HIFF’s Now Showing Series to Screen 'Strangers on a Train' at Guild Hall

The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) continues its Now Showing series of movie screenings at Guild Hall in East Hampton with its Winter Classic Screening of Strangers on a Train this Saturday, February 24 at 7 p.m. A discussion with Alec Baldwin and David Nugent will follow the screening.

The Now Showing series features first run, independent, world and acclaimed art house cinema currently in theaters but not showing anywhere on the East End other than these special HIFF screenings at Guild Hall and Bay Street Theater.

Alfred Hitchcock’s classic psychological thriller, eponymously named after the 1950 Patricia Highsmith novel that the film is based on, is a testament to his mastery of suspense. Robert Walker plays Bruno, a wealthy man with daddy issues, who chances to meet famed tennis pro Guy, played by Farley Granger, whose unhappy marriage is all over the papers. Bruno tries to strike up a deal with Guy, offering to kill his wife, played by Ruth Roman, in exchange for Guy murdering Bruno’s disapproving father. Since the two are complete strangers, the chances of the police solving the murders would be slim to none, but Guy politely declines Bruno’s offer. Unfortunately for Guy and his wife, Bruno cannot be dissuaded so easily. (Check out the trailer below.)

Strangers on a Train received mixed reviews when it first came out, but critics have shifted to pure respect and adoration in recent years. The film has earned an unbelievable 98% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with the audience score sitting at a close 92%. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Cinematography, a Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing and a National Board of Review Award for Best Film, but it narrowly lost all three.

Watch Strangers on a Train at Guild Hall in East Hampton (158 Main Street) this Saturday, February 24 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 for general admission and only $23 for HIFF members. The night will conclude with a discussion led by HIFF Board co-chair Alec Baldwin and Artistic Director David Nugent.

To buy tickets or find out more about this event, visit hamptonsfilmfest.org.