Strangers' is one of my personal favourites even though the two central characters, Farley Granger and Ruth Roman are boring and flat. To make up for these two wooden actors, Robert Walker as the rich, spoilt psychopath gives an amazing performance of a mother-protected, madman.

It is said that Robert Walker's performance was perfect because he played his real self I have never known the acting of small part players to remain so vividly impressed on the memory. Laura Hutton as the bitchy wife is brilliant, as are the beat-keeper at the fairground and, of course, one of the most humorous cameos in cinema, the villain's mother!

Strangers was written by Patricia Highsmith, the grand dame of mystery thrillers. She tells the story of a seemingly motiveless murder which Hitchcock has filmed in a tight script frill of suspense at every corner. I defy anyone not to be thoroughly entertained, amused and constantly on tenterhooks in this highly entertaining thriller. If the greatness of an artist is to reflect, truth, whether as a painter, writer, actor or filmmaker, then one scene in strangers' remains, for me, one of the most memorable sequences in cinema. It is the scene in which Robert Walker waits patiently for the bitchy wife outside her house, gets into a bus with her, follows her to the fairground and then, when briefly alone, asks the famous question, "are you Miriam? "why yes!? comes the tarty reply followed by as brilliant a murder scene as ever filmed, seen through the broken lens of the wife's spectacle.