One of Hitchcock's better works, Strangers on a Train (1951) is perhaps best known now as the inspiration for the film, Throw Mama From the Train (1987), starring Billy Crystal and Danny Devito. Full of suspense, with typical Hitchcock style and a nail-biting climax, Strangers on a Train is inventive and memorable.
Farley Granger and Robert Walker play two strangers who meet on a train. Each one of them has a person in their life that is causing them strife. Farley's wife is extorting him, and Walker's father doesn't appreciate him. In a sick twist, Walker throws out the idea that they swap murders, each man kills the other's nemesis. That way there is no connection, no motive.
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| Strangers on a Train. 1951. Alfred Hitchcock |
Granger dismisses this as idle, hypothetical crazy talk. His world is put in turmoil, however, when Walker does in fact murder his wife for him.
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| Strangers on a Train. 1951. Alfred Hitchcock |
Now Walker expects Granger to fulfill his end by killing the father. He refuses and Walker stalks him...
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| Strangers on a Train. 1951. Alfred Hitchcock |
threatening to derail his future life and happiness by framing him...
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| Strangers on a Train. 1951. Alfred Hitchcock |
An unforgettable climax ensues...
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| Strangers on a Train. 1951. Alfred Hitchcock |
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| Strangers on a Train. 1951. Alfred Hitchcock |
