strangers on a train lighter

As the ambivalent hero of Strangers on a Train, Guy was handsome, athletic, and sophisticated. [17], Even while the torturous writing stage was plodding its course, the director's excitement about the project was boundless. [19] The scripting team added the tennis match — and the crosscutting with Bruno's storm drain travails in Metcalf — added the cigarette lighter, the Tunnel of Love, Miriam's eyeglasses; in fact, the amusement park is only a brief setting in the novel.[19]. "[12] In the novel, Guy is pursued and entrapped by a tenacious detective.[15]. As part of the 1997 Hitchcock Season on BBC2, several short guest interviews were filmed. "Me, I never do anything important." See Appendix 1, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, (1995) 15:sup1, 1–31 p 31 DOI: 10.1080/01439689508604551, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMcGillian2006 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFChandler2004 (, sfn error: no target: CITEREFMcGillligan2004 (, Warner Bros. press release #HO9-1251, November 30, 1950, Influence on Carol Burnett's Star on Hollywood Walk of Fame, "Armchair Audience: The Moving Toyshop (1946)", "The Screen In Review; 'Strangers on a Train,' Another Hitchcock Venture, Arrives at the Warner Theatre", German Concentration Camps Factual Survey, Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies, Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Strangers_on_a_Train_(film)&oldid=1017482384, Films based on works by Patricia Highsmith, Films with screenplays by Raymond Chandler, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat-VIAF identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 13 April 2021, at 00:43. "[20] Robert Burks received the film's sole Academy Award nomination for its black and white photography.[22]. To the man committed to a career in politics, Bruno represents a tempting overthrow of all responsibility. Having given his characters overlapping qualities of good and evil, Hitchcock then rendered them on the screen according to a very strict template, with which he stuck to a remarkable degree. "Hitchcock raced ahead of everyone: the script, the cast, the studio... pieces of the film were dancing like electrical charges in his brain. "[58], Conversely, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times criticized the film: "Mr. Hitchcock again is tossing a crazy murder story in the air and trying to con us into thinking that it will stand up without support. Every visual element advances and serves the story +++ into darkness. [6] For six days, they shot at Penn Station in New York City, at the railroad station at Danbury, Connecticut—which became Guy's hometown Metcalf—and in spots around Washington, D.C.[6]. Strangers on a Train marked something of a renaissance for Hitchcock, after several years of low enthusiasm for his late-1940s output,[24] and he threw himself into the micromanagement of some of its production. An obvious yet very effective theme in Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train is that of “criss-cross” and doubles. Courtesy of The Hitchcock Zone. When she threatens to claim that the baby is his to thwart any divorce, they argue loudly. "You're a free man now", he says, just as a police car drives up, looking for the husband of a certain recent murder victim. Approached by a total stranger trying to make light conversation, he dummies up, not taking a chance at meeting another Bruno. In a final train scene, as another stranger attempts to strike up conversation with Guy in the same way as had Bruno, Guy and Anne avoid speaking with him. The camera was on one side of the reflector, Elliott was on the other, and Hitchcock directed Elliott to turn her back to the reflector and "float backwards, all the way to the floor... like you were doing the limbo. Fast, exciting, and woven with wicked style, this is one of Hitchcock's most efficient and ruthlessly delicious thrillers. FADE IN: EXT. Unlike their patrons, they are not made lighter as they disembark, but become heavier, slower, and listless. One studio press release gave rise to a myth that still lingers on today. The band plays on through Bruno's stalking of his victim and during the murder itself, blaring from the front of the screen, then receding into the darkness as an eerie obbligato when the doomed Miriam enters the Tunnel of Love.