O Desconhecido do Norte-Expresso (1951)

A psychotic socialite attempts to force a professional tennis star to prove a theory that two complete strangers can get away with murder.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Raymond Chandler (screen play), Czenzi Ormonde (screen play)

Stars:

Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Farley Granger	...	Guy Haines
Ruth Roman	...	Anne Morton
Robert Walker	...	Bruno Antony
Leo G. Carroll	...	Sen. Morton
Patricia Hitchcock	...	Barbara Morton
Kasey Rogers	...	Miriam Joyce Haines (as Laura Elliott)
Marion Lorne	...	Mrs. Antony
Jonathan Hale	...	Mr. Antony
Howard St. John	...	Police Capt. Turley
John Brown	...	Prof. Collins
Norma Varden	...	Mrs. Cunningham
Robert Gist	...	Det. Leslie Hennessey

Storyline

Bruno Antony 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 gone. 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 Bruno goes ahead with his half of the "bargain" and disposes of Miriam. When Guy balks, Bruno makes it 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 to divorce him. It all leads the police to believe Guy is responsible for the murder, forcing him to deal with Bruno's mad ravings.

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Plot Keywords:

oedipus complex | swapping murders | psychopath | tennis player | perfect murder | 

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Taglines:

A girl in love with young America's idol--and a good-looking stranger in search of sensation--that's how it all began..! Warner Bros. bring a pounding new tempo to motion picture entertainment!

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Genres:

Crime | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Certificate:

M/12

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

30 October 1952 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

O Desconhecido do Norte-Expresso

Filming Locations:

West Side Tennis Club - 1 Tennis Place, Forest Hills, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,200,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$7,630,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min 96 min (cut) 103 min (preview)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although an October 1950 The Hollywood Reporter news item reported that James Millican screentested for a role, he was not in the released movie.

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Goofs

When Bruno drops the lighter down the drain, it clearly falls in and directly down the drain, so couldn't have landed on the narrow ledge near the top.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bruno Anthony: I beg your pardon, but aren't you Guy Haines?

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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.

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Connections

Referenced in EastEnders: Episode dated 7 August 2008 (2008)

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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 Reviews

One of Hitchcock's finest achievements

"Strangers on a Train" is a brilliant example of what Hitchcock could do best, continually develop his plot and characters in an atmosphere both creepy and humorous. The film has great dialogue, superb characters, good acting, and naturally superb direction from the master of suspense who is truly at his best here. Robert Walker's Bruno Anthony is a character few will forget; he is creepy, psychopathic, and as M. Night Shyamalan says on one of the DVD's special features it is the fact that he has moral standards, however unconventional and disturbed they may be, that makes him such a dangerous man.

Strangers is a truly involving film, one that takes you on a ride you won't forget anytime soon, it has one of the best examples of buildup you could find on film, and as soon as it ends the film takes you on a journey that entertains and terrifies and even makes you laugh. This is a truly brilliant example of film-making, every shot is drenched in suspense, every cut is masterful, every detail important, every second exciting, it never lets go till the very end, and what an ending that is, a delicious bit of humor that is perfectly in tone with the rest of this delightful masterpiece.

Some have criticized Farley Granger's performance as Guy Haines, but it really is quite perfect; he delivered all his lines well and makes us feel honestly sympathetic towards him. Robert Walker is simply genius as Bruno Anthony, a great character that wouldn't have been nearly as memorable without Robert Walker's devilishly evil portrayal of him. The supporting cast are good, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, Kasey Rogers, Howard St. John and Patricia Hitchcock all deliver good performances that enhance what was already a good film and make it a great film. Alfred Hitchcock's direction is, as always, sublime.

What makes "Strangers" so good is the simple plot. It isn't a complicated story, two strangers meet on a train, and one comes up with a crazy plot: "You do my murder, I do yours." One takes it as a joke and shrugs it off, but the other takes himself seriously and goes on to commit the murder he offered to, getting the 'good guy' into huge trouble. The script is adapted superbly well by Whitfield Cook from a novel by Patricia Highsmith.

This is really one of Hitchcock's most interesting films from a technical perspective while also providing more than enough laughs, suspense, and thrills to keep just about anybody engaged.

10/10