Strangers on a Train (1951) Rank 5 Reviews

BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)

A chance meeting on a train, the casual discussion of murder, and the implications that lead to certain doom tantalise in a trademark Hitchcock thriller. Fans will be intrigued to see this DVD release as it offers a recently found UK pre-release print ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at BBC Films (Almar Haflidason)

rec.arts.movies.reviews (Ted Prigge)

Of all the films Hithcock made, this is one of his absolute masterpieces. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at rec.arts.movies.reviews (Ted Prigge)

eFilmCritic.com (Greg Muskewitz)

Quintessential Hitchcock.A weaker, though certainly not ineffective, effort from Hitchcock, concerning a chance encounter (or maybe not?) between one pro tennis player. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Greg Muskewitz)

Dial H for Hitchcock

The tale begins when two complete strangers strike up a conversation on a train. A seemingly innocent "what if" scenario is brought up by Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) who mentions to Guy Haines (Farley Granger) a plot on how they could eliminate the ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Dial H for Hitchcock

Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)

Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" is about weakness crisscrossing with evil, with evil pushing hard for the upper hand. Nobody comes away unscathed. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Bangor Daily News (Maine) (Christopher Smith)

Slant Magazine - DVD Review

trangers on a Train, though undoubtedly effective as a classic Hitchcock thriller, is also nothing more complicated than one elongated gay cruise joke-cum-horror story. Based on a Patricia Highsmith story (enough said), the film opens with a cross-cut ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Slant Magazine - DVD Review

filmcritic.com (Mark Athitakis)

Two men, a problem, and a crime is an old theme, but the list of works that exploit it perfectly is a short one. Strangers on a Train belongs on it. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at filmcritic.com (Mark Athitakis)

Cinemaphile.org (David Keyes)

Bruno is the kind of guy who just can't take a hint. He persists like an obnoxious adolescent with undeniable charm, pouncing at seemingly perfect moments but failing to distinguish importance from irrelevance in most of his actions. When he takes those ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Cinemaphile.org (David Keyes)

JackassCritics.com

The first images we see of STRANGERS ON A TRAIN are the two pairs of shoes of two very different men. One is of an extravagant black and white pair of shoes; obviously a man of boisterous personality. The other is conservative pair all dark and not even ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at JackassCritics.com

Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

This is a Hitchcock top-of-the-line work rolling on all cylinders. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)

Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

The prototypical Hitchcock thrill ride. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Arizona Daily Star (Phil Villarreal)

BBCi - Films

Ever wondered what's going through the minds of major tennis stars when they're in competition? For Guy Haines (Farley Granger), it's knowing that he's expected to kill the father of a man who's already proven himself capable of carrying out murderous ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at BBCi - Films

That Cow (Andrew Bradford)

Hitchcock certainly had his own way to make films. Supposedly, after having had studios monkey around too much with his final product, he started shooting his films so they'd not be able to be cut in any other way. Not only did Hitch get to have his way ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at That Cow (Andrew Bradford)

TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)

Gripping all the way, this is a Hitchcock thriller in which, through happenstance, two men, completely different, are drawn inexorably together and toward an uncommon goal--murder. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)

filmcritic.com

Picking Alfred Hitchcock's best movie is a sucker's game. His talents stretched across so many eras and worked in too many styles to reduce matters to one choice. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at filmcritic.com

HorrorTalk

While taking a train home tennis pro Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is recognized by another passenger Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) who had first flatters Haines. After a few minutes of uncomfortable conversation for Haines, Bruno then switches the subject ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at HorrorTalk

filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)

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 and conversation, to ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)

Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

Patricia Highsmith's malicious writing seems perfectly suited to Alfred Hitchcock; it's too bad he didn't make a few Ripley movies while he was at it. In Strangers on a Train, one of Hitch's biggest hits and most enduringly popular films, a pair of ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)

DVD Net (Amy Flower)

This week our tale revolves around two men, tennis star Guy Haines and playboy-type Bruno Anthony, and their chance meeting on a train bound for New York. Bruno is quite the overfriendly chatty type, and being up with the latest goss knows all about ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at DVD Net (Amy Flower)

