Strangers on a Train is an Alfred Hitchcock film, released in 1951, based on the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name. It follows the story of Bruno and Guy, two strangers who meet on a train and agree to murder the other's problem person. The film is built around the themes of crossing and double-crossing, which appear in the form of puns, plot twists, and visual motifs and metaphors. The intricate structure of the film has garnered considerable critical acclaim. The film is regarded as a Hitchcock classic and frequently appears at the top of lists ranking classic films and important films in the thriller genre. Some critics, notably the novelist Raymond Chandler who worked on early drafts of the screenplay, have argued that the plot of the film is too implausible for the story to be believable. Strangers on a Train has been referenced, parodied and modeled extensively in other books, movies, television shows, and songs.