L'inconnu du Nord-Express

Strangers on a Train directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a crime drama, which follows a tennis star who is recognised by a stranger. Their compelling conversation on the train is followed by a series of deranged events, which immensely torments the tennis star, unexpectedly placing him on the cusp of crime. Going into this film I was expecting great things. Although this film didn't meet my expectations... it exceeded them. Where can I start. The performances are all outstanding. The black and white cinematography is creative, expressive and beautifully artistic. This film contains sequences which are so thrilling, I was genuinely invested, due to how well they hold up. I particularly loved the subtle visual imagery and symbolism which enforces a major concept explored in the film. Strangers on a Train has you invested for the entire runtime. The script is so riveting, as it explores a range of tones without ever slowing down. Many individuals today refuse to see films which are black and white, believing that they are not entertaining. Strangers on a Train rebukes that misconception on every level. This film is an incredible film making achievement so therefore I give it a 9.

Usually, it is the other way around, but in this case, the movie is a major improvement over the original book.

I had seen this wonderful movie at least a dozen times, before I managed to find a copy of the book it was taken from....the book has the same title and was written by Patricia Highsmith.

I scoured the used bookstores for years, before I finally found a copy, and because the movie was SO good, I could not wait to begin reading the story in its original version.

I was never so disappointed!

Not because the book is unreadable...but because Hitchcock made such vast improvements over the book that the book simply does not come close to measuring up to the movie version.

That said, let me now comment on Robert Walker's amazing performance as Bruno Antony.

This was Robert Walker's last completed performance...he died while shooting his final film, "My Son John," in August, 1951.

This role as Bruno was the performance of his career!

Perfect in every way.

The movie has been around now for nearly half a century. I see it every time it is shown on television, and I also watch the tape I have of it occasionally.

Robert Walker's performance only seems to improve with each new viewing.

I can not recommend this movie highly enough.

If Hitchcock and Robert Walker can read me, up there in heaven, let me congratulate them both on an absolutely superlative job!

'Strangers On A Train is rarely mentioned as the best movie he made but it is definitely one of his finest. I have watched a few of his movies recently and I regard this as better than 'North By Northwest', 'Notorious'. 'The Wrong Man', 'Vertigo', 'Spellbound', 'Rope'. Indeed I would put it right up there with 'Psycho',

Robert Walker is simply fantastic as the psychotic Bruno and why he wasn't even nominated for an Oscar is ludicrous. The fact that he died in tragic circumstances not long after this movie was finished compounds the fact that he had an amazing career ahead of him. Also I must give mention to Patricia Hancock who gives a really fine performance as Babs. Every actor is on point here and there are so many memorable scenes.

'Strangers On A Train' is a good movie, it really is that simple. A director at the peak of his powers and a performance from Robert Walker that lingers in the memory.

When it comes to Cinema's hall of fame of screen villains Robert Walker's Bruno Anthony has to rank up there with the best of them. Outwardly harmless, he possesses the twisted psyche of a spoiled mummy's boy who is all too willing to resort to murder to get his own way (sounds a little like Norman Bates, doesn't it?).

Walker graces the role with sly hints of effeminacy that hint at his character's sexual orientation, something that in 1951 would have contributed to the overall impression of louche decadence. And what a loathsome creature he truly is, almost toadying towards tennis player Guy Haines as he ingratiates his way into the hapless athlete's life only to turn it upside down with his diabolical 'criss-cross' plan. To be fair, Haines is a tailor-made victim, and the passive indecision of his character is perhaps the film's biggest flaw. As others have no doubt noted, Haines would only need have gone to the police to sort everything out because Bruno's suave mask is clearly as fragile as an eggshell, and even a novice interrogator would quickly determine that something's not right about him.

As murder plots go, it's not a bad idea – apart from the unlikelihood of two like-minded strangers meeting, discussing and then agreeing to such a plot in the first place. Bruno takes the vaguest of affirmations – distractedly delivered by Haines to shake him off – as confirmation that his plan is a goer and promptly murders Haine's estranged wife in a justifiably famous fairground murder scene.

The psychological subtext is laid on pretty thick for an early fifties film, making it a piece of work that rewards repeated viewings. Walker's character grows increasingly menacing as the film progresses, not through any changes of attitude or manner on his part, but because of what the audience learns about him as the story unfolds. For the most part, however, his role in the film is simply as a villainous foil for the clear-cut Haines, which is a shame as it would have been interesting to see just how Bruno became as twisted as he was. Nevertheless, Strangers on a Train deserves the classic status it enjoys, and is worth a couple of hours of anybody's time.

Alfred Hitchcock has made many brilliant thrillers, and many of them have gone on to be hailed as some of the greatest films of all time. One film that tends to get somewhat lost under the Vertigo's and the Psycho's is this film; Strangers on a Train, the most compelling film that Hitchcock ever made. The story follows Guy Haines, a tennis player and a man soon to be wed to the Senator's daughter, if he can get a divorce from his current wife. One day, on the way to see his wife, he meets the mentally unstable Bruno Anthony aboard a train and soon gets drawn into a murder plot that he can neither stop nor stall; and one that could ultimately cost him his life.

The conversation aboard the train between Bruno and Guy is one of the cinema's most intriguing and thought provoking of all time. What if two people "swapped" murders, thus resolving themselves of all suspicion of the crime, and rendering their motive irrelevant? Could this truly be the perfect murder? What makes this film all the more frightening is that the events that Guy is lead into could happen to any, normal everyday person. Everyone has someone they'd like to get rid of, so what if you met an insane man aboard a train that does your murder for you and then forces you to do his? The chances of it happening are unlikely, but it's the idea that anyone could be a murderer that is central to the message of Strangers on a Train; and in this situation, anyone could.

Is there any actor on earth that could have portrayed the character of Bruno Anthony any better than Robert Walker? The man was simply born for the part. He manages to capture just the right mood for his character and absolutely commands every scene he is in. The character of Bruno is a madman, but he's not a lunatic; he's a calculating, conniving human being and Robert Walker makes the character believable. His performance is extremely malevolent, and yet understated enough to keep the character firmly within the realms of reality. Unfortunately, Robert Walker died just one year after the release of Strangers on a Train, and I believe that is a great loss to cinema. Nobody in the cast shines as much as Walker does, but worth mentioning is his co-star Farley Granger. Granger never really impresses that much, but his performance is good enough and he holds his own against Walker. Also notable about his performance is that he portrays his character as a very normal person; and that is how it should be. Ruth Roman is Guy's wife to be. She isn't really in the film enough to make a lasting impression, but she makes the best of what she has. Alfred Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia, takes the final role of the four central roles as Barbara, the sister of Guy's fiancé. She is suitably lovely in this role, and she tends to steal a lot of the scenes that she is in.

Alfred Hitchcock's direction is always sublime, and it is very much so in this film. There is one shot in particular, that sees the murder of the film being committed in the reflection of a pair of sunglasses. This is an absolutely brilliant shot, and one that creates a great atmosphere for the scene. Hitchcock's direction is moody throughout, and very much complies with the film noir style. The climax to the film is both spectacular and exciting, and I don't think that anyone but Hitchcock could have pulled it off to the great effect that it was shown in this film. It's truly overblown, and out of turn from the rest of the movie; but it works. There is a reason that Hitchcock is often cited as the greatest director of all time, and the reason for that is that he doesn't only use the script to tell the film's story, but he also uses to camera to do so as well. Strangers on a Train is one of the greatest thrillers ever made. Its story is both intriguing and thought provoking, and is sure to delight any fan of cinema. A masterpiece.