DC Film - Strangers on a Train

Hundreds of movies have been filmed in DC, including some real classics. Last night Chris and I watched Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train.

Two men meet on a train. A tennis player with political aspirations, in love with a senator's daughter, has a horrible wife he can't get rid of. A trust fund baby has a father he hates. The trust fund baby suggests that they each murder the others problem.

The tennis player thinks the stranger is a kook and forgets about it. Problem is, the stranger was for real. He murders the tennis player's wife. When the tennis player doesn't return the favor, the murderer stalks him. The tennis player won't tell the police because he thinks they won't believe him.

As usual, Hitchcock manages to squeeze in quite a few creepy phobias and create a couple new ones. It has mentally imbalanced strangers who won't leave you alone, the random murder of a young girl in the middle of the woods, a constant fear of being blamed for something you didn't do, and the guilt of knowing something you shouldn't. Plus it has crazy carnys and the best carousel ride ever.

Washington, DC features prominently in the film. The film begins in Union Station, although looking much different from the shopping mall it is today. The Capital Dome is in the background of quite a few scenes. The Lincoln Memorial and National Monument show up as well. Best is the scene where the murderer is standing alone on the Jefferson Memorial steps. The pillars of the memorial tower over him, but he still looks ominous.

Strangers on a train was one of Hitchcock's favorite films. According to Charlotte Chandler, who wrote a Hitchcock biography titled It's only a Movie, it was also the movie that scared him the most. The guy in the carousel scene isn't a stuntman. He is a carnival worker who could have gotten his head chopped off by that thing. You'll know what I mean when you see it.

Hitchcock's daughter Pat is adorable as the tennis player's girlfriend's sister. Oh and keep an eye out for Hitchcock's appearance. He gets on one of the trains as the tennis player gets off.