and Chandler didn’t get along and that Czenzi Ormonde reworked much of Chandler’s script.
While Psycho (1960) may be Hitchcock’s best-known horror effort, the seeds of that film are planted here, in Robert Walker’s Bruno Anthony, who’s another disturbed young man with mother issues. Indeed, had Walker not died shortly after the film’s release, you can’t help but wonder if Hitchcock would have considered him for Anthony Perkins’ most famous role.
But Strangers on a Train is more than a horror film. It’s also a great film-noir, as Farley Granger’s character walks a fine line between trying to save himself and allowing a murderer to go free. Indeed, Granger does a great job of conveying a hint of darkness behind his all-American demeanor, not genuine menace, but enough to make him seem human and relatable.
Supporting Granger and Walker is a fine supporting cast highlighted by Hitchcock’s own daughter Patricia, who does a fantastic job as the whip-smart younger sister of Granger’s love interest.
Thus, Strangers on a Train is a must-see for Hitchcock fans. Indeed, it’s a hard film to dislike, provided you’re not the nervous sort. Granted, it would have been interesting to see what Chandler’s raw vision entailed, but the end result is still a great ride.
