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Movies / On DVD / Strangers on a Train
Strangers on a Train

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Strangers on a Train (1951)

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Reviews Counted:39

Fresh:38

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.7/10

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, quickly became one of Alfred Hitchcock's most successful thrillers and remains one of his most popular films. En route from Washington,... STRANGERS ON A TRAIN, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel, quickly became one of Alfred Hitchcock's most successful thrillers and remains one of his most popular films. En route from Washington, D.C., champion tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets pushy playboy Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). What begins as a chance encounter turns into a series of morbid confrontations, as Bruno manipulates his way into Guy's life. Bruno is eager to kill his father and knows Guy wants to marry a senator's daughter (Ruth Roman) but cannot get a divorce from his wife, Miriam (Laura Elliot). So Bruno suggests the men swap murders, which would leave no traceable clues or possible motives. Though Guy refuses, it will not be so easy to rid himself of the psychopathic Bruno. The film is tightly paced and disturbing from beginning to end, an effect heightened by Hitchcock's inventive camera work, including a terrifying sequence shot through a pair of eyeglasses that have been knocked to the ground. [More]

Starring: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll

Starring: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock, Laura Elliot, Marion Lorne, Jonathan Hale

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Producer: Alfred Hitchcock
Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Strangers on a Train

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
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Hitchcock's handling of the suspense is deadly effective and a quality cast breathe life into some delicious dialogue.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
02/04/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hitchcock erects a web of guilt around Granger, who 'agreed' to his wife's murder, a murder that suits him very well, and structures his film around a series of set pieces, ending with a paroxysm of violence on a circus carousel.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hitchcock's favourite device of an ordinary man caught in an ever-tightening web of fear plunges Guy into one of the director's most fiendishly effective movies.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
06/27/01
Almar Haflidason
Almar Haflidason
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The power of the story - adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith - lies in its simplicity, and Hitchcock’s piles on the sinister layers as only he can.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
01/01/00
Emma Cochrane
Emma Cochrane
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Winds up with a scene in which a merry-go-round goes wild, spins like a pin wheel, and crashes in a gaudy blaze of explosions that no earthly carrousel could touch off. The movie itself is the same way: implausible but intriguing and great fun to ride.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
08/30/09
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

the work most necessary for a deeper appreciation of Hitchcock's late masterpieces.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
08/01/08
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Even more marvelous after a second viewing

Full Review Source: Film and Felt | comment Comment
02/17/08
Gabe Leibowitz
Gabe Leibowitz
Film and Felt

Perhaps Strangers on a Train still hasn't yielded all its secrets.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/04/08
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader

The prototypical Hitchcock thrill ride.

Full Review Source: Arizona Daily Star | comment Comment
10/14/05
Phil Villarreal
Phil Villarreal
Arizona Daily Star

No review available.

comment Comment
10/07/05
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/12/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
06/09/05
Thomas Delapa
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly

No review available.

comment Comment
04/02/05
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" is about weakness crisscrossing with evil, with evil pushing hard for the upper hand. Nobody comes away unscathed.

Full Review Source: Bangor Daily News (Maine) | comment Comment
11/16/04
Christopher Smith
Christopher Smith
Bangor Daily News (Maine)

worthy vehicle that displays Hitchcock's narrative ability and explores some of his favorite themes

Full Review Source: Old School Reviews | comment Comment
10/27/04
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
Old School Reviews

Most of the film is a journey through pure Hitchcockian irony and suspense, and well worth the trip.

Full Review Source: DVDTown.com | comment Comment
09/22/04
John J. Puccio
John J. Puccio
DVDTown.com

Patricia Highsmith's malicious writing seems perfectly suited to Alfred Hitchcock.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/20/04
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Walker's creepy performance ranks among the best found in any Hitchcock film.

Full Review Source: Creative Loafing | comment Comment
09/13/04
Matt Brunson
Matt Brunson
Creative Loafing

To ignore the subtext during the runaway carousel climax is to be absolutely blind.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/06/04
Eric Henderson
Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine

Two men, a problem, and a crime is an old theme, but the list of works that exploit it perfectly is a short one. Strangers on a Train belongs on it.

Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
07/26/04
Mark Athitakis
Mark Athitakis
Filmcritic.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 >> >|
all

Latest News for Strangers on a Train

June 21, 2007: Frank Miller and Clive Owen to Do Some Old-School Film Noir
Now here's a project that sounds pretty damn cool: Frank Miller directing Clive Owen in an adaptation of a Raymond Chandler story -- and it'll probably be the first in a series! More...

April 12, 2005: Two New "Strangers" to Meet On DreamWorks' "Train"
Variety lets us know that DreamWorks is currently mounting a new interpretation of Patricia Highsmith's novel "Strangers on a Train." Originally turned into a classic... More...

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