Strangers On A Train

Strangers On A Train
Release Date: June 30, 1951
Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll, and Patricia Hitchcock

     This movie is pretty neat for a lot reasons. But, one thing I really enjoy is that it is very near my own hometown, Washington D.C. When you see things you recognize, besides actors in a movie, it's pretty cool. This movie is also neat because of the incredible tennis game sequence. Something about sports in movies is pretty exciting. I love this movie, it is another one done by Alfred Hitchcock, which is of course my main reason for loving the movie. But his daughter is in this as well. She plays a daughter in this movie as well, and is pretty much the bartender for the family, which it is said that she also played bartender for guests when with her father, Mr. Hitchcock.

     Once again, if you don't mind me repeating myself, this movie is set in D.C., and is about a HUGE mistake, and the big lesson of the movie is to take threats seriously. Even if it seems absolutely insane and even if it seems impossible... It can be, and take it as such. But a young man, our hero of the movie, Guy (his name, played by the very good looking Farley Granger) is on a train to visit his ex wife. Guy is a profession tennis star and wants to be married to the senator's daughter, again we are in D.C. But he is on his way to visit his ex wife, and he runs into a stalker, or a fan, if you want to be nice. This man, Bruno, played by Robert Walker, knows everything there is to know about Guy. When I say everything, I mean everything. But Bruno has a question he wants to ask, and his question is, bottom line, "what do you think of my idea," Guy's response, "sure Bruno, they're all okay." Which, what does that sound like to you? It's a go, right? Well that is not what Guy was thinking.

     This movie was Robert Walker's second to last, movie. He passed away eight months after they had wrapped up filming. Robert Walker was survived by an ex wife, who he had just recently divorced too, and two sons. He had passed away due to a bad allergic reaction to some drug. Mr. Walker had always played good guys in his films, in Strangers on a Train was his first bad guy role and his last. He played a very scary villain and as a matter of fact, he played so well that he is ranked #86 on Premiere Magazine's 100 greatest Performances of All Time in 2006.

     Please see this amazing story/movie unfold. It is truly a fun movie. :)

Psycho

Psycho
Released Date: August 25, 1960
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
Actors: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin, Janet Leigh, Martin Balsam, and Patricia Hitchcock

This movie is probably one of the scariest movies ever. And by far THE scariest villain to date, Norman Bates. Or Ms. Bates?? Who knows right??

The movie starts off with a woman who is clearly in love but cannot do a thing about it. The man she is in love with is going through a divorce that is costing him a lot of money, and he lives in another town. He is also paying for his late father's bills and can't afford to pay for a little thing called marriage with this woman. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say she figures out a way to get a hold of a bunch of money that can easily pay the late father's bills, his alimony, and also a marriage. However, her way about having the money is completely wrong and well let's just say karma stinks. She ends up at Bates Motel and the rest, they say is history.

Now Alfred Hitchcock never ended up winning any Oscars, but this movie did end up giving Mr. Hitchcock 4 Oscar nods and this movie is rated 8.7/10 according to IMBD. I would give the movie a 10/10 but of course everyone has different taste. :)

Alfred Hitchcock had a chance to make this movie in color but decided that the movie would benefit in black and white. And he was right. The movie is much more creepier and not to mention that most if not all black and white scary movies are much more creepy than color scary movies. I don't know if it is because of the dark shadows or if it is because Alfred Hitchcock is just that brilliant, but this movie is GRAND. The movie also has the directors daughter in it. Patricia Hitchcock, she was in a few of his movies actually. You can see the proud daughter talk about his movies on all of his movie DVDs.

This movie also has a lot of very great creepy lines such as, "A boys best friend is his mother" said by Norman Bates.

I hope you all watch the movie. It is a very son/mother type of film that will keep your heart racing and will keep you out of hotels and showers for a very long time. Literally, the main actress from this film, Janet Leigh, could not shower after making this film. And she also admitted to having to have her maid stand in the bathroom with her as she showered sometime in 2000 after having broke her leg and the Dr telling her to take showers instead of baths.