Smell the Movies
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
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| Year: | 1951 |
| Country of origin: | USA |
| Director: | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Genre: | Murderous thriller |
| Starring: | Farley Granger, Robert Walker |
| Rating: | 4/5 |
| IMDB link: | http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044079/ |
| Tagline: | A girl in love with young America's idol--and a good-looking stranger in search of sensation--that's how it all began..! Warner Bros. bring a pounding new tempo to motion picture entertainment! |
| Favourite line: | "Don't worry, I'm not going to shoot you, Mr. Haines. It might disturb Mother." |
Highly rated Hitchcock movie from 1951 - possibly the oldest film I have ever watched in its entirety, and I have to say I was very impressed.
Two men meet on a train, one, Bruno Anthony, a scheming, delusional sociopath, the other, Guy Haines, a successful tennis player with the misfortune of having married a grasping, greedy, selfish wife, with divorce proceedings in full swing. Bruno divulges a plan he has formulated - two people, total strangers, murder somebody for the other person. No connection between either the victims or the prime suspect, he considers that it would be the perfect crime. Guy humours him and thinks nothing more of it until his hellish wife is murdered at a fun fair, and Bruno turns up claiming responsibility, insisting that Guy fulfil his end of the bargain and murder Bruno's father.
Well acted throughout, even considering the stilted nature of much acting at this period, this is a taut, effective thriller with a macabre streak.
The discussions and descriptions of death are much stronger than I imagined for the time period, and Hitchcock's direction is stunning - check the murder scene reflected in the spectacles.
Dated in some ways, but modern viewers must look beyond this and find a timeless classic.
Excellent.
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