Daddy’s girl: The knowing innocent in Strangers on a Train (1951)

Abstract

In a brief but resonant scene early in Strangers on a Train, Bruno Antony squares off against a pint-sized cowboy toting a balloon in the amusement park where Bruno will soon commit murder. As other park patrons queue up for the various attractions, Bruno strides intently toward the camera in pursuit of Miriam Haines, his intended victim, but he stops suddenly when the bold youngster pulls a six-shooter out of his holster to confront him. Decked out in cowboy hat, Western neckerchief, dungarees, and boots, the child of Hollywood’s signature genre points his pistol up at the tall stranger, orders him to "Stick ‘em up!," and playfully bangs away at Bruno twice before proceeding to walk right past his target, secure and serene. Unfortunately for the little self-appointed gunslinger, Bruno trumps his innocent show of aggression by reaching out with his cigarette to pop the child’s balloon before he-just as serenely-resumes his truly deadly pursuit of Guy Haines’s wife.