Strangers on a Train

1951
PG
1h 41m

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

144K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer2:23

Film Noir Psychological Thriller Crime Drama Thriller

A psychopath tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.A psychopath tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.A psychopath tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.9/10

144K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

3,849

2,750

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 3 wins & 2 nominations total

Trivia
Some posters showed Sir Alfred Hitchcock inserting the letter "L" into the word "Strangers" in the title to make "Stranglers".

Goofs
The openings in the sewer grate where Bruno drops the lighter are too small for Bruno's arm, especially wearing a suit coat, to get through for him to reach the lighter.

Quotes
Senator Morton: Dreadful. Dreadful business. Poor unfortunate girl.
Barbara Morton: She was a tramp.
Senator Morton: She was a human being. Let me remind you that even the most unworthy of us has a right to life and the pursuit of happiness.
Barbara Morton: From what I hear she pursued it in all directions.

Alternate versions
There are several differences in the British version of the film, including:
The first encounter between Bruno and Guy on the train is longer, and features a more obvious homoerotic flirtation by Bruno;
In the scene where Guy sneaks out of his apartment to go to Bruno's house, a shot of him opening a drawer to get the map Bruno sketched is added;
The very last scene in the US version, which involves a clergyman, was deleted.

Connections
Edited into My Son John (1952)

Soundtracks
The Band Played On
(1895) (uncredited)
Music by Chas. B. Ward
Lyrics by John F. Palmer
Sung by Kasey Rogers, Tommy Farrell, Roland Morris and Robert Walker while riding the merry-go-round
Played often throughout the picture

User reviews408

Review

Featured review

The Movie Is A Major Improvement Over The Book

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!