Farley Granger is at his most persuasive under pressure from a stronger personality. We value his vulnerability, though Strangers on a Train shows the limitation too: he is less compelling when asked to hold our attention alone.
Fi1m perspective
In Strangers on a Train (1951), Farley Granger listens as Robert Walker's Bruno proposes an exchange of murders. His Guy Haines has the less rewarding part, but Granger gives the encounter the discomfort it needs. We felt uneasy watching him listen, because his discomfort makes Bruno's proposal harder to dismiss as merely absurd. Alfred Hitchcock gets useful suspense from an actor who makes being drawn into trouble seem plausible without making the person especially fascinating. That is a real contribution, even when the more unsettling performance belongs to the man opposite him.
The vulnerability had already found a different use in They Live by Night (1948), Nicholas Ray's debut feature, with Granger as the fugitive lover Bowie. His chemistry with Cathy O'Donnell gives us a reason to look beyond the Hitchcock films, towards work that makes more of his capacity for romance. Rope (1948) put him under Hitchcock's direction as the young killer Phillip Morgan. These early parts established a useful casting habit, placing a handsome, vulnerable young man close to crime. They also suggest why his apparent passivity could be useful: another person's pressure gives him something to play.
In Strangers on a Train, that arrangement works better during the encounter than whenever Guy must hold our attention without Bruno. Granger keeps us concerned, but Guy never becomes as interesting as the person proposing the crime, and the film cannot entirely make that imbalance an advantage. Ruth Roman's steadiness as Anne Morton helps, though her part offers little of Bruno's capacity to surprise. We recommend the film warmly while recognising that its respectable characters are less rewarding company. Granger does enough for Hitchcock's suspense; we would not pretend that he gives Walker equal competition.
By Senso (1954), he was working with Visconti in a melodrama filmed in Italy. From the mid-1950s, he moved towards stage and television work, while continuing to make occasional films, including Italian productions into the 1970s. That change need not be treated as a failed attempt to remain a Hollywood leading man, particularly when theatre was work he preferred. His reputation rests heavily on the two Hitchcock films despite that wider work. Start with Strangers on a Train, then make time for They Live by Night before deciding that being overshadowed was all he could do.
Biography
Farley Granger, also credited as Farley Earle Granger II, was an American actor. Born on 1 July 1925 in San Jose, California, he was spotted in a local stage production and signed by Samuel Goldwyn. His early film roles included The North Star (1943) and The Purple Heart (1944). He served in the US Navy during the Second World War.
Granger is known for his performances in two Alfred Hitchcock films: as Phillip Morgan in Rope (1948) and as Guy Haines in Strangers on a Train (1951). He later appeared in They Live by Night (1949), Senso (1954) and They Call Me Trinity (1970), as well as numerous television series including Get Smart, The Six Million Dollar Man, The Love Boat and Murder, She Wrote. He moved to New York in the mid-1950s and worked extensively in theatre and on television. Granger died on 27 March 2011 in New York City.
