Strangers On A Train

Strangers on a Train is a typical Hitchcock thriller with all the elements of a suspense film masterpiece: The innocent man is being chased for a crime he didn’t do.



Bruno Anthony thinks he has the perfect plot to rid himself of his hated father and when he meets tennis player Guy Haines on a train, he thinks he's found the partner he needs to pull it off. His plan is relatively simple. Two strangers each agree to kill someone the other person wants disposed of. For example, Guy could kill his father and he could get rid of Guy's wife Miriam, freeing him to marry Anne Morton, the beautiful daughter of a U.S. Senator. Guy dismisses it all out of hand but but Bruno goes ahead with his half of the 'bargain' and disposes of Miriam. When Guy balks, Bruno makes it quite clear that he will plant evidence to implicate Guy in her murder if he doesn't get rid of his father. Guy had also made some unfortunate statements about Miriam after she had refused him a divorce. It all leads the police to believe Guy is responsible for the murder, forcing him to deal with Bruno's mad ravings.
- Written by garykmcd




Guy Haines is a well known amateur tennis player who wants to go into politics in his post tennis life. He is equally well known in the society papers as a man who wants to divorce his shrewish and cheating wife, Miriam, so that he can marry Anne Morton, the refined daughter of a state senator. To spite Guy, Miriam refuses to divorce him, while she plans to continue cavorting with other men. Bruno Antony is a charming and gregarious man, who lives off the wealth of his father. He's also a sociopath who loves his mentally childlike mother, but detests his father, who he believes is the repressive cause of his problems. Guy and Bruno meet each other one day on a train. Their social chit-chat, directed by Bruno, leads to discussion of what Bruno considers the perfect murders: each of two strangers kill the other's "problem" person, as each killer would have no ties to the person murdered. In their case, Bruno would kill Miriam, while Guy would kill Bruno's father. As Guy and Bruno part company, Guy believes Bruno's talk was just social chit-chat all in fun. However, Bruno believes they have a pact as witnessed by the fact that he does end up killing Miriam. Guy knows Bruno killed her, but doesn't feel he can go to the police with the fantastical story, which be thinks will implicate himself more. The situation gets worse for Guy as Bruno starts implicating himself in Guy's life to pressure Guy into keeping to his supposed end of the bargain. Guy has to figure out what to do so as not to implicate himself, not kill anyone and keep those around him safe, which may be a problem for Anne's sister Barbara who has a physical resemblance to Miriam. The other problem for Guy in going to the police is that Bruno has his personalized cigarette lighter, which he may use to implicate Guy if Guy doesn't comply.
- Written by Huggo




Psychotic mother's boy Bruno Anthony meets famous tennis player Guy Haines on a train. Guy wants to move into a career in politics and has been dating a senator's daughter (Ann Morton) while awaiting a divorce from his wife. Bruno wants to kill his father but knows he will be caught because he has a motive. Bruno dreams up a crazy scheme in which he and Guy exchange murders. Guy takes this as a joke, but Bruno is serious and takes things into his own hands.
- Written by Col Needham




Tennis star Guy Haines meets a stranger on the Washington-to-New York train who offers to exchange murders. The stranger, Bruno Anthony, will kill Guy's estranged wife if Guy will kill Bruno's hated father. Guy doesn't take Bruno seriously until his wife, Miriam, is found murdered in an amusement park. Guy becomes the chief suspect, which threatens his tennis career; his romantic involvement with a U.S. senator's daughter, Anne Morton; his hopes for a political career; and even his life. When it becomes evident to Bruno that Guy isn't going to kill his father, he tells Guy that he intends to establish Guy's guilt conclusively by planting his monogrammed cigarette lighter on the island where Miriam was murdered. With Anne's help, Guy attempts to stop Bruno after rushing through an important tennis match and racing to the amusement park.
- Written by filmfactsman




SYNOPSIS

Amateur Tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) wants to divorce his vulgar and unfaithful wife Miriam (Laura Elliott), so he can marry the elegant and beautiful Anne Morton (Ruth Roman), daughter of a senator (Leo G. Carroll). While on a train to meet Miriam, Haines encounters Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), a pushy stranger who recognizes Guy from gossip items in the newspapers and wants to discuss his marital problems. During lunch in Bruno's compartment, Bruno tells Guy about his idea for the perfect "criss-cross" murder(s): he will kill Miriam, and in exchange Guy will kill Bruno's father. Since they are unconnected strangers, there is no identifiable motive for the crimes, and therefore no suspicion from the police. Guy hurriedly departs the compartment, but leaves Bruno thinking he has agreed to the deal. Guy accidentally leaves his cigarette lighter behind, and Bruno pockets it. Guy meets Miriam at her work, where she decides to call off the divorce and play the Washington political wife. Guy threatens Miriam, then calls Anne and tells her he wants to "strangle" Miriam.

Bruno arrives in Guy's hometown and follows Miriam and her two beaux to an amusement park, where he strangles her to death. Guy's alibi a college professor who was inebriated when they met cannot remember their meeting on the train. Guy's chances of being implicated increase when Bruno appears repeatedly to remind Guy that he is now obliged to kill Bruno's father.

Bruno sends Guy the keys to his house, a map to his father's room, and a pistol. Soon after, Bruno appears at a party at Senator Morton's house and hobnobs with the guests, much to Guy's apprehension and Anne's increasing suspicion. Using another guest, he demonstrates how to strangle someone while preventing them from screaming; while doing this he sees Anne's younger sister Barbara (Patricia Hitchcock). Her eyeglasses and resemblance to Miriam trigger a flashback, and Bruno really begins to strangle the guest. After a moment he faints, and the frightened party guests pull him off the hysterical woman. Young Barbara rushes to her sister and tells her, "His hands were on her throat, but he was strangling me." Anne puts together the facts of the crime and confronts Guy, who admits the truth.

Guy agrees to Bruno's plan over the telephone and creeps into Bruno's home at night. When he reaches the father's room he tries to warn the older man of Bruno's intentions, but finds Bruno waiting for him instead. Bruno tells Guy that, because he will not complete his end of the bargain, he should take responsibility for the murder which "belongs" to him; to that end he will frame Guy for the murder of Miriam.

Anne visits Bruno's house and tells his befuddled mother (Marion Lorne) that her son is responsible for murder, but the woman does not believe her and will not admit how dangerous her son is. Bruno overhears the conversation and lets Anne know that he has Guy's lighter and that he plans to plant it at the scene of Miriam's murder. Anne and Guy devise a plan so that Guy can beat Bruno to the scene of the crime while still appearing in a tennis match elsewhere.

Guy wins the tennis match but takes much longer than expected; likewise, Bruno is delayed when he drops Guy's lighter down a storm drain and must force his arm down the drain to recover it. Guy arrives at the amusement park while Bruno is still waiting for sunset. The two men struggle on the carousel. The police arrive and fire on Guy, but a stray shot hits the carousel operator. The ride spins wildly out of control and crashes, and Bruno is mortally wounded. He tells the police that Guy committed the murder, but as he dies, his hand opens to reveal the incriminating lighter. An amusement park employee remembers Bruno's previous visit the night of Miriam's death, implicating Bruno as the murderer.

Reunited with Anne on a train home, Guy is asked by a friendly clergyman seated near them if he is Guy Haines. Guy, remembering this is the way Bruno started their fatal conversation, quickly leaves the club car with Anne, perplexing the clergyman.