A persistent theme is the idea that everyone has opposites within. Strangers on a train was patricia highsmiths first novel and established the themes, characters, and major concerns for her twentytwo novels and eight collections of stories. The original version side a is an alltime thriller classic. Two things combined to give me perhaps overly high expectations of this book. Slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Strangers on a train our book choice for december 2010 is strangers on a train, by patricia highsmith. The music that is being played in the entire scene is non diegetic, and with the shot closed up on the shoes of two men, the music ends up becoming more upbeat and the. Over dinner, guy tells bruno of miriams infidelity and their impending divorce. Analysis gallery bibliography contact character descriptions.
Strangers on a train by patricia highsmith begins with guy hainess journey to texas to divorce his wife, miriam. Strangers on a train, directed by alfred hitchcock. Architect guy haines wants to divorce his unfaithful wife, miriam, in. It was adapted as a film in 1951 by director alfred hitchcock. I read strangers on a train because it was a book club choice in the office. The novel strangers on a train by patricia highsmith is as much mystery fiction as it is a psychological thriller. He begins a conversation with charles bruno, a wealthy man who invites him to his private train car.
The 1987 film throw momma from the train provides a comedic twist on strangers on a train, with the hitchcock film inspiring a copycat scheme by danny devitos character. From the i cant believe this is out of print department comes highsmiths whiteknuckler and the basis of the hitchcock film of the same name. He then goes ahead and fulfills his end of the imaginary bargain, leading to fatal consequences for both. I was keen to read this book as id recently bought a kind worth killing and several bloggers had compared it to the plot in strangers on a train. Strangers on a train features the running theme of doubles and mirrored opposites. Given an imaginative plot idea from which to build his shocker, hitchcock. The music that is being played in the entire scene is non diegetic, and with the shot closed up on the shoes of two men, the music ends up becoming more upbeat and the instrument of flute is added appropriately in the scene. Strangers on a train previously played at londons gielgud theatre. Strangers on a train by patricia highsmith 9780393321982. A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder. Read it, then invite your book club over to watch the hitchcock film. Architect guy haines wants to divorce his unfaithful wife, miriam, in order to marry the woman he loves, anne. It is in a way a little poetic since hitchcock is all about the world and people not being entirely black or white, good or bad. She was awarded the 2003 thomas cook travel book award for stranger on a train.
In one of alfred hitchcocks suspense classics, tennis pro guy haines farley granger chances to meet wealthy wastrel bruno anthony robert walker on a train. The thrust of the book is bruno pressuring guy to hold up his side of the bargain a bargain guy never agreed to, although he didnt explicitly refuse it either. The music in strangers on a train had been composed by dimitri zinovievich tiomkin. Strangers on a train presentation linkedin slideshare. Feb 03, 20 detailed analysis of strangers on a train 1951 by alfred hitchcock. Raymond chandler denounces strangers on a train in sharply. Strangers on a train 1951 alfred hitchcock synopsis. Strangers on a train by patricia highsmith book analysis e book. Aug 17, 2001 this theme was present from the beginning, when her debut, strangers on a train, galvanized the reading public. Strangers on a train is another case where most people have seen the movie but havent read the book or didnt know there was a novel behind it. We see the psychological effect on guy and eventually on bruno too, as the plot plays out. Not bad, considering the book had just hit the streets about a year before.
Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. While using guys cigarette lighter, bruno notices it is inscribed from a to g, and guesses that a is senator mortons daughter anne, whom guy intends to marry after miriam, his current wife, divorces him. Having read all about guy, bruno is aware that the tennis player is trapped in an unhappy marriage to to wife miriam laura elliott and has been seen in the company of senators daughter ann morton. First he engaged whitfield cook, whose treatment bolstered the novels homoerotic subtext. Of course these can be expanded and applied to other hitchcock films which this essay will go into a bit. This 46page guide for strangers on a train by patricia highsmith includes detailed chapter summaries and analysis covering 47 chapters, as well as several more indepth sections of expertwritten literary analysis. Robbs book, strangers in death 2008 references both highsmiths novel and hitchcocks film as a homicide detective attempts to solve two seemingly unrelated murders. Aug 02, 2012 strangers on a train, directed by alfred hitchcock. Strangers on a train is a novel with a homoerotic sub text. Highsmiths strangers on a train is fueled by anxiety wsj. Strangers on a train is one of best books released on 2001, this book written by patricia highsmith whom known as an author and have wrote many interesting books with great story telling. Strangers on a train by patricia highsmith goodreads. Hitchcock left behind two versions of strangers on a train. While on a train to his hometown metcalf to meet miriam, haines encounters bruno anthony robert walker when they bump feet under a table, a pushy stranger who recognizes guy from the sports pages and gossip items in the newspapers and wants to discuss his marital problems.
In the case of his 1951 picture strangers on a train, based upon the talented mr. Strangers on a train by patricia highsmith bookboodle. Strangers on a train audiobook by patricia highsmith. The synopsis gives an intriguing premise, and i sometimes read crime stories ive just downloaded the first four cadfael stories, and i enjoyed the ian rankin novels ive read. The film, strangers on a train is an extremely slick, psychological thriller that succeeds in tackling blackmail, murder and issues of taboo sexuality. When watching alfred hitchcocks 1951 film strangers on a train for the second time, one predominant theme was seen throughout, the notion of doubles, double identities and crisscrossing in the film. Appalled, guy leaves, forgetting his book of plato. Though they might be strangers on a train, they become linked together through this murder plot. Eighteenthcentury novels like gullivers travels typically parachute an outsider into a society that they struggle to understand.
Strangers on a train by patricia highsmith abebooks. Their interactions drive much of the conflict of the. A recently found longer prerelease british print side b offers a. Bruno will get rid of the woman who stands in the way of the other mans guy haines path to happiness, and guy in return. If your favorite thing about the girl on the train is the train, youre in luck. Strangers on a train summary and study guide supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides for challenging works of literature. This film is definitely one of alfred hitchcocks best in that it reinforces the duality of human nature and effectively transforms a highly improbable situation into a series of logical events. Strangers on a train the play, london, united kingdom. Strangers on a train 1951 was director alfred hitchcocks suspenseful, noirish black and white thriller about two train passengers. It was shot in the autumn of 1950 and released by warner bros.
Patricia highsmiths 1950 novel strangers on a train is a moody and disturbing excavation of guilty paranoia that bears little resemblance to the hitchcock film beyond its initial premise. Strangers on a train strangers on a train reverted back to the black and white filming, which almost seemed appropriate for almost any hitchcock film. Bruno responds by telling guy of his detestable father. The talented patricia highsmith known to most for her novels strangers on a train and the talented mr. Read online download strangers on a train book by patricia. Strangers on a train book tell us the storyline about. Here we encounter guy haines and charles anthony bruno, passengers on the same train. Strangers on a train 1950 is a psychological thriller novel by patricia highsmith about two men whose lives become entangled after one of them proposes they trade murders. Hitchcock was above all the master of great visual set pieces, and there are several famous sequences in strangers on a train.
On a train, wealthy, neurotic bruno antony recognizes tennis player guy haines and strikes up a conversation. Coscripted by raymond chandler, this stylish, suspenseful 1951 hitchcock classic will have the whole family squirming and secondguessing each other about the outcome as an innocent man is drawn into a lunatics murder scheme. Oct 06, 2016 if your favorite thing about the girl on the train is the train, youre in luck. Shelfwear on covers and spine on dust jacket and boards. Click below to download the full study guide for strangers on a train.
