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A psychopath forces a tennis star to comply with his theory that two strangers can get away with murder.
—Noah Orent
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Bruno Antony thinks he has the perfect plot to rid himself of his hated father, and when he meets tennis player Guy Haines on a train he thinks he's found the partner he needs to pull it off. His plan is relatively simple: Two strangers each agree to kill someone the other person wants gone. For example, Guy could kill his father and he could get rid of Guy's wife Miriam, freeing him to marry Anne Morton, the beautiful daughter of a U.S. Senator. Guy dismisses it all out of hand, but Bruno goes ahead with his half of the "bargain" and disposes of Miriam. When Guy balks, Bruno makes it clear that he will plant evidence to implicate Guy in her murder if he doesn't get rid of his father. Guy had also made some unfortunate statements about Miriam after she had refused to divorce him. It all leads the police to believe Guy is responsible for the murder, forcing him to deal with Bruno's mad ravings.
—garykmcd
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Guy Haines is a well-known amateur tennis player who wants to go into politics in his post-tennis life. He is equally well-known in the society papers as a man who wants to divorce his wife in order to marry Anne Morton, the refined daughter of a state senator. Bruno Antony is a charming, gregarious man who lives off his father's wealth. He's also a sociopath who loves his mentally-childlike mother, but detests his father, who wants to have him restrained. Guy and Bruno meet one day on a train. Their social chit-chat, directed by Bruno, leads to a discussion of what Bruno considers the perfect murders: each of two strangers kill the other's "problem" person, as each killer would have no motive or ties to the person murdered. As Guy and Bruno part, Guy believes Bruno's talk was just social chit-chat, but Bruno believes they have a pact and goes ahead with his murder. Guy knows Bruno committed murder but doesn't feel he can go to the police with the fantastical story, which be thinks will implicate himself more. The situation gets worse for Guy as Bruno starts inserting himself in Guy's life to pressure Guy into keeping to his supposed end of the bargain. Guy must figure out what to do to free himself, not kill anyone, and keep those around him safe. Bruno has Guy's personalized cigarette lighter which he is threatening to use to implicate Guy if Guy doesn't comply with his part of the deal.
—Huggo
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Psychotic mama's-boy Bruno Antony meets famous tennis player Guy Haines on a train. Guy wants to move into a career in politics and has been dating Senator Morton's daughter Anne while awaiting a divorce from his wife. Bruno dreams up a crazy scheme for the perfect murder in which two total strangers, he and Guy, exchange murders on a crisscross. Guy takes this as amusing but Bruno is serious and takes things into his own hands.
—Col Needham <col@imdb.com>
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Tennis star Guy Haines meets a stranger on the Washington, D.C.- to-New York City train, who offers to exchange murders. Guy doesn't take Bruno seriously until a murder takes place. Guy becomes the chief suspect, which threatens his tennis career; his romantic involvement with a U.S. Senator's daughter, Anne Morton; his hopes for a political career; and even his life. When it becomes evident to Bruno that Guy isn't going to reciprocate and fulfill his end of the bargain, Bruno tells Guy that he intends to establish Guy's guilt conclusively by planting his monogrammed cigarette lighter on the island where the murder took place. With Anne's help, Guy attempts to stop Bruno after rushing through an important tennis match and racing to the amusement park.
—filmfactsman
