Strangers On A Train

Strangers on a Train is a 1951 psychological crime thriller that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It stars Farley Granger, Ruth Roman and Robert Walker. Unfortunately, it would be Walker’s last ever film as he died of an accidental overdose a few months after the film was released.

On a train, Guy Haines (Granger), a relatively famous tennis professional, accidentally bumps into Bruno Anthony (Walker) in the dining room and a conversation strikes up between the pair. Persuading Guy to have a private lunch in his compartment, Bruno brings up that he knows that Guy wants to divorce his wife and marry Anne Morton (Roman), but his wife is refusing to grant a divorce. He then brings up his theory of the perfect murders: he will kill Guy’s wife and Guy will kill Bruno’s father, who he doesn’t get along with (“criss-cross” – a reference to train track crossovers). Thinking he’s crazy, Guy refuses and gets off the train at the next stop. Guy leaves his cigarette lighter behind, and Bruno takes it.

Guy meets with his wife, Miriam, at work. Previously she had indicated she would grant him a divorce but out of pure spite she changes her mind. Guy gets angry and as he starts to strangle her onlookers step in and make him leave the workplace. Guy then phones Anne and tells her his wife won’t divorce him while saying how he wants to strangle her.

Later that night, Bruno arrives in town and follows Guy’s wife and two male friends at the local carnival. The man who operates the tunnel of love boat rides makes a note of Bruno’s face as he is passing through. After passing through the tunnel of love, they come to an island and while Miriam is hiding from her friends while playing a game, Bruno sneaks up and strangles her to death before quietly sneaking off. Meanwhile, Guy is on a train back to Washington and the only witness to him is a drunk professor. Later, Bruno appears outside Guy’s house and informs him he has done his part of the deal, and it is now Guy’s turn. Shocked, Guy tells him to leave him alone.

Over the next few days, Bruno stalks Guy wherever he goes in Washington, greatly disturbing Guy. One amazing shot is the above image of Bruno standing on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial all by himself watching Guy pass by in a taxi.

Guy is the main suspect in the killing of his wife as there appears to be no one else with a motive for the crime, although there is no hard evidence connecting him with the crime scene. He is put under constant surveillance outside his house. Bruno mails Guy the keys to his house, a map of the house indicating his father’s bedroom, and a pistol to kill his father with. A few nights later at a party thrown by his girlfriend’s father, Bruno shows up to Guy’s horror and starts mingling with the guests. While using a guest as a demonstration of how to strangle someone without them screaming, Bruno sees Anne’s younger sister Barbara (played by Hitchcock’s own daughter Patricia) and due to the similarity between her and Miriam, he has a flashback and after actually strangling the guest faints. Anne realises what is happening and confronts Guy after he has sent Bruno away and he confesses about what Bruno really is up to.

Eventually, having enough of Bruno stalking him, Guy sneaks out of his apartment at night, evading the police and makes his way to Bruno’s house. He sneaks into the father’s bedroom and tries to talk to him about Bruno, but Bruno is waiting in bed. Confirming he won’t fulfil his part of the deal, Bruno announces he will frame Guy for the murder of his wife.

Concerned, Anne visits the Bruno household and tries to talk to Bruno’s mother about his behaviour, but the woman is too deluded to believe what her son has gotten up to. Bruno overhears the conversation between Anne and his mother and informs Anne that he will plant Guy’s cigarette lighter back on the island to frame him for the murder. Guy has a vital tennis match coming up, and Anne and he devise a plan so he can play the match, escape his police (who want to arrest him after the match as they believe they have enough evidence to prosecute him) and stop Bruno from getting away with his plan.

Guy wins his tennis match, but it takes him much longer to finish off his opponent than he anticipated. Bruno is also delayed as after stepping off the train Guy’s cigarette lighter slips out his hand and down a drain, and it takes him a long time to reach down and grab it out. Using Barbara to cause a distraction, Guy escapes the police and heads for the train station to get back to the island. Unknown to him, the police are also on the same train but are planning to follow him from a distance to see what he is up to.

