Strangers on a Train

PG

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1 hr. 41 min.

Mystery & Thriller

List

98%

58 Reviews

Tomatometer

92%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's thriller, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is enraged by his trampy wife's refusal to finalize their divorce so he can wed senator's daughter Anne (Ruth Roman). He strikes up a conversation with a stranger, Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), and unwittingly sets in motion a deadly chain of events. Psychopathic Bruno kills Guy's wife, then urges Guy to reciprocate by killing Bruno's father. Meanwhile, Guy is murder suspect number one.

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Critics Consensus

A provocative premise and inventive set design lights the way for Hitchcock diabolically entertaining masterpiece.

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Alec C

Be careful of who you meet, because you have no idea what you're getting yourself into! Guy Haines is struggling with finalizing his divorce with his ex-wife, only for a coincidental meeting with the charming yet odd Bruno Anthony to lead to murder and mayhem, with him caught on the other side of a disturbing criss cross. With some exceptional screenplay by the legendary Hitchcock, this dark thriller warns us about talking with strangers!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/22/24

Full Review

Abe A

Another 3.5 Hitchcock. They are consistently good, never great. As with Suspicion, there is a hint of something that could be greatness, but it falls short, this one at an earlier inning than Suspicion. The seeds are there, but the serious road isn't taken--instead the fork chosen is that of light fare, Hollywood entertainment. This is the work of a director in the Hollywood system, not outside it, and it shows.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/24

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Michael V

It starts with a shriek of a train whistle... and ends with shrieking excitement! Strangers on a Train is a 1951 American psychological thriller film noir produced and directed by Alfred Hitchcock 👓 It's good 🙂 I'd recommend it if you like this genre 👍🏼 Although some scenes have dated and are laughable, this is an entertaining thriller. The carousel scene is particularly memorable… Two strangers meet on a train. They've never met before. Both of whom have someone they'd like to murder. So, they swap murders. A psychopath shares this concept with tennis star Guy Haines, whose wife refuses to get a divorce. He agrees, thinking it is a joke. But now his wife is dead, Haines finds himself a prime suspect and the man wants Guy to kill his father.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/04/24

Full Review

ChrisCSH H

Alfred Hitchcock's brilliant and genius film "strangers on a train" is so unbelievably thrilling and suspenseful that it could only come from the brilliant mind of Alfred Hitchcock.At no time throughout the entire film is there not a scene where there isn't suspense and or excitement. The film is highlighted by the brilliant acting of Robert Walker who plays the incredibly creepy and chilling Bruno Anthony. The film is capped off by an amazing special effect scene on a carousel, that for the time was truly amazing.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/07/24

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Merick H

Exciting thriller with great shots and some excellent acting. The suspense is gripping and it is a fun story that was well worth the watch. One of the better Hitchcock films.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/06/24

Full Review

Alan G

Great premise. Engaging for 20 minutes - and then it just gets silly. Bruno's mother serves no valuable purpose, yet is more of a focus than the father who is apparently worthy of being murdered by his son, and almost completely absent from the film. Policemen are put on 24-hour watch over a man who hasn't been charged with a crime? The high-society crowd seems completely accepting of the fact that a married man who is dating the senator's daughter, is constantly accompanied by a policeman, and is the main suspect in the murder of his wife. The girlfriend makes a leap of conclusion based on relatively nothing. A merry-go-round is whirling impossibly out of control so fast that police offers fail to get on it, yet the children riding it are virtually unaffected, including a young child who only needs to hold on with one hand? And the ride is brought to a stop, it somehow explodes and the only one hurt (fatally) is a grown man, but none of the kids nor moms that were riding it? Good grief. How is this a classic?

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/27/23

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Alfred Hitchcock

Director

Robert Walker

Bruno Anthony

Farley Granger

Guy Haines

Ruth Roman

Anne Morton

Leo G. Carroll

Sen. Morton

Patricia Hitchcock

Barbara Morton

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Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

The upshot is a perfect Alfred Hitchcock thriller...with a ingenious plot taken from a Patricia Highsmith novel and a memorably seductive villain.

Nov 2, 2018

Full Review

THR Staff

Hollywood Reporter

Strangers on a Train is an admirable demonstration of Alfred Hitchcock's virtuosity in the area of suspense dramas.

Jun 30, 2017

Full Review

TIME Magazine

Winds up with a scene in which a merry-go-round goes wild, spins like a pin wheel, and crashes in a gaudy blaze of explosions that no earthly carrousel could touch off. The movie itself is the same way: implausible but intriguing and great fun to ride.

Aug 30, 2009

Full Review

Trace Thurman

Horror Queers Podcast

Despite some questionable changes from Patricia Highsmith's source material, Strangers on a Train showcases Hitchcock at his most gleeful, emphatically building suspense before an explosive climax.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 18, 2024

Full Review

Joe Lipsett

Horror Queers Podcast

Hitchcock frequently subverts expectations, particularly in how he involves secondary characters. The obvious queerness of one (if not both) leads is undeniable and the film boasts two iconic set pieces: Miriam's murder and the carousal climax.

Rated: 4.5/5

Mar 13, 2024

Full Review

Noah Gittell

Washington City Paper

The taut narrative of Strangers on a Train is supported by some of the best visual filmmaking of Hitchcock’s career.

Jul 6, 2023

Full Review

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Synopsis

In Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's thriller, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is enraged by his trampy wife's refusal to finalize their divorce so he can wed senator's daughter Anne (Ruth Roman). He strikes up a conversation with a stranger, Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), and unwittingly sets in motion a deadly chain of events. Psychopathic Bruno kills Guy's wife, then urges Guy to reciprocate by killing Bruno's father. Meanwhile, Guy is murder suspect number one.

Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Screenwriter: Whitfield Cook, Patricia Highsmith, Czenzi Ormonde
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: PG
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 30, 1951, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Sound Mix: Mono
Aspect Ratio: 35mm

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