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What if someone drew a magnificent picture of you in all your glorious self at the height of your beauty? What if that painting captured your fascination and you wished to forever resemble its beauty that is yourself at that moment? What if your greatest wish was to live forever with that beauty at all cost? That is what this film is about. It hauntingly brings to life Oscar Wilde's tale of young man who becomes obsessed with keeping his vanity and following the heartless advice of his newest charming friend. Hurd Hatfield is simply marvelous as the main character who finds out the cruel reality that a seemingly simple wish can have upon the very soul. He is Dorian Gray man bereft of soul, but forever young in feature and innocent in face. He is surrounded by a sublime cast including the ever aristocratic George Sanders, Lord Henry Wotton, who leaves an indelible mark on the philosophy of the tortured soul that is to become Gray. As well there is the kind hearted artist of the portrait and perhaps closest friend of Gray, Basil Hallward played by a calming Lowell Gilmore. On the other side of the spectrum are the women of Gray's life, the loves of his life, the tragic Sibyl, perhaps Gray's first great love played by a particularly young and beautiful Angela Lansbury with a nice soft voice, and entranced Gladys Hallward, played by a ever charming Donna Reed, who swears eternal love to Gray from childhood, a crush that can't be destroyed by age, literally. The film is greatly well paced with its only shortcomings originating from the convention of some of the haunting score itself. A gem of a film, directed by Albert Lewin that has the right touch of color to its morbid affair.

Alfred Hitchcock is a genius of a filmmaker whose every film has a daring vision to it even if they are not all as satisfying or as complete as another. This is one of his best about obsession and chance meetings. The title pretty much sums up the plot, which goes that two men meet on a train, by chance, and one of them hatches a plan for murder. It would solve both their problems and be the perfect murder since there would be no motive. Problem is that one is not as obsessed with killing as the other and is in his "right mind" although in a Hitchcock film that is kind of an iffy term as everyone is not quite in their right mind at all times. But it more evident in the man who sets things in motion, Bruno Anthony. Bruno is played with great precision by Robert Walker as a man almost completely unstable, but yet with a great mind about him which makes him highly dangerous as he can mask his insanity very well. Point of most Hitchcock films is what murder is perfect. Everyone gets their just desserts this film has a thrilling way of getting to its conclusion. The triumph of this film, which sets it apart from other fun or intriguing Hitchcock films for me is the everyman aspect of having these near no names star in this film aptly named Strangers on a Train. There is also the fascinating cinematography job done by Robert Burkes, that catches chilling angles of murder and other scenes, which heighten the tension of the film perfectly. It's the logicalness of it all that is intrigues me the most though as Bruno's reasoning seems so sound, quite a twisted character in a Hitchcock masterpiece.