What was the last big film- based on a proposition? What if you were offered 1 million dollars for a night of passion with your wife? What if a stranger offered to kill the person standing in your way to happiness?
Well in Strangers in a Train, a stranger on a train offers a man a deal- kill his father and he will kill his troublesome ex wife. There would be no motive. The police before DNA and cameras would have little to work on. Though not nothing- as the male lead a gifted amateur tennis player wants to marry the daughter of a senator there is a enough of a stink. That questions are asked
It is an elegant film, a product of a more civilised age. Everyone is dressed smartly - The lead is an aspiring tennis star. We see a tennis match played in DC. DC looks great in Hitchock, he is actually one of the few people to make it feel a lived in city. Yes you see the monuments- you also see people going to work
I note that everyone in Hitchcock seems to be a true crime buff, similar to rope. Particulary the young woman - the senators daughter.
The film does a good job in making the murder victim- the tennis player's first wife seem both unpleasant and loose- but also showing the horror of a her murder. She was a dislikeable person- she didn't deserve to die for it. There is no illusion here.
The ending has a spectacular stunt sequence. A fight on a merry go round. Which I did find a little jarring. I stopped caring about the fight between the protagonist and the antagonist Once I realised Children could be hurt. The mothers dashing to their children who may well have been killed- made the events look small.
I did like the book ending with the minister-priest
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