Strangers on a Train

Pros: Fascinating character study

Cons: Czendzi Ormande doesn't get enough credit for writing the screenplay.

Review: In my opinion, this movie is one of Alfred Hitchcock's finest works. Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel, Hitchcock has taken her story and turned it into one of the greatest thrillers of his career. This is an early film, made in 1951, and in black...

Pros: Robert Walker, direction, creepy aspects of the plot.

Cons: May be too intense for some, even for a 50's film.

The Bottom Line: One of Hitchcock's most intense movies.

Review: Alfred Hitchcock has made some pretty effective thrillers in his day -- some of them are quite creepy and twisted, even for films made in the 1950’s, as was the case for Rear Window, Vertigo and The Wrong Man. Many elements of these films are not...

Pros: beautiful character work, great insight into the human soul

Cons: sometimes a bit slow, some of the acting is questionable

The Bottom Line: A look into a battle of moral fortitude with the fear of reprisal. Performed by the master of suspense and great observer of the human psyche and its fears.

Review: When someone mentions the name Alfred Hitchcock, what usually comes to people's minds is a fairly overweight man who made some movies that a lot of people really liked, usually in the thriller and horror genre.[1] He has been lauded by...

Pros: It's Hitchcock! Suspense, great acting, and everything else!

Cons: Not as twisty as some of his other films (is that a con?)

The Bottom Line: Strangers on a Train is creepy and suspenseful, just what you'd expect from a Hitchcock flick!

Review: When you get on a train or a plane do you chat with the person near you? Maybe you do or maybe you bury your nose in a book. And what happens if the person starts talking to you? You’re probably polite, but a little standoffish. And what would you think...

Pros: suspenseful, inventive, and haunting

Cons: A couple of the performances are weak; so is the climax

The Bottom Line: An excellent film. You should see it.

Review: Hitchcock's favorite movie that he ever made was Shadow of a Doubt (1943). Most people regard Vertigo (1958) as his best film, or perhaps North by Northwest (1959) or Rear Window (1954). Some have a soft spot for Psycho (1960) or The Birds (1963), two of ...

Pros: Hitchcock first, Robert Walker right behind

Cons: I'm not thrilled by tennis.

Review: OK, think about it for a while. I have other things I want to tell you about first anyhow. The novel was by Patricia Highsmith, and Alfred snuck the movie rights without making a ripple. Buying anonymously, he got the rights to this film for a mere...

Pros: Walker's definitive screen villain, cinematography, plot, dialogue

Cons: None, although Granger isn't the best actor around

The Bottom Line: One of the all-time best suspense films with wonderful character interactions and memorable visuals. A must.

Review: Farley Granger plays a tennis star who picks the wrong person to sit next to on a train. Enter defin ...

Pros: direction, suspense, characters, finale, cast

Cons: elderly women stereotypes

The Bottom Line: One of Alfred Hitchcock's best films, this film is essential to anyone who enjoys Hitchcock, classic films, or suspense thrillers.

Review:
Along with Rebecca, Strangers on a Train is perhaps the greatest film in the career of director Alfred Hitchcock. An extraordinarily tense film, the suspense is slowly ratcheted up from the innocuous beginnings of a chance meeting...

Pros: Enormously taut direction, superb ensemble, never less than rivetingly suspenseful.

Cons: Nuances in the storyline may pressure you to revisit this one again and again. But hey, what's so bad about that?

Review: By Max Scheinin.

You never need an excuse to revisit Strangers on a Train -- it's a rivetingly suspenseful film that never runs out steam and livens up even the slowest of days -- but right about (lemme check my watch) -- yep, now -- you have...

Pros: Walker, Hitchcock, cinematography, funny, script

Cons: the GAY villain, not always suspenseful

The Bottom Line: This is a terrific thriller, that becomes very suspenseful and features a great Robert Walker performance

Review: The Master of Suspense brings us a story that isn’t quite as tense as some of his other works, but is very well done. It is classed as a thriller, but it is more of a drama until the last twenty minutes or so. It also has some huge laughs.

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