Strangers on a train (1951)
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film notes
Strangers on a Train ranks with Hitchcock's most accomplished works, a masterpiece so carefully constructed, with characters so well developed, that the viewer is quickly drawn into the story—long before Walker turns killer. The basic thrust of this startling tale is to show two men who are, in many ways, one.
Granger is excellent as the innocent victim of the evil plot of the movie, and the supporting cast members shine in their roles, even Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia. But the compelling character of this film was that superlative actor Walker, whose sly and smiling ways, coupled with his mechanical way of killing (although only one body is produced in this chiller, a minimum record for Hitchcock), terrify every viewer who sees the film. He is not only Hitchcock's most frightening character, but one of the most horrific creations in any film; he is Hyde with no trace of Jekyll at all. Hitchcock was asked how he came to cast Walker, the one-time all-American boy of movies, as a homicidal maniac. "It was typecasting," replied Hitchcock. "I think that somebody once said the better the heavy, the better the story." In the same interview, Hitchcock recalled how strange Walker was in real life: "I remember one night we had him at a party, God rest his soul— a little party after the picture's showing at our house and my wife gave him brandy. Someone said: ‘Oh, you should never do that, never give him brandy, because he'll be gone.’ And he was gone, too. He had two or three. Then he took my wife aside and talked about me. He said: 'You know, I love him, but I hate him at the same time!' This was Robert Walker. It's scary, isn't it? In our own home!"
Granger is excellent as the innocent victim of the evil plot of the movie, and the supporting cast members shine in their roles, even Hitchcock's daughter, Patricia. But the compelling character of this film was that superlative actor Walker, whose sly and smiling ways, coupled with his mechanical way of killing (although only one body is produced in this chiller, a minimum record for Hitchcock), terrify every viewer who sees the film. He is not only Hitchcock's most frightening character, but one of the most horrific creations in any film; he is Hyde with no trace of Jekyll at all. Hitchcock was asked how he came to cast Walker, the one-time all-American boy of movies, as a homicidal maniac. "It was typecasting," replied Hitchcock. "I think that somebody once said the better the heavy, the better the story." In the same interview, Hitchcock recalled how strange Walker was in real life: "I remember one night we had him at a party, God rest his soul— a little party after the picture's showing at our house and my wife gave him brandy. Someone said: ‘Oh, you should never do that, never give him brandy, because he'll be gone.’ And he was gone, too. He had two or three. Then he took my wife aside and talked about me. He said: 'You know, I love him, but I hate him at the same time!' This was Robert Walker. It's scary, isn't it? In our own home!"