I love this film but I wonder if we should see Guy get just a little tempted to commit a murder. Possibly contemplating to rid himself of Bruno. Guy remains totally principled throughout the movie despite his desperate predicament. Do you think that he is too good to be true for a character in a noir film?
shareGuy told his wife that he wanted to kill her.
And he pushed her around at her job. Today that would probably lead to an arrest and a restraining order.
Gut even told his girlfriend that he wanted to kill his wife.
That didn't seem too good to me
As for Bruno, Guy didn't have the mind of a killer and he knew it.
Guy did get a gun so killing Bruno probably crossed his mind. But Guy decided not to use it.
And Guy was being followed by the police the whole time so he had few opportunities to ambush Bruno.
But most importantly Guy realized that he was being out smarted by Bruno almost every step of the way.
After all look at Guy's plan to talk to Bruno's father. Bruno had that completely figured out.
Trying to gun down Bruno would either fail because Bruno would foil the plan or it would be done in public / in front of the police which was just a quick way to go to prison.
BB ;-)
it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈
Good points. Miriam did exasperate Guy enough for him to blurt out to Ann Morton on the phone about strangling Miriam. Both Miriam, and later Bruno, seem to have Guy where they wanted him. I think we can say that Guy was desperate but was clever enough to hold back from desperate acts. I agree about Bruno. I always say that he was sure in his own mind that Guy would never kill anybody.
shareby ganglehog;
"Both Miriam, and later Bruno, seem to have Guy where they wanted him. I think we can say that Guy was desperate but was clever enough to hold back from desperate acts. I agree about Bruno. I always say that he was sure in his own mind that Guy would never kill anybody."
Guy reminds me a bit of the Joe Gillis (William Holden) character in "Sunset Blvd.".
Gillis was being manipulated by a wealthy wacky woman who was very dangerous. But Gillis didn't know what to do about it.
And because of Norma Desmond's wealth no one else could do anything about it.
That is the noir part of the story. That the rich, who are mentally twisted, can corrupt the world.
This theme is also in "Laura" where Waldo Lydecker can control Laura by destroying others through his broadcasts.
And in the neo noir classic "Chinatown" Noah Cross (John Huston) can have sex with his children and have people killed because he is just too rich and powerful to be stopped.
This is the kind of thing that Guy faced.
Bruno was not only a brilliant criminal but his wealth shielded him from any serious consequences; while he stalked people and crashed a swank party where he almost strangled one of the guests.
And his rich parents would not control him. Ann went to the mother. And Guy tried to go to the father. But it was no use.
BB ;-)
it is just in my opinion - imo - 🌈
That's good. I hadn't connected Guy's situation with that of Joe Gillis in 'Sunset Blvd' before. Made just a year before, I wonder if it had a little influence on the way the 'Strangers' story was adapted for the screen. Corrupt rich people in noirs is a good area to research. As you say, Bruno even gets away with 'accidently' strangling a guest at a party probably because his family are well connected. I'll check for the corrupt rich people influence when I watch noir films from now on.
shareThat's good. I hadn't connected Guy's situation with that of Joe Gillis in 'Sunset Blvd' before. Made just a year before, I wonder if it had a little influence on the way the 'Strangers' story was adapted for the screen.
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Evidently it had great influence -- Hitchcock's first choice for Guy Haines was...William Holden, star of Sunset Boulevard, and Hitchocck would say somewhere that he felt Sunset Boulevard was one of the great films.
Holden was willing to do "Strangers," but could not get the loan-out from Columbia(or Paramount?) to do it.
I would note that Sunset Boulevard also pretty clearly influenced a Hitchcock movie made ten years later: Psycho. They both place "the Gothic in a modern day setting," they both have noir elements, and they both feature a homicidal madwoman.
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Corrupt rich people in noirs is a good area to research. As you say, Bruno even gets away with 'accidently' strangling a guest at a party probably because his family are well connected.
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It does make Bruno rather "special" among the various Hitchcock psychopaths because he gets to move freely among the rich and privileged and, while they are unnerved by him, they allow him to stick around. Also, he has a nice tuxedo..
That Hitchcock wanted William Holden for 'Strangers' seems to confirm that 'Sunset Blvd' did have an influence on this film. I wonder how different 'Strangers' would have been with William Holden in it. I somehow think that WH's Guy wouldn't have been a tennis player. Farley Granger played those tennis scenes so well. I don't think Holden would have been able to do that. I agree that 'Sunset Blvd' looks to have had an influence on 'Psycho' too. The viewers are led to believe that 'Mrs Bates' is a recluse.
I always think of that party that Bruno attends. With his weird ideas, he is looked upon as an upsetting influence by the Morton family. But because of Bruno's family connections, Bruno must be diplomatically tolerated and his expressions allowed free reign by the Mortons.
You are aware that good people exist, right?
shareSure. I think that more good people exist than bad people. But in the noir genre, people very often don't have the luxury of being good. They become desperate. And good people turn hard-boiled, cynical and bad in varying degrees as a result. Guy is tested in the film. But I sometimes get the impression that he should buckle under pressure to think more badly of the pest Bruno than he actually does in the film.
shareUm, Hitchcock did show Guy get violent with that pain in the ass Miriam and then, threatened to strangle her over the phone.
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