MAGNET contributing writer Jud Cost is sharing some of the wealth of classic films he’s been lucky enough to see over the past 40 years. Trolling the backwaters of cinema, he has worked up a list of more than 500 titles—from the silent era through the ’90s—that you may have missed. A new selection, all currently available on DVD, appears every week.
Strangers On A Train (1951, 101 minutes)
Although he’d moved to the United States more than 10 years earlier, Alfred Hitchcock didn’t make his first great American movie until Strangers On A Train. It was the beginning of a string of firecrackers that would define the British director’s career, from North By Northwest and Vertigo to Psycho and The Birds.
Strangers has a particularly engaging opening sequence. Two men are seen from the knees down, exiting taxis as porters carry their luggage to a bustling train station. As each sits at the same table in the train’s lounge car, the man wearing sensible black oxfords accidentally kicks the other one, dressed in flamboyant black and whites, while crossing his legs.
The one with the gaudy footwear, Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker), introduces himself to Guy Haines (Farley Granger), someone he recognizes as a celebrated amateur tennis player. After small talk about Guy’s recent tennis exploits, Bruno gets down to business. “I’ve got a theory: You should do everything before you die,” he says. “Have you ever driven a car 100 miles an hour, blindfolded? I did, and I flew in a jet plane. It almost blew the sawdust out of my head.”
Bruno admits he’s read all about Guy in the newspapers, about Miriam, the wife he’s trying to divorce and his current flame, Anne Morton (Ruth Roman), the daughter of a U.S. senator. Out of the blue, Bruno declares, “I get so sore at my father, sometimes I want to kill him. Some people are better off dead, like your wife and my father. Now here’s my idea. These two fellows meet accidentally, and each has someone he’d like to get rid of, so they swap murders.” “Swap murders!?” Guy blurts out incredulously. Unfazed, Bruno continues, “Each fellow has murdered a total stranger. You do my murder, I do yours. Your wife, my father—criss-cross.” Guy smiles patiently and tells Bruno, “I may be old-fashioned, but I thought murder was against the law.”
The brakes squeal as the train begins to lurch to a stop. Guy stands up and reaches for his bag, saying, “We’re coming into my station. Thanks for the lunch.” Bruno replies, “Glad you enjoyed it. I thought the lamb chops were a little overdone. We do talk the same language, don’t we?” he implores. “Sure, Bruno, we talk the same language,” says Guy. “Now, you think my theory’s OK, Guy? You like it.” Guy opens the compartment door and says, “Sure, Bruno, sure, they’re all OK,” as though he’s speaking to a five-year-old boy, then disappears down the corridor. Bruno closes the door and notices something of interest on the table. It’s Guy’s sterling silver cigarette lighter, embossed with “A to G.” He looks briefly in Guy’s direction, tosses the lighter in the air, then puts it into his pocket.
