FILM NOIR | Strangers on a Train
All Over the Place!
From the noir spectrum of Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s American films, we’ve selected an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s debut novel. During a train ride, the eccentric Bruno (Robert Walker) confides in a chance fellow passenger, the serious Guy (Farley Granger), that he can’t stand his father. One thing leads to another, and Bruno learns that his companion’s life is being made miserable by his wife, Miriam, who is obstructing his divorce, preventing him from devoting himself to his new love, Anne. Bruno comes up with a brilliant criminal plan: a murder swap, without any personal motives. He’ll kill Guy’s wicked wife, and Guy, in return, will kill his despotic father. No one will connect the two—after all, these strangers have never met. What one perceives as harmless philosophizing about the perfect crime, the other takes as a deal.
The legendary British filmmaker brings a unique touch to the literary source material through his distinctive cinematic language and directorial vision. Consider the sophisticated opening sequence featuring the protagonists, with close-ups of their shoes, their gait, and their luggage; the murder scene, stylishly captured in the reflection of a pair of glasses; the introduction of the “MacGuffin”; and the stunning finale at the amusement park, which ranks among his most spectacular scenes ever.
Even before reaching his creative peak (Vertigo, 1958; Psycho, 1960), he created the most striking piece of his film noir oeuvre. Highsmith’s crime-psychological material provided him with fertile ground for yet another of his unforgettable fascinations with murder. Within the constraints of the censorship rules of the time, he made the most of it and, in many respects, improved upon the original novel in its cinematic adaptation. (Michal Šmajda, I Love Film Noir)
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