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.
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.
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.
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 Cry of the OwlThe Cry of the Owl · 2009
The Cry of the Owl
5.72009
MovieDramaMystery
Fleeing New York City, a failed marriage and a fragile mental history, artist Robert Forrester moves to small-town Pennsylvania. There he becomes fascinated with the simple domesticity of a beautiful neighbor, watching her through the windows of her home --- until she invites him in for coffee. He is drawn into a relationship with the young woman whose boyfriend goes missing; Robert becomes a murder suspect, gradually sensing he is the target of a larger plot.
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?
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.

Filmography

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Once You Meet a StrangerOnce You Meet a Stranger · 1996
Once You Meet a Stranger
4.31996
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