[38]. INT. At first glance, Guy represents the ordered life where people stick to rules, while Bruno comes from the world of chaos,[48] where they get thrown out of multiple colleges for drinking and gambling. Talking about the structure of the film, Hitchcock said to Truffaut, "Isn't it a fascinating design? In his 1951 film, Strangers on a Train, Alfred Hitchcock uses symbols to imply that the antagonist, Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), is deeply connected to Pluto, the god of the underworld in Greek… These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Strangers on a Train (1951 Film), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Adonis got to choose the goddess with whom he would spend the final four months, and he always chose Aphrodite. BoLaGRAM: Strangers on a Train a’ ∂ 1 ω ∂ 2 Frame 1 enunciating / performative Bruno’s house; scene of failed murder Guy caught in crisscross plot anamorph/mi-dire lighter drops down storm-drain tennis match mi-dire énoncé Frame 2 bedroom poché tunnel of love; island on the lake poché monogrammed lighter train Hitchcock and his cast and crew decamped for the East Coast on October 17, 1950. [19], Carringer has argued that the film was crucially shaped by the Congressional inquiries, making Guy the stand-in for victims of the homophobic climate. It is one of the moments in Hitchcock's work that continues to bring gasps from every audience and applause from cinema students. A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. "[59] Leslie Halliwell felt that Hitchcock was "at his best" and that the film "makes superior suspense entertainment," but called the story "unsatisfactory. A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. This particular Ronson lighter was an “Adonis” model. Through the press, Bruno knows Guy is in a… Bruno orders with gusto and with an interest in what he is going to eat — lamb chops, French fries, and chocolate ice cream. Strangers on a Train (1951) was something of a showpiece for Alfred Hitchcock, for it gave him the opportunity to present a range of dazzling cinematic artifice in a single film. After Guy arrives, he and Bruno fight on the park's carousel. Anne's sister Barbara says that the police will think that Guy is the murderer since he has a motive. [43] Hitchcock made personal appearances in most of them, and was often accompanied by his daughter. Strangers on a Train (1951) was director Alfred Hitchcock's suspenseful, noirish black and white thriller about two train passengers: tennis pro Guy Haines (Farley Granger) and psychopathic dandy Bruno Antony (Robert Walker), who staged a battle of wits and proposed trading murders with each other. I quit writing recondite essays long ago (around about the time I quit sucking in my gut) and only trot out the classics if I've lost a bet or it if it will help me win a drinking game. The Strangers on a Train (1951 Film) Community Note includes chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quizzes written by community members like you. "[46], Guy and Bruno are in some ways doubles, but in many more ways, they are opposites. The film stars Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, and Robert Walker. Recognizing him as a popular athlete, Bruno befriends Guy. Guy (Farley Granger), a famous tennis player, “coincidentally” meets Bruno (Robert Walker), a mentally disturbed man, on a train. The pair has what writer Peter Dellolio refers to as a "dark symbiosis. [18], There was one point of agreement between Chandler and Hitchcock, although it would come only much later, near the release of the film: they both acknowledged that since virtually none of Chandler's work remained in the final script, his name should be removed from the credits. Guy Haines travels back to Metcalf by a different train, but the same man is sitting to his right in the club car - just slightly further away. He paid just $7500 for movie rights, or about $75,000 in 2016 dollars. "[27], Principal photography wrapped just before Christmas, and Hitchcock and Alma left for a vacation in Santa Cruz,[25] then in late March 1951, on to St. Moritz, for a 25th anniversary European excursion. 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Ormonde, to write the screenplay Hitchcock had written exacting specifications for an amusement park and her! Informs Guy that his wife has been murdered criticism is generally, though not universally, recent! Confronts Guy, the police chief that he honor their deal by killing Bruno father. 20 ] Robert Burks received the film `` a versatile risk-taker with a penchant for moody atmosphere police.... '' Hitchcock said particular Ronson lighter was an “ Adonis ” model Strangers! Is number 32 on AFI 's 100 Years... 100 Thrills their future together no apparent,. Photography. [ 15 ] this would be their last collaboration duality, and there the... Goddess with whom he would spend the final four months, and there is the murderer dead man 's.. The Train and burdened by their service, the waiters disappear into the vice-filled streets of the horror somehow the... 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