Wenn dich der Mörder küßt

While I think that Alfred Hitchcock's reputation is a bit bigger than life, he really did make some terrific films. One of his better ones was "Strangers on a Train"...a classic is every way. So, in light of his reptuation, the ubiquity of this movie on TV, and how famous this movie is, you wonder WHO thought it was a good idea to remake the film! Yes, some lunkhead decided it was a good idea to remake such a famous film...and the results, predictably, are inferior in almost every way.

When the movie begins, it's obvious that the movie is going to be anything but subtle or clever. The script and director establish VERY early on that Diana (Carol Lynley) is a sadistic nut! I am almost surprised they didn't just have her act just like Cruella De Ville...it was THAT unsubtle and silly. And, more importantly, this isn't handled with the deftness Hitchcock used in his version. Yes, Diana is vicious and evil....and about as obvious to everyone as can be. In contrast, Robert Walker in "Strangers on a Train" SLOWLY was revealed to be disturbed...and it's one of his best acting roles. As for Lynley....well, she's pretty.

If you care, and I certainly didn't, the film is mostly the same story but with a HUGE twist...the innocent man is a pro golfer instead of a pro tennis player....what a HUGE change! Well, I hope you're picking up on my sarcasm here!!!

Overall, a terrible film when you can't help but see how inferior it is in every way to the source material. I cannot think of a good reason to watch it other than to admire Ms. Lynley in a bikini (she looked far nicer than Walker would have in a bikini) or if you want to see a ham-fisted version of an excellent original.

This uneven variation on Alfred Hithcock's "Strangers On A Train" stays on the right track when its focus is on Carol Lynley: right from her striking Ursula Andress-like entrance from the sea in a tiny bikini, shooting a speargun at a little girl's beach ball (!), she creates a fantastic, psychotic character who taps into the secret male fantasy of being killed by a sexy, strong and crazy woman: it's probably a career-high role for her. Unfortunately, the film gets derailed by much less exciting scenes featuring the other characters, who are bland, as well as a tad too much golf. **1/2 out of 4.

Paul Burke is a professional golfer who always comes in second to Phillip Carey. He's also got a shaky marriage to Martha Hyer. Carol Lynley is a sociopath who is worried that her aunt and psychiatrist Whit Bissell are going to send her to another insane asylum. So she seduces burke, kills Carey and now expect him to kill Bissell.

In other words, it's a variation of Hitchcock's STRANGERS ON A TRAIN. It's well performed by the cast -- Miss Lynley seems particularly creepy to me since she speaks exactly like a woman I knew; when I mentioned this to a common friend, the friend thought it made a lot of sense. However, despite the addition of sex to the plot, there isn't much added to the story except for color photography.

This film is for camp only. It is a lot of fun. You will keep asking yourself, "Why would luscious Carol Lynley stalk Paul Burke?"

A pointless ,useless "remake":although he modified Highsmith's novel,-he told it so in the foreword he wrote for the novel-Hitchcock kept the essential and produced a classic thriller you can watch again and again,with lots of memorable scenes (the murder seen on the glasses,the keys,the merry-go-round which goes crazy,and more).Plus a first-class performance by Robert Walker.

"Once you kiss a stranger" keeps the last word,but there's no more train ,the action takes place in the world of golf;why not after all? But by doing so ,without any suspense ,with a dreadful cast (Carol Lynley as a woman-child is so weird we do not know if she seriously plays or she's having fun with a stupid part of a girl who wants to get rid of her shrink -if you kill my shrink,I will do away with the top golf champion,and you will be number one!-,the director produced one of the worst thrillers of all time.

It's to state the obvious to write that you'd better choose "strangers on the train" (1951).As for Lynley ,take "Bunny Lake is missing" instead.