Strangers on a Train (1951)

The script is superb and dialogue very powerful; sprinkled with cynicism and dark humor.

Strangers on a Train has it all: suspense, dark comedy, crisp dialogue, dramatic cinematography and ... oh yes, a murder.

The film is jam-packed with brilliant sequences, cool shots, and various other suspense sequences that made Hitchcock famous.

The first one is the beginning, which has no action, but the dialogue is brilliant. In the scene, the two discuss the respective people who upset them the most, and then Bruno tries to get him to "switch murders." A seemingly innocent "what if" scenario on how they could eliminate the other person’s problem.

Bruno: You’d like your wife killed, wouldn’t you?  Ill do it for you if you’ll kill someone for me, and since we’re strangers we’ll be free of suspicion.

Two other sequences include a party held by Anne's father where Bruno shows up and ends up in a discussion over how to murder someone and not have to expound a lot of energy (winding up in a demonstration how one strangles another); and a scene where Guy journeys over to Bruno's mansion to kill his father. Bruno's house is gigantic and eerily gothic, and the cinematography in this sequence is some of the creepiest I've ever seen.

But the best sequence, other than the finale, is the one where Bruno stalks and murders Miriam. Lasting about 10 minutes or so, it's a masterpiece in montage, as Bruno has to make sure he follows her but has to strangle her when none of her friends are around. By the time he finally strangles Miriam to death (effectively mirrored through her fallen glasses), it's not anticlimactic but silently frightening.

The finale of the film, which clocks in around 25 minutes, is one of the most carefully constructed, intelligently and deftly tailored finales of a film I've ever seen, ending in an outrageously visceral ending involving an out-of-control merry-go-round, which is even more tense when one discovers that the stunt involving the old man did not involve any kind of special effects (it's probably the most dangerous stunt of all time). The ending is a perfect finish, with an afterthought containing some extra suspense

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One of the chief powers of this film lies in the character of Bruno, who's one of the creepiest and most insane villains to ever grace any screen. He almost seems like a harmless little boy, with a gentle presence, resulting in something which becomes quite unerving.

Guy Haines: I may be old-fashioned, but I thought murder was against the law.

What's amazing about "Strangers on a Train" is not just how absolutely thrilling it is after all these years, but also how deeply reflective it is on humanity. Here's a film which is a classic of the suspense genre. The power of this film, though, is its presentation of human beings as having a murderous and violent nature. A lot of the characters in this film all present different stages of this ailment. It's depiction of the murderous and agressive qualities in man is what makes it one of Hitchcock's absolute masterpieces. The truth is we humans have an interest in murder in general; it just piques our interest. Which is probably why Hollywood makes so many films about them.

Above all, "Strangers on a Train" is a brilliant piece of suspense.

Hitchcock is at his best with this film, giving us interesting characters who we care about, a set-up which is fascinating, and sequences which are intense. The story is not only a fascinating idea, but an intriguing reflection of our society. It's also one of Hitchcock's very best.

DUALITIES: The film, Strangers on a Train is an extremely slick, psychological thriller that succeeds in tackling blackmail, murder and issues of taboo sexuality. This film is definitely one of Alfred Hitchcock’s best in that it reinforces the duality of human nature and effectively transforms a highly improbable situation into a series of logical events, which lead to murder. Hitchcock has constructed most of the events in this particular movie around the idea of twos in regard to his film technique (cross-cutting/match cuts) as well as a number of references to doubles (shoes in the opening scene) throughout Strangers on a Train.  A great deal occurs in pairs in this film.  These twos act as an integral part of the films plot.  Furthermore, there are a number of reoccurring symbols or motifs in the film that go hand in hand with the idea of duality.