Hitchcock's Film Strangers On A Train

The plot also includes crucial elements that mark it as a Hitchcockian film. A common theme in his films includes the accusation of an innocent man. Strangers on a Train centers on the implication of Guy during the investigation into the murder of Miriam although he has no connection to the actual crime. Throughout the film different people suspect that Guy actually committed the crime from Anne Morton (Ruth Roman) to the police in Metcalf, Washington D. C., and New York. While the police in the film are not bumbling or incompetent as usual portrayed in both Hitchcock and film noirs, they do in fact follow the false stream of evidence left by Bruno to implicate Guy. They fixate on Guy’s guilt creating a verification bias within their detective

He lacks the preparation and information to deal with the situations that threaten him, whether his freedom through prison or his life through the highly treacherous fight on the carousel. Hitchcock also frequently uses a MacGuffin, or a plot device used for suspense or to that serves as a trigger for the plot that never get fully explained. The dog on the staircase during Guy’s break in to Bruno’s house serves as a MacGuffin. The tension builds as the dog blocks his way to the bedroom, whether to kill Bruno’s father to tell him of Bruno’s intentions not yet revealed. While the dog creates unnecessary tension for Guy, the staircase the dog is positioned on also plays into Hitchcock’s common motif of a staircase as a symbol for impending danger or suspense. Guy’s personalized cigarette lighter becomes a MacGuffin as it links Guy to the murder and Bruno holds Guy’s fate in his hands as he goes to plant it on the island. The significance of the lighter only comes from the place it holds within the plot, especially as Bruno drops it down the drain for added tension during the tennis

In fact, due to his history of not being considered a noir director of filmmaker by film critics and historians from the very beginning of his fame, Hitchcock’s name rarely come up in reference to film noir histories or criticisms. Hitchcock especially seems to be marginalized or only reference before describing how he does have a connection but not enough of one o that his work as already been discussed to such lengths that it does not merit inclusion in the writings . The general public on the other hand, has taken to calling Stranger on a Train a film noir in casual conversations online including list of favorite and classic film noir movies. The Hitchcockian style of filmmaking and the film noir genre play into each other with overlapping tropes. Although each theory leave out the other when discussing the content of movies, both the auteur theory surrounding Hitchcock and film noir examinations speak of the same topics and tropes. Film critics have neglected speaking of Hitchcock as a film noir director even though he fits the mold of a foreign-born filmmaker that usually began making films outside of the United Stated before entering the world of Hollywood. The main difference between Hitchcock and directors such as Fritz Lang, Robert Siodmak, Otto Ludwig Preminger, Billy Wilder, or John Houston lies in the branding Hitchcock did to differentiate himself from