While waiting in line to get back to the island, the tunnel of love operator remembers his face and informs the police. Bruno panics and moves away, just as Guy reaches him and a fight breaks out. They begin to fight on the carousel. Thinking that Guy is trying to escape them, a policeman fires a shot that accidentally hits the carousel operator, causing the ride to speed up and go out of control. It crashes and Bruno is killed, not before revealing in his hand Guy’s cigarette lighter. The tunnel of love operator tells police that Bruno is the mysterious man from the night of the murder. This proves to the police that Guy is innocent and he is let go. He phones his girlfriend back in Washington and reveals the good news.

Rope

Rope is a psychological crime thriller film that was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and released in 1948. It stars James Stewart, John Dall and Farley Granger. It would be the first time that Hitchcock worked with Jimmy Stewart, and they would go on to make three other successful films in the 1950s. Rope is based on the real life crime of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, a homosexual pair from Chicago who killed a fourteen year old boy just to prove their superiority and commit the perfect crime, although they would get arrested for the murder soon after. It is surprising that the film was allowed by the censors at the time, as the implications that the two murderers in the film are homosexuals is quite clear, for example there is only one bedroom in the apartment they both share, and homosexuality and any references to it was seriously frowned upon by censors at the time. The film was one of Hitchcock’s more experimental films, and the original idea was to film it in one take, although constraints prevented this. However, thanks to clever cuts, it appears to be one continuous take by zooming in and out of characters backs when a reel change was required. In total, there are ten cuts in the film.

The film opens with two students, Brandon Shaw (Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Granger) strangling their friend David Kentley to death. They did this to prove that they could commit the perfect murder and prove their superiority. They are to host a dinner party, and convinced David to turn up early so they could kill him. After killing him, they put his body in a large chest in the living room. Brandon then decides to move the cutlery from the dining room to on top of the chest, just for the thrill of it. Although Brandon is calm, Phillip is a nervous wreck, which will play up throughout the film. The idea for the murder came from conversations with their professor, Rupert (Stewart), who had discussed such theories as Nietzsche’s Übermensch with them at university. As the first guests arrive, Brandon says the fun is just beginning.

The guests at the party are the pair’s housekeeper, David’s father Mr Kentley and his aunt Mrs Atwater, his fiancée Janet Walker and her former lover and David’s former best friend Kenneth Lawrence. Rupert is also invited, as Brandon feels that he will appreciate what they have done. Throughout the party, Brandon keeps hinting at David’s absence, which leads to everyone worrying about him, little realising his dead body is in the chest in the room. Brandon gets Rupert to share his theory of murder being a privilege for the chosen few, which greatly upsets David’s father. Rupert realises that something is off with Phillip and questions him about David’s absence, although he denies all knowledge. He also notices strange behaviour between the two, such as Phillip denying he had ever strangled a chicken even though Rupert had previously seen him strangling several chickens before and Brandon stammering when talking, which Rupert knows he only does when he is excited.

Brandon increases the tension by trying to set up Janet and Kenneth which greatly annoys the pair of them. He also makes numerous mentions of death which further serves to increase the tension surrounding David’s disappearance. As the party dies down, the housekeeper begins to remove the cutlery and candles from the chest and prepares books to put back in the chest. Just as Rupert is offering to help her lift the books into the chest, Brandon rushes over and insists they not bother, which further raises Rupert’s suspicion. Eventually, David’s mother rings and says he hasn’t been home. This leads to everyone leaving, not before Brandon hands David’s father some books, tied with the same rope they used to kill his son. The pair think they have got away with the crime, but Rupert calls up and claims he left a cigarette case and asks to come back up. Nervously, the pair agree.

When he arrives and when the pair are not looking, he hides the case behind some books and the chest and then to talk to them about David’s disappearance. Although Brandon is excited and eggs him on, Phillip, by this time very drunk, snaps and says the famous line, “Cat and mouse, cat and mouse. But which is the cat and which is the mouse?” Suspicious of the chest, Rupert goes to open it although Brandon tells him he won’t like what he sees. He opens it and is shocked and horrified by what he sees, David’s dead body. Rupert realises he is a cause for the murder, and turns his back on his previous theories of murder being for the privileged few. Another famous quote from this scene is, “Did you think you were God Brandon?”

Noticing Phillip is preparing a gun in his pocket, a struggle ensures before Rupert seizes the gun. He fires a few shots out the window and as the police sirens draw nearer, Rupert pulls a seat and sits down waiting for the police to show up.