Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers On A Train (1951) Movie Review

Language : English | Running Time : 101 Minutes

All of us have met people during our travels. With some of these people, we end up developing a rapport that sometimes becomes intellectually stimulating or during other times just end up as a means to avoid boredom and in most cases we simply try and ignore their existence as we’ve been thought to by our parents and other older relatives.

In this film, Alfred Hitchcock develops an exciting premise for the perfect murder and this involves a character in the movie, obviously the lead, ignoring the doctrine of avoiding strangers. What follows is what makes up this film. Alfred Hitchcock develops the film based on a novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith.  Bruno Anthony meets Guy Haines on a train journey and they end up talking to each other and this sets-up an interesting set of events.

In most movies we have villains who are all brawn or shown as chumps but here, we have a villain who is intelligent, driven and a sociopath. Even when we have intelligent villains, we don’t usually find ones who are driven by a calculated approach but who are driven by passion. I do agree that we’ve found quite a few of late, especially in recent times but back in the good old days of black and white, there weren’t many. Bruno Anthony is one of the finest characters written and Robert Walkers performance makes it unforgettable. The movie wouldn’t seem plausible if it wasn’t for Robert Walker’s brilliant portrayal of Bruno Anthony. Having said that, it also appears that without Farley Granger’s portrayal of Guy Haines, the movie wouldn’t seem plausible either. It is the perfect casting of the two characters that makes it a brilliant film and brilliant, it certainly is.  Guy Haines is the perfect antithesis for Bruno Anthony and we find it in every one of their interactions. It is the combination of a relatively weak minded lead and a sociopathic calculating villain that makes the journey all the more exciting.

Alfred Hitchcock is a master director and when he has such interesting material at his disposal, rest assured he doesn’t disappoint. I’ll go as far as saying that this happens to be as good as any film he’s ever done. Would it make my Alfred Hitchcock top 5? Yes, it would.  Alfred Hitchcock has been one of the directors who have made great use of the camera to tell stories and in this film he does that yet again. There are a few shots that are beyond good, they are great shots, shot with great finesse.  One particular scene which stood out for me was seeing Bruno Anthony’s face covered by darkness with only the whites of his eyes seemingly coming to life. It is one of the best uses of lighting that I’ve seen.

The film isn’t a psychological study of a character but a beautifully crafted thriller that works every time you see it. Beautiful.