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This article is about the Alfred Hitchcock film. For information about the musical group The Left Banke's album of the same name, see Strangers on a Train (album).

Strangers on a Train
Directed by	Alfred Hitchcock
Produced by	Alfred Hitchcock (uncredited)
Written by	Patricia Highsmith (novel) Whitfield Cook (adaptation) Czenzi Ormonde (screenplay) Ben Hecht (uncredited)
Starring	Farley Granger Ruth Roman Robert Walker Leo G. Carroll Patricia Hitchcock
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	June 30, 1951
Running time	101 min (1:41)
Language	English
Budget	US$1,200,000 (est.)
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Strangers on a Train is a film released in 1951 by Warner Bros.. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film stars Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker, Leo G. Carroll, Kasey Rogers (credited as Laura Elliott), and Patricia Hitchcock. The movie was based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, who also wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley. Detective novelist Raymond Chandler wrote an early draft of the screenplay.

Tennis star Guy Haines (Granger) wants to divorce his unfaithful wife, Miriam (Rogers), in order to marry the woman he loves, Anne Morton (Roman). Haines meets the unstable and psychopathic Bruno Antony (Walker) on a train and Bruno tells Guy about his idea to exchange murders: Bruno would kill Miriam if Guy kills Bruno's father, and then both of them would be 'free' to do whatever they want. Guy does not take Bruno seriously, but Bruno kills Miriam (and her unborn baby), and then demands that Guy honors his part of the bargain. Because of the obvious motives he had, Guy is immediately suspected by the police and now he must prove himself innocent. However, it becomes more and more difficult as Bruno makes more appearances to remind Guy about the murder and slowly more people get involved.

In his book-length interview with François Truffaut, Hitchcock/Truffaut (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967), Hitchcock told Truffaut that he originally wanted William Holden for the Guy Haines role,^[1] but Holden refused the role. Hitchcock also revealed that he got the rights to the Highsmith novel for just $7,500 since it was her first novel. Hitchcock kept his name out of the negotiations to keep the purchase price low.^[2][3] Highsmith was quite annoyed when she later discovered who she had sold the rights to for such a small amount.^[2]

Dashiell Hammett was originally approached to write the screenplay for the film.^[4] Communications brokedown and Hammett never took the job.^[4] Raymond Chandler was next approached and ultimately hired to write the script.^[4][5] Hitchcock and Chandler didn't communicate well (at one point Chandler, upon viewing Hitchcock exit his vehicle, remarked "Look at the fat bastard trying to get out of his car!")^[3][4]

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Alfred Hitchcock's cameo is a signature occurrence in most of his films. In Strangers on a Train he can be seen (10 minutes into the film) carrying a bass fiddle as he boards a train.
• The lyrics of Sonic Youth song "Shadow of a Doubt" from Screaming Fields of Sonic Love refers to this film with lines such as: "Met a stranger on a train...you'll kill him and I'll kill her...swear it wasn't meant to be."
• In an interview, Rogers noted that she had perfect vision at the time the movie was made, which meant that the thick glasses she was required to wear in her role effectively blinded her. In one scene, she can be seen dragging her hand along a table as she walks in order to keep track of where she was going.
• Now in public domain because copyright not renewed.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Strangers on a Train

• Strangers on a Train at the Internet Movie Database
• Culturevulture.net review of film
• Strangers on a Train Review
• Ron Collins, "Strangers on a Page: Highsmith & Camus"