Strangers on a Train (novel)

1950 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith

Strangers on a Train (1950) is a psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith about two men whose lives become entangled after one of them proposes they "trade" murders. It was adapted as a film in 1951 by director Alfred Hitchcock and again in 1969 by Robert Sparr. It has since been adapted in whole or in part for film and television several times. The novel was adapted for radio in 2004 by Craig Warner, and adapted for the stage in 2013 (also by Warner).

Architect Guy Haines wants to divorce his unfaithful wife, Miriam, in order to marry the woman he loves, Anne Faulkner. While on a train to see his wife, he meets Charles Anthony Bruno, a psychopathic playboy who proposes an idea to "exchange murders": Bruno will kill Miriam if Guy kills Bruno's father; neither of them will have a motive, and the police will have no reason to suspect either of them. Guy does not take Bruno seriously, but Bruno kills Guy's wife while Guy is away in Mexico. Bruno informs Guy of his crime, but Guy hesitates to turn him in to the police. He realizes that Bruno could claim Guy's complicity in the planned exchange murders; however, the longer he remains silent, the more he implicates himself. This implicit guilt becomes stronger as in the coming months Bruno makes appearances demanding that Guy honor his part of the bargain. After Bruno starts writing anonymous letters to Guy's friends and colleagues, the pressure becomes too great, and Guy murders Bruno's father. Subsequently, Guy is consumed by guilt, whereas Bruno seeks Guy's company as if nothing had happened. He makes an uninvited appearance at Guy's wedding, causing a scene. At the same time, a private detective who had worked for Bruno's father and who suspects Bruno of having arranged the murder of his father, establishes the connection between Bruno and Guy that began with the train ride, and suspects Bruno of Miriam's murder. Guy also becomes implicated due to his contradictions about the acquaintance with Bruno. When Bruno falls overboard during a sailing cruise, Guy identifies so strongly with Bruno that he tries to rescue him under threat to his own life. Nevertheless, Bruno drowns, and the murder investigation is closed. Guy, however, is plagued by guilt, and confesses the double murder to Miriam's former lover. This man, however, does not condemn Guy, and instead dismisses Miriam, as well as women in general, while enjoying Guy's liquor. The detective who had been investigating the murders overhears Guy's confession, however, and confronts him. Guy turns himself over to the detective immediately.

Playwright Craig Warner acquired the stage rights to Strangers on a Train in 1995, and wrote both theatrical and radio adaptations of the story. The radio version was recorded and broadcast by the BBC, and released on CD in May 2004. The West End production of the play ran from November 2, 2013, to February 22, 2014, at the Gielgud Theatre and starred Jack Huston, Laurence Fox, Miranda Raison, Imogen Stubbs, Christian McKay, and MyAnna Buring. It was directed by Robert Allan Ackerman and its seven credited producers include Barbara Broccoli. A United Kingdom touring schedule was announced from January to March 2018. Like the Hitchcock film, the Warner versions contain homosexual subtext. The radio version more closely follows the plot of the novel, although there are several differences in the denouement. Guy's eventual confession is to Anne, not to Miriam's lover. The detective succeeds in solving the original murder plot and confronts Bruno with the details, but declines to take further action because he believes that both men will spend the rest of their lives punishing themselves with guilt and fear. The devastated Bruno—with his security destroyed and realising that he will have no support or love from Guy—commits suicide in front of Guy by climbing onto a railway track where he is killed by an oncoming train. Anne persuades Guy to put the whole matter behind him and to resume his career in architecture.

The 1971 giallo film The Designated Victim is an almost uncanny imitation of the plot. The 1987 film Throw Momma from the Train provides a comedic twist on Strangers on a Train, with the Hitchcock film inspiring a copy cat scheme by Danny DeVito's character. A 2003 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation episode "A Night at the Movies" mentions the story in the episode, as it involves two women agreeing to each kill a man that's a problem for the other woman. one of them doesn't follow through with her part, so the other kills her out of revenge and to cover for herself. A 2004 episode of the police procedural Law & Order "C. O. D." involves two women who conspire to kill each other's husbands. A 2018 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled "Revenge" uses the unrelated murders plot but with men committing each others rapes of women who spurned them. The Hitchcock film is mentioned by A. D. A. Peter Stone (Philip Winchester) who says, "You're going to have to find a judge who's seen Strangers on a Train." The Bones episode "The Bodies in the Book" mentions the story in the episode, and involves three separate murders based on the protagonist's published novels, later revealed to be by three separate men who all killed someone an accomplice wanted dead. J. D. Robb's book, Strangers in Death (2008) references both Highsmith's novel and Hitchcock's film as a homicide detective attempts to solve two seemingly unrelated murders. A 2009 episode of the ABC series Castle titled "Double Down" loosely follows the plot of the novel, which is mentioned in the episode. Two men who meet on a ferry agree to kill someone in their lives as a favor to the other to be rid of them. Murdoch Mysteries season 7 episode 12 "Unfinished Business" uses the same double unrelated murders plot. A 2010 Modern Family episode "Strangers on a Treadmill" mentions the plot in the episode, as it involves two main characters, siblings of a blended family, who each agree to tell a loved one in the other's immediate family an honest yet tough criticism as a favor. A 2012 Criminal Minds episode "The Pact" mentions the plot in the episode, as it shows two women who each kill an ex convict involved in the murder of the other woman's child. They resolve to find the remaining killers they find out about in the process of their agreement. A 2013 episode of the TNT series Rizzoli & Isles titled "Partners in Crime" loosely follows the plot of the novel, which is mentioned in the episode. Two simultaneous murders in separate locations on the same night are revealed to be by two killers who met at a park while walking their dogs, discreetly agreeing to kill someone in the lives of the other killer. A 2013 NCIS episode "Alibi" mentions the plot in the episode, as it involves an agreement by attendees at alcoholics anonymous meetings to plot murders for each other to solve their problems. One is successfully executed, and all the parties involved are arrested before the next murder would've been committed. This was from the killer's alibi for another murder being that he committed the one he did as part of the plan, so his defense attorney subtly led the investigators to the truth without breaking confidentiality laws. A 2016 episode of Shameless (US) involves Frank meeting a man named Bruno on a train who offers to commit a murder for him. Peter Swanson's 2020 novel Eight Perfect Murders discusses the book extensively and uses it as a key plot point. The 2021 episode of Family Guy involves Stewie and his friend doing something similar. The 2022 Netflix film Do Revenge takes inspiration from the concept of the novel.