Boxoffice Magazine

For Hitchcock fans, Warner's new "Alfred Hitchcock Signature Collection" ranks second only to the Universal collection of Hitchcock classics, though in overall picture quality it actually betters most of the Universal titles. Featured Warner titles ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Boxoffice Magazine

Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Amateur tennis star Guy Haines unwittingly enters into a bargain with lunatic Bruno Antony after a chance meeting on a train. The deal is that in order to avoid the motive aspect of a murder, they would swap murders and kill the most hated person in each ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)

Reviews by John (John Haywood)

As both a train buff and a Hitchcock fan, let me start off with this disclaimer: the title is not the reason why I like "Strangers on a Train." It has more to do with the director--or, to be precise, the director's craft. Guy Haines (Farley Granger) ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Reviews by John (John Haywood)

Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)

Walker's creepy performance ranks among the best found in any Hitchcock film. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)

Slant Magazine (Eric Henderson)

trangers on a Train, though undoubtedly effective as a classic Hitchcock thriller, is also nothing more complicated than one elongated gay cruise joke-cum-horror story. Based on a Patricia Highsmith story (enough said), the film opens with a cross-cut ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Slant Magazine (Eric Henderson)

digitallyOBSESSED! DVD Reviews

Playboy/tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) casually reads while riding a train to his hometown in preparation for a big match. This day appears similiar to many others, but everything changes when he randomly meets the overly friendly Bruno ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at digitallyOBSESSED! DVD Reviews

DVD Savant

Tennis pro Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is on his way to ask his unfaithful wife Miriam (Laura Elliott) for a divorce, when he meets eccentric Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) on the train. Among other tall tales, Bruno proposes that the two men swap ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at DVD Savant

Empire Magazine (Emma Cochrane)

The power of the story - adapted from the novel by Patricia Highsmith - lies in its simplicity, and Hitchcock's piles on the sinister layers as only he can. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Empire Magazine (Emma Cochrane)

Time Out (--)

Adapted from Patricia Highsmith's novel, Strangers on a Train takes as its central proposition the meeting and ensuing guilty association of two complete strangers, Granger and Walker. Walker buttonholes Granger, a star tennis player anxious to remarry ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Time Out (--)

Doug Pratt's DVD Review

A 101 minute "Hollywood Version" and a 103 minute "British Version" of Alfred Hitchcock's 1951 murder swap thriller appear one to a side. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Doug Pratt's DVD Review

Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

The black-and-white contrasts are vivid. The print has a few scratches here and there, but it nevertheless looks fresh and helps one submerge in the drama. The sound is fine. We still can't get over how well Alfred Hitchcock constructed the tennis match ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review

Internet Reviews (Steve Rhodes)

Hitchcock has a deft touch with his actors producing characters in predicaments that are easy to empathize with. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Internet Reviews (Steve Rhodes)

DVD Journal

Two pairs of shoes alight from two Diamond Cabs at a train station in Washington, D.C. - one a sensible black, the other a flamboyant white. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at DVD Journal

The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, this thriller features tennis star Farley Granger meets up with psychopath Robert Walker entirely by accident on a train trip-a fortuitous accident, as each has a sinister deed he'd like the other to perform. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews

DVD Authority

Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) is a vicious, maniacal man, someone who would kill his own father, if not for the consequences. In fact, he would love to knock off his old man, as he despises him and wishes he were out of the picture. Bruno does love his ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at DVD Authority

Crazy for Cinema

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN is classic Hitchcock, placing you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. One of his more suspenseful and psychological thrillers, there's only one murder in this film, but it has more power than twelve. Mainly because you ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Crazy for Cinema

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The abiding terror in Alfred Hitchcock's life was that he would be accused of a crime he did not commit. This fear is at the heart of many of his best films, including "Strangers on a Train" (1951), in which a man becomes the obvious suspect in the ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Crazy for Cinema (Lisa Skrzyniarz)

