Strangers on a Train

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (PG)
D: Alfred Hitchcock
Warner Bros. (Alfred Hitchcock)
US 1951
101 mins

Thriller

W: Raymond Chandler & Czenzi Ormonde [based on the novel by Patricia Highsmith]
DP: Robert Burks
Ed: William Ziegler
Mus: Dimitri Tiomkin

Farley Granger (Guy Haines), Robert Walker (Bruno Antony), Ruth Roman (Anne Morton), Leo G. Carroll (Sen. Morton), Patricia Hitchcock (Barbara Morton)

Amongst Hitchcock's most quintessential suspense thrillers, starring Robert Walker as one of the most psychotic villains in cinema history.
Quite obviously, the plot concerns two strangers who meet on a train, one of whom muses on a perfect murder plan which he then goes ahead with, leaving the other as a prime suspect.
Some elements of the movie feel dated, like certain behavorial characteristics and dialogue, but the moody photography and Hitchcock's excellent direction carry the movie well on beyond its years.
A must watch for fans of Hitchcock thrillers and a very watchable matinee for everyone else. The plot was paid tribute to in the 1987 comedy Throw Momma From The Train (qv).
9/10

Farley Granger & Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train
Farley Granger & Robert Walker in Strangers on a Train