Review of Strangers on a Train

Robert Walker admirably goes all out as a psychotic daddy-hater who befriends tennis pro Farley Granger and discovers the rather naive young man hates his estranged wife; Walker suggests swapping murders. Lots of intricate plotting in the set-up, but this Alfred Hitchcock thriller is relieved of tension by its banalities, such as the vapid dialogue, an overlong tennis sequence near the finale, and silly situations like the one where Walker "cleverly" winds up in his father's bed when Granger arrives. The frenzied finale plays well, but with some afterthought you may notice how emotionally hollow it is, what with an innocent, elderly carnival worker getting shot dead by the police (!) and nobody seems to care. Flamboyant, if over-the-top, performances, a great deal of style in the usual Alfred Hitchcock fashion, but not much substance. **1/2 from ****