Related: 5 Lesser-Known Hitchcock Films to WatchĬentering around Guy Haines, we learn that he longs to divorce his cold and calculating wife in order to marry a woman named Anne. Following the tale of two strangers that meet, you guessed it, on a train, this was filmed quickly after the release of the novel in 1950 and remains one of both Hitchcock and Highsmith's best-known works. However, when it comes to the psychological thrillers that he is today known for, this is easily one of his masterworks. Performances, pacing, and atmosphere are what make this a solid entry in the Highsmith canon.Īlfred Hitchcock had been directing for more than three decades by the time he took on Strangers on a Train, and had been considered one of the American Film Industry's heavy-hitters since at least dating back to the smash success of Rebecca (1940). Though neither the novel nor the film adaptations thereof (including 1963's Enough Rope) are considered the best representation of a Highsmith thriller, it's impossible to fully dismiss the thoroughly bleak outlook on humanity both succeed in delivering on. A story about obsession as well as the way assumptions can guide our actions in corrupting and self-harming ways, the novel on which this is based is one of Highsmith's moodiest works. While that is happening, a detective is investigating both Walter and Kimmel, convinced that they are both guilty. When Clara dies suddenly, Walter himself is a suspect. He becomes obsessed with the case of a bookstore owner named Kimmel who is under investigation for his wife's death, going so far as to visit the bookstore in hopes of gaining insight into Kimmel's actions. This film is based on The Blunderer, a novel in which a man named Walter has grown to resent his wife due to her manipulative and petty actions.

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