Strangers On A Train Review

Strangers On The Train is not a very profound film. It is, however, extremely entertaining and, 50 years after its release, still full of suspense and surprises.

Robert Walker is Bruno Antony - effete, charming, and psychopathically insane. He decides to 'swap' murders with tennis ace and society climber Guy Haines (Farley Granger) during an encounter on a train. Haines thinks nothing of it until his wife has been strangled (with him as suspect number one) and Antony is stalking him, demanding that he kill his father.

Hitchcock cranks up the suspense with consummate skill; with his trademark race against time culminating in the tensest tennis match ever committed to celluloid. The dialogue is razor-sharp (master of the one-liner Raymond Chandler had a hand in writing the script), and the script is a lesson in economy and directness while managing to weave an air of provocative ambiguity - particularly around camp killer Antony. The acting is universally delightful and it's all topped off with one of the hairiest fairground rides you could ever hope to not go on.