Strangers on a Train (1951) 4K Restoration
Director: Alfred Hitchcock Run Time: 101 min. Rating: PG Release Year: 1951
Starring: Farley Granger, Leo G. Carroll, Patricia Hitchcock, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman
Country: United States
Language: English
Presented as part of the 2024 edition of Hitchcocktober.
About the film:
When two strangers—tennis star Guy Haines, whose wife will not grant him a divorce, and wealthy but deranged young Bruno Anthony, who wants to be rid of his father—happen to meet on a train from Washington to New York, the conversation casually turns to a possibly perfect crime: what if each committed murder for the other? There is nothing to connect the two men. No apparent motive for either killing. When the trip ends, Guy believes the conversation was hypothetical, and that he will never see Bruno again. Then his wife is murdered…and Brunoreturns for payback.
Hard-boiled crime novelist Raymond Chandler co-wrote the screenplay of this film adaptation of the novel by Patricia Highsmith.
About the filmmaker:
Alfred Hitchcock, nicknamed the “Master of Suspense,” was an English-American filmmaker who is well-known for directing influential thrillers. Hitchcock’s first Hollywood film, Rebecca (1940), won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and the film earned Hitchcock his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director. Despite receiving little-to-no critical recognition, Vertigo (1958) is widely considered one of his greatest accomplishments thanks to its chilling score and complex exploration of themes that were personal to Hitchcock.
In 1960, Hitchcock changed horror—and film as a whole—with the ever-shocking Psycho (1960). The film was received with a great deal of controversy thanks to the ways in which it challenged traditional narrative structures; however, the controversy was a gift, as it became the second highest grossing film of the year and earned Hitchcock his final Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
With his television show, Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-62), Hitchcock became one of the best-known directors in world thanks to his memorable introductions of each episode. Throughout his life, Alfred Hitchcock directed more than 50 feature films across six decades. In 1968, he was awarded the Irving G. Thalberg Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and in 1979 he earned the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Film Institute.
The Film Center is thrilled to celebrate the master filmmaker once again with the 15th year of Hitchcocktober. Experience a stunning selection of Alfred Hitchcock’s finest as they were meant to be seen: on the big screen. These classic masterpieces continue to inspire some of today’s best filmmakers, and, in many ways, changed the art of filmmaking forever.
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