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN is classic Hitchcock, placing you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. One of his more suspenseful and psychological thrillers, there's only one murder in this film, but it has more power than twelve. Mainly because you ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Crazy for Cinema (Lisa Skrzyniarz)

DVD Town (John J. Puccio)

Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" from 1951 may not be among the director's most well-known films, but it is certainly a good representative of everything that was best about the director. It contains all the typical Hitchcock ingredients--the ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at DVD Town (John J. Puccio)

DVD Verdict - Special Edition

After the success of Notorious in 1946, audiences were well disappointed by Alfred Hitchcock's next film, The Paradine Case (1947), a sluggish courtroom drama set in England: Think of Gregory Peck in a periwig. In Rope (1948), the director used only one ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at DVD Verdict - Special Edition

FilmDailies.com

In Truffaut's book-length interview with Hitchcock, it's apparent that Big Al's fear from the police dates back to his childhood. His father sent him to the police station carrying a note. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at FilmDailies.com

BBC Films

In 1951 Alfred Hitchcock staked his territory in Hollywood as 'the master of suspense' with psychological thriller Strangers On A Train. A sinister Robert Walker forces Farley Granger into a murderous scheme after a chance meeting in this "ruthlessly ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at BBC Films

In Review (Adam Suraf)

In the Hitchcock universe, one of the major rules is the rule of two's, or, the rule of duality. This rule, stated plainly, says that for every cause there is a direct effect. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at In Review (Adam Suraf)

DVDBeaver

The problem when approaching any of the major Hitchcock's are, that they will overwhelm one to such a degree, that they overshadow any other film and one almost instinctively thinks "the best". ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at DVDBeaver

Michael D's Region 4 DVD Info Page (Ian Morris)

And so we get to the third of the recent classic films issued by Warner Home Video, and I suppose that it was somewhat unreasonable to expect that we would continue to dodge the age barrier as far as transfers were concerned. However, more of that ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Michael D's Region 4 DVD Info Page (Ian Morris)

Classic Film Guide

Given that his last four films were unsuccessful with critics and moviegoers alike (including Under Capricorn (1949) & Stage Fright (1950)), director Alfred Hitchcock needed this film which, though thin of story & convincing dialogue, helped him to ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Classic Film Guide

KQEK DVD Review (Mark R. Hasan)

Two strangers flippantly discuss murder on a train, but when Guy's wife is actually killed, mama's boy Bruno expects the same favour... or else. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at KQEK DVD Review (Mark R. Hasan)

txreviews.com (Curtis Edmonds)

You know what's coming before the characters do. First, you know what's coming because you've seen the movie before, or heard someone reference the plot. This is a movie, after all, that is now over fifty years old. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at txreviews.com (Curtis Edmonds)

Horror View

"Strangers on a Train" comes about midway in the Hitchcock pantheon. By the beginning of the fifties, the maestro had already made such timeless classics as "The 39 Steps", "The Lady Vanishes", "Rebbeca", "Shadow of a Doubt" and "Spellbound" in a career ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Horror View

Entertainment Insiders (Stephen Wong)

Hitchcock nearly redefined cinematic suspense with this 1951 classic, a film that works as both an edge-of-your-seat thriller as well as a perfect dual character study. Cleverly choreographed throughout, from its wonderful opening sequence to its ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Entertainment Insiders (Stephen Wong)

The Digital Bits

Strangers on a Train starts with that most faithful of crime caper setups - the chance encounter. The setup this go around, as the title would lead you to believe, happens on a passenger train. Wealthy brat Bruno (Robert Walker) takes a seat on the train ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at The Digital Bits

Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

Vintage Hitchcock template, but without the surprise ending. Lots of great Hitchcockisms, arriving at regular intervals and beyond what any imitator could come up with-the opening shoes, strangers' faces aghast at the train station for reasons that are ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)

New York Times (Bosley Crowther)

...his basic premise of fear fired by menace is so thin and so utterly unconvincing that the story just does not stand. ...read the complete Strangers on a Train movie review at New York Times (Bosley Crowther)

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