MovieChat Forums > Strangers on a Train (1951) Discussion > Did Bruno have a homosexual infatuation ...

Did Bruno have a homosexual infatuation with Guy?

posted 11 years ago by jackdaly1996
29 replies | jump to latest

Certainly seemed like it, right from the beginning when he nudged him with his shoe, he appeared to be flirting at several points in the early stages of the film.

[–] shanehaynes 9 years ago

Just finished watching this movie and I DEFINITELY got gay vibes from Bruno. Not necessarily that he was attracted to Guy, just that he seemed gay in general but who knows? So hard to tell though, times were different back then. Men weren't as masculine as they are now. I get gay vibes from a lot of characters in classic movies.

[–] moosefeathers 9 years ago

It's talked about in the Documentary on the DVD. there were homosexual undertones. They even show clips from the movie denoting the homosexual undertones. As always, Hitchcock always knew how to get around the censors.

And Highsmith was bisexual, if there actually is such a thing as bisexual.

Swing away, Merrill....Merrill, swing away...

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 9 years ago

No. No more than one brother has a homosexual infatuation with his brother. Not every relationship between two men relates to homosexuality.

[–] kerrykop 9 years ago

It seems that in tv, film and in real life one man can't even say "Hello." to another man without someone thinking "Wow, he or they must be....Gay!!!"

[–] ameilius 9 years ago

After watching Strangers on a Train I read the Highsmith novel, which differs from the movie in many ways. In the book it's clearly indicated that Bruno is infatuated with Guy. Or perhaps "obsessed" would be more the word. His stalking Guy, his trying to force Guy into an unholy pact with him, all this has to do with that obsession. Hitchcock had to clean up the story a bit, of course, as a courtesy to the Hollywood censors. Movie Guy is presented as a victimized hero...but book Guy, not so much. Book Guy through his association with Bruno discovers previously unsuspected depths of evil in himself. In fact, book Guy sees Bruno as his own darker half. And in the novel, Guy does ultimately succumb to pressure and he ends up killing Bruno's father as Bruno wants him to do. Highsmith's Guy is a deeply troubled and conflicted soul. Turns out that he and Bruno are a lot more alike than you might expect.

[–] hammer4 9 years ago

But there is no depiction of actual homosexual conduct in the novel, correct? Is it apparent to the Guy character that the Bruno character has homosexual feelings toward him, or is it more a case of being obsessed with the murder plot?

[–] kenny-164 9 years ago

While Bruno's character is suggested to be homosexual, I don't think we can say that Bruno's interest in Guy was primarily sexual in nature. While the film's beginning makes it seem that the encounter between them was happenstance, we soon realize that Bruno had in effect chosen Guy for the criss cross since he knew from Guy's celebrity status that Guy was in trouble in his marriage. In other words Bruno picked Guy out as someone who Bruno thought would be open to his criss cross proposal.

That does not mean that as events proceeded that Bruno did not have any attraction to Guy. But neither was any such attraction made clear, and was not necessary to explain Bruon's motivation in pursuing Guy. It was the criss cross he was after, not sex.

[–] lfrancis666 8 years ago

Wow, the book sounds a lot more interesting than the film. Might have to give it a read.

Feed me a stray cat

[–] Jonathan62 9 years ago

The encounter in the bedroom alludes fairly strongly to that, I think.

[–] TenPercenter 8 years ago

Absolutely.

Hitchcock talked about this many times. He and the actor who played Bruno tried to specifically create certain gestures and looks and intonations in Bruno to convey his homosexuality without it being so obvious that the censors could do anything about it. It's pretty clearly documented in interviews Hitchcock did that the Bruno character was gay.

[–] rsgre 8 years ago

How about the line towards the end when the carnival barker says to Bruno: "...after the murder the smoochers were afraid to go over there...", and Bruno replies: "...I'm afraid I don't know what a smoocher is...!". To cover up up the true meaning of his statement they had the barker reply: "...alright, so I'm not educated...!".

RSGRE