Best known is the one where guy scans the crowd at a tennis match and observes that all of the heads are swiveling back and forth to follow the game except for one head, brunos, which is looking straight ahead at guy. Daydreaming and smoking around america with interruptions. In patricia highsmiths debut novel, we encounter guy haines and charles anthony bruno, passengers on the same train. The first chapter of strangers on a train opens with a thirdperson omniscient point of view of guy haines as he sits on a train headed for his hometown of metcalf. If you continue browsing the site, you agree to the use of cookies on this website. Guy haines he is one of two of the main characters of the novel. Detailed analysis of strangers on a train 1951 by alfred hitchcock. This theme was present from the beginning, when her debut novel, strangers on a train, galvanized the reading public. Tennis star guy farley granger hates his unfaithful wife. A chance meeting on a train embroils the two men in a shrewd murder scheme that quickly goes awry. While using guys cigarette lighter, bruno notices it is inscribed from a to g, and guesses that a is senator mortons daughter anne, whom guy intends to. Strangers on a train is based upon a novel by patricia highsmith and hitchcocks adaptation is remarkably faithfulto the basic plot. Guy haines, a successful architect, is heading to his hometown in texas from new york, where he hopes to finally settle an ongoing threeyear divorce with his wife, miriam.
With farley granger, robert walker, ruth roman, leo g. But while guy is a successful architect in the midst of a divorce, bruno turns out to be a sadistic psychopath who manipulates guy into swapping murders with him. Sarah pinborough strangers on a train is a moralvertigo thriller. Strangers on a train ranks with hitchcocks most accomplished works, a masterpiece so carefully constructed, with characters so well developed, that the viewer is quickly drawn into the storylong before walker turns killer. Strangers on a train is filled with paranoia and anxiety, and through its twists and turns, we, like poor guy haines, are also drawn into psychopath brunos web. This theme was present from the beginning, when her debut, strangers on a train, galvanized the reading public. They wore black puffy jackets and had the same expressions on. From the i cant believe this is out of print department comes highsmiths whiteknuckler and the basis of. Strangers on a train is a 1951 american psychological thriller film noir produced and directed by alfred hitchcock, and based on the 1950 novel strangers on a train by patricia highsmith. This study guide consists of approximately 27 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of strangers on a train. Why strangers on a train is a book you need to read medium. Unlock the more straightforward side of strangers on a train with this concise and insightful summary and analysis.
They wore black puffy jackets and had the same expressions on their faces. Strangers on a train was a contemporary crime novel when it was fit published in 1950. Bruno then proposes a double murder plot, where each would kill the others problem. Strangers on a train is an admirable demonstration of alfred hitchcocks virtuosity in the area of suspense dramas. In this case, if youve seen the movie, and then go to read highsmiths book, you end up with two different entities. Strangers on a train strangers on a train audiobook, by patricia highsmith. The basic thrust of this startling tale is to show two men who are, in many ways, one. The most significant characters of strangers on a train are guy haines and charles bruno, who possess a sort of jekyll and hyde level dynamic. Despite an initial claim that her ideal methodology for a travel book would be to stay at home with the phone off the hook, the doorbell disconnected, and the blinds drawn, diski skating to antarctica, 1995, etc.
Ripley author patricia highsmiths first novel of the same name, hitchcock burned through a few such hired hands. A technically perfect psychological carousel as one of hitchcocks best one of the most popular psychological crime thrillers that hitchcock ever made is definitely strangers on a train, the masters adaptation of crime novelist patricia highsmiths debut novel that hit theaters back in 1951. With a lot of booze bruno goads guy into confessing his hatred for miriam. The basic plot is the same two men, total strangers, meet on a train. Strangers on a train film strangers on a train is a 1951 american psychological thriller film noir produced and directed by alfred hitchcock, and based on the 1950 novel strangers on a train by patricia highsmith. Guys immediate dislike of bruno, is a dislike of his feelings for the man. The first major theme in the novel is obsession, particularly in regards to the unstable character of bruno. Strangers on a train summary and study guide supersummary. Strangers on a train was highsmiths first published work, written primarily while living at the yaddo artists colony. He is physically described as wearing flannel trousers that needed pressing, a dark jacket that slacked over his slight body and showed faintly purple where the light struck it.
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