Patricia Highsmith

Writing

Patricia Highsmith

Born January 19, 1921 · Forth Worth, Texas, USA

Died February 4, 1995 · aged 74

Patricia Highsmith (January 19, 1921 – February 4, 1995) was an American novelist and short story writer best known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 novels and numerous short stories throughout her career spanning nearly five decades, and her work has led to more than two dozen film adaptations.

Known For

Deep WaterDeep Water · 2022
Deep Water
★ 5.82022
MovieDramaMystery
A well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her lovers.
The Talented Mr. RipleyThe Talented Mr. Ripley · 1999
The Talented Mr. Ripley
★ 7.21999
MovieThrillerCrime
Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it's better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. Ripley worms his way into the idyllic lives of Dickie and his girlfriend, plunging into a daring scheme of duplicity, lies and murder.
Strangers on a TrainStrangers on a Train · 1951
Strangers on a Train
★ 7.71951
MovieCrimeThriller
A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.
CarolCarol · 2015
Carol
★ 7.52015
MovieRomanceDrama
In 1950s New York, a department-store clerk who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman.
Ripley's GameRipley's Game · 2002
Ripley's Game
★ 6.42002
MovieCrimeThriller
Tom Ripley - cool, urbane, wealthy, and murderous - lives in a villa in the Veneto with Luisa, his harpsichord-playing girlfriend. A former business associate from Berlin's underworld pays a call asking Ripley's help in killing a rival. Ripley - ever a student of human nature - initiates a game to turn a mild and innocent local picture framer into a hit man. The artisan, Jonathan Trevanny, who's dying of cancer, has a wife, young son, and little to leave them. If Ripley draws Jonathan into the game, can Ripley maintain control? Does it stop at one killing? What if Ripley develops a conscience?
Purple NoonPurple Noon · 1960
Purple Noon
★ 7.61960
MovieCrimeDrama
Tom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
The American FriendThe American Friend · 1977
The American Friend
★ 7.11977
MovieDramaThriller
Tom Ripley, an American who deals in forged art, is slighted at an auction in Hamburg by picture framer Jonathan Zimmerman. When Ripley is asked by gangster Raoul Minot to kill a rival, he suggests Zimmerman, and the two, exploiting Zimmerman's terminal illness, coerce him into being a hitman.
Ripley Under GroundRipley Under Ground · 2007
Ripley Under Ground
★ 5.62007
MovieDramaThriller
Now living a quiet, luxurious life at his French estate—funded by past crimes and his marriage to an heiress—Tom Ripley finds that an art scam he supports—selling forged paintings by a supposedly living artist named Derwatt—beginning to collapse. An inquisitive American collector suspects his Derwatt painting is fake and demands answers. As the situation escalates, Ripley turns to murder and elaborate identity deception to protect his reputation.

Filmography

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Once You Meet a StrangerOnce You Meet a Stranger · 1996
Once You Meet a Stranger
★ 4.21996
MovieThrillerTV Movie
This television remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" (1951) follows the same story, but has changed the genders of the lead characters from male to female. Sheila Gaines is a former child star whose first husband is unwilling to give her a divorce. A chance meeting with Margo Anthony on a train leads to a conversation where the mentally unstable Margo, who hates her mother, suggests that they swap murders, so as to solve their problems. Although she thinks nothing of the conversation, Sheila's life takes a surprising turn when her husband is murdered by Margo. Now Margo wants Sheila to do her part of "the deal." With the police on her tail and Margo constantly in her face, Sheila must find a way out of this tangled web.

Novel