My thanks to NetGalley and Running Press for an advance copy of this history that tells the story of an Alfred Hitchcock's movie that has gained an appreciation over the years for both its style and story, with behind the scenes tales, casting woes, and of course studio interference.

My nephews have problems understanding the fact that there was a time when watching movies was a roll of the dice. I grew up in the time of video stores, but being in a small town with two video stores, both were more interested in having extra copies of Romancing the Stone or Back to the Future, than classic movies. This came to be a problem after I watched Throw Mama from the Train, a movie that was inspired, and even name checked a classic movie as its influence, Strangers on a Train. My father wax poetics about the film, I think he got some facts wrong, but I got the gist, and wanted to see it. None of our video stores had much Hitchcock though, so I was a little out of luck. Thanks to Channel Nine in New York running a double feature I finally saw it, and was pretty surprised how good it was. Watching it now I see much more that my naivete missed, and how much Hitchcock was able to get past the studios and the censors. A movie that holds up now, better than most movies about obsession and murder. And with this book we can get an understanding of how hard it was to craft the film. Criss-Cross: The Making of Hitchcock’s Dazzling, Subversive Masterpiece Strangers on a Train by Stephen Rebello is a telling of the movie from idea to finished film, detailing the making of, the special effects, casting woes, studio games, and its legacy.

The book begins with an appreciation for the movie by the author, and why Rebello considers this one of Hitchcock's best works, and why. The movie than moves to a a director at career low point. Alfred Hitchcock's last movies had not done well. Hitchcock was also at Warner Bros studios, run by Jack Warner, who was super hands on, very rude, and very cheap. Hitchcock needed an idea, something that he could craft into another hit, just to remind Hollywood who Hitchcock was. And he found it in a debut thriller by a young author Patricia Highsmith. The book was a story about two men meeting on a train who share an idea about how to commit, the perfect crime. Hitchcock loved the idea, but had problems finding a writer to adapt it. Hitchcock thought he has a collaborator in Raymond Chandler, the famed mystery writer, until they started to work together. That was only some of Hitchcock's problems. Casting was a problem, with many actors not wanting to take on such a well less manly role, along with Warner Bros. demanding certain roles go to their salaried performers. Things came together, and soon the movie was filming, and the rest is cinema history.

This is the second book by Rebello dealing with Hitchcock I have read and I enjoyed this quite a lot. Rebello has a very good writing style, sharing personal reflections on the movie with critiques from others, and moves the narrative along. The book is loaded with stories from the set, stories about developing the script with Raymond Chandler, who was a nightmare. And lot about the performers and what they brought to the movie. Rebello goes into the creatin of some big scenes, detailing how shots were made, and how the could have gone wrong. Each page had fresh information, or something new about Hitchcock, or what was happening in the movies at the time. A very educational and fun read.

Perfect for fans of old movies, people who love to read about movies before CGI, and for fans of Hitchcock. Rebello has done a few books about movies and their creation, and I have enjoyed them all. I can't wait to read what he publishes next.