Based on the novel of the same name by Patricia Highsmith, Strangers on a Train is often mentioned amongst Alfred Hitchcock's best works.
Pro tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) coincidentally meets Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) on a train and the two strike up a conversation. Bruno explains to Guy that he has thought out the plan for a perfect murder. If two strangers both have someone they would like to get rid off, they simply could carry out murders for each other whilst the other makes sure of an alibi and since there would be no link between the two people involved, it would be impossible for the police to get to the killer. And since Guy has been having marital issues and Bruno wants to get rid of his father, they could swap murders and help each other out. Guy is amused and bids Bruno farewell but when his wife later turns up strangled, Bruno is expecting Guy to hold up his end of the deal.
The film was initially met with mixed reviews but did well at the box office and is nowadays ranked amongst the director's best films and a classic in the thriller genre. Receiving and Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography, the shot of Guy's wife been strangled as seen in the reflection of her sunglasses which have fallen to the ground has become one of Hitchcock's iconic shots.
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