Strangers on a Train

IMDB top 100: #100

One of these Hitchcock movies that many people seem to have forgotten. Sure, it is no "Vertigo", "Psycho" or "North by Northwest", but it does have its merits and the chemistry between both male characters is thrilling. Hints of latent homosexuality, sadism and of course the great role of Robert Walker as the person who believes everybody is a potential killer, make this a great movie. The final carrousel scene might be a bit over the top, but the funny one-liners of Hitchcock's daughter are very witty and give this dark movie some lighter moments.

Favourite Quote: "Oh, Daddy doesn't mind a little scandal. He's a senator."

Director's Cameo : Alfred Hitchcock boards a train early in the film, carrying a double bass fiddle as Guy gets off the train

Psychotic mother's boy Bruno Anthony meets famous tennis professional Guy Haines on a train. Guy wants to move into a career in politics and has been dating a senator's daughter (Ann Morton) while awaiting a divorce from his wife. Bruno wants to kill his father but knows he will be caught because he has a motive. Bruno dreams up a crazy scheme in which he and Guy exchange murders. Guy takes this as a joke, but Bruno is serious and takes things into his own hands.

saboteur

Saboteur is a typical Hitchcock movie made in 1942 when America had not yet joined the Second World War. If you see it through our modern day eyes, it looks like a propaganda film that gives a black&white vision of fascism versus liberty. But on closer inspection the movie offers more than just some good suspense and patriotic slogans. It's actually a movie about people who are different yet still play an important role in everyday life. Especially the scenes with the circus workers add an extra depth to the movie.

For most people the main attraction will be the scene on top of the Statue of Liberty, a trademark Hitchcock scene with lots of excitement, grand decors and a chilling end.

Quote: "Very pretty speech - youthful, passionate, idealistic. Need I remind you that you are the fugitive from justice, not I. I'm a promient citizen, widely respected. You are an obscure workman wanted fro committing an extremely unpopular crime. Now which of us do you think the police will believe?"

Trivia: if you are looking for Hitchcock in this one, check the man visiting the newsstand in front of the drug store where Barry Kane is taken upon arriving in New York City.

When sabotage destroys part of an aircraft plant, plant worker Barry Kane is blamed for the crime falsely. Determined to clear his name, he sets out to track down the man he believes to be the actual saboteur, the mysterious Frank Fry. He chases Fry across the western deserts to New York, where he discovers a plot by a group of anti-American fascists, and the two men confront each other atop the Statue of Liberty