Growing up, I loved watching Throw Momma from the Train, a movie I need to revisit. It is a comedic version of the Strangers on a Train plot, with Stranger the movie playing a heavily role in Train's plot. I've had the "Criss-Cross" scene stuck in my head for 20 years, figured I should finally watch the rest of the movie.
Strangers on a Train follows Guy and Bruno, two socialites who meet on a train. Guy is a famous tennis player connected to a Senator's daughter, but inconveniently married. Bruno is a sociopath, the son of a wealthy man, who wants his father out of the way so he doesn't have to work the rest of his life. Bruno initiates a conversation with Guy, uncomfortably bringing up Guy's romantic situation, and discussing his own troubles with his father. He hatches a scheme to kill each other's problems, thinking the lack of motive would allow them to get away with murder. Guy doesn't believe Bruno would do it and never, at any point, advocates the plan, other than to say it's a "nice" plan. Unfortunately for Guy, Bruno kills his wife, and expects him to reciprocate. Guy then must deal with the police constantly following him and Bruno dogging him to kill his father while trying to figure out how to get Bruno arrested without becoming implicated in the murder. In the end, I'm not sure if Guy truly does figure a way out, but he does stop Bruno.
First thought of the movie: Did critics in the 50s get the homoerotic undertones?
Bruno is too forward and close from the start. Then again, he is a psychopath and acts crazy throughout, even choking a random woman at a party while discussing the perfect murder weapon. Bruno also executes one of the dumbest murder plans ever, killing Guy's wife on an island in an amusement park full of people. Couldn't just break into her house and kill her? As it stands, the boat operator at the amusement park recognizes him, leading to his downfall. Also would have been nice to kill Guy's wife while Guy has an obvious alibi, instead of getting Guy stuck with a police tail for the entire movie. How does Bruno expect Guy to kill Bruno's father with a PI watching him 24/7?
The best part of this movie is two characters, Bruno and Barbara. Bruno is consistently crazy, which drives the movie. Barbara mostly exists for exposition. She tells the audience, and Guy, everything the police will be thinking. My first thought was that her comments were too direct, but the writer cleverly made her directness a character trait. She says many other inappropriate things to make her criminal investigation comments seem typical.
The plot is fairly tight, if not terribly intelligent. Again, the writers cleverly wrap the stupidity into Bruno's insanity. No complaints here.
I spent the first 15 minutes of the movie thinking Bruno was played by Robert Vaughn. The real actor is Robert Walker. I was half right.
First Viewing: 3+2+2+2+2 = 11