Dial M for Murder

This review refers to "Dial M For Murder",DVD,Warner Bros...

Aren't we lucky that cell phones weren't around in the 50's. Then Grace Kelly would never have had to leave her bed, to answer that potentialy fatal phone call in the living room.No matter how often you view this very suspense filled, thriller from Hitch, you still want to shout out to Grace Kelly."Look Out Grace...there's a murderer behind you!" That's one of the things I love about Hitch films. The connection to the characters, the need to help them. You practically want to get up and put those scissors in her hand, so she can protect herself from evil. Dial M has many of those moments, and is a superb classic that stands up to many repeat viewings.

Ray Milland has discovered his wife (Kelly) is having a love affair with Robert Cummings. Also she is the rich one in the family and he decides her time is up. He ropes in and hires a guy whose lifestyle makes for an easy blackmail mark. He's going to pay him 1000 pounds(well, after all it's only a few minutes work), and has it all worked out. Right down to the smallest detail. But uh-oh, the perfect plan starts unraveling almost the minute the plan is set in motion.The details start to go amiss, and don't stop until the end. Small things at first, a slow watch, phone troubles, the wrong person gets killed, you know little stuff like that! It is a joy to watch Ray Milland in action as he must explain away all of it to his wife and the police.

The film is a thing of beauty. Hitchcock made this film from a hit play, and filmed it in the same fashion. Most of the scenes are set in the confines of a small apartment. Hitch moves his actors around like the master he was. As mentioned Milland is a genius, Grace Kelly is wonderful as the good girl except for the little matter of the extra-marital affair. And of course we forgive her for this, because we too, like the Robert Cummings character better then the husband. Cummings also makes the most of his part. As a mystery writer, who knows the perfect murder can only happen in a book, he tries his hand at solving this mystery as well. John Williams, another favorite of Hitch's, is the Detective heading up the murder investigation. He's perfect as that Columbo type, who you know, that he knows what might have taken place, but needs to prove it. And it is fabulous to watch him put the pieces together.

Where's Hitch?....Where could he be in this film mostly made in one room. Ahhh..about 12 minutes in..the 'Picture' of innocence as he mugs for the camera at a class reunion.

The DVD is a good buy. Nice clear picture, and good colors. The colors are sometimes muted and sometimes striking. When Grace is being bad with her lover, she is in a red dress. I thought the sound was recorded a little low, I had to turn up the volume a little more then usual. It is presented in a Standard version format which preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio. Some really good features on this disc. A 20 minute documentary on how Hitch made this film, with other filmmakers admiring his work. A Brief History of 3D films, focusing on Dial M, mostly and showing the parts that were originally in 3D. Also a great trailer for the film.

also available on VHS:Dial M for Murder

A great addition to your Hitch collection...and always look behind you when answering the phone!..Enjoy...Laurie

First of all about the movie itself: this is good, if not great, Hitchcock. It's very entertaining if a bit stage bound, and the performances are uniformly fine.

That out of the way I thought I'd expand on the 3D aspect. I actually saw the 3D version about 25 years ago or so at a Hollywood theater on the Strip. It was part of a double feature with "Strangers on a Train" (there is a connection as it has been noted that the Ray Milland character in "Dial", a tennis pro, could have been the Farley Granger character in "Strangers").

I recall reading that when one reason Hitch shot the film in 3D was to bring out the realism of the stage play. This is evident in many scenes in the way objects are juxtaposed with the actors, such as lamps and furniture, as well as distances (seeing into the bedroom beyond the living room). In other words, the 3D served the story rather than the other way around.

But there were at least two showcase scenes where the 3D was key. The first was when the Grace Kelly character is being assaulted and is frantically waving her hand behind her (ostensibly to get the scissors). In 3D her hand was right in front of our faces, and we are basically helpless to assist. The second, while not as dynamic, is where the inspector presents the latch key, directly to the viewer.

As for the glasses, they were polarized--they did not have the red/blue lenses that people associate with 3D. The film was photographed using a process where to view it you wore what were like lightly shaded sun glasses (I think I still have them in a box somewhere), and therefore, with the color intact, it didn't detract from the film.

Though it lacked the sensational aspect of films like "House of Wax", the 3D was nevertheless effective in its subtlety, and I wish Warner could release a 3D version on DVD. I feel fortunate to have seen "Dial M for Murder" in 3D, and hope we all get the opportunity to see it in the future.

OK, I'm not a film critic. I do like older movies, especially Hitchcock mysteries and John Wayne Westerns and that makes me decidedly middle-brow. All I can say is that 'Dial M for Murder' is a hugely entertaining mystery that rewards the viewer who pays attention (umm, it is a mystery after all). Several delicious plot twists.

Let's forget for a moment that Alfred Hitchcock was the best director at creating and sustaining gut wrenching suspense. That will always be his trademark; the ability to milk the tension of a scene to the very last drop.

The Master of Suspense? It's just too easy to classify him as this suspense thriller hack and dismiss his many virtuoso talents.

What I'd like to remember Mr. Hitchcock for is his ingenious ability to create a sense of pathos & psychosis in most of his main protagonists and villains; meanwhile having us relate to them in their immoral behaviors. Deftly, Mr. Hitchcock uses this transference (from screen character to viewer) so we can relate and identify directly to their situations and motivations however moral or immoral.

In Dial M for Murder, we can't help but to go against our own moral judgement and wish that the murder of Grace Kelly's character goes as planned by her husband. In the film's expository, a murder plan is hatched. Mr. Hitchcock masterfully sets up this scene with a changing of the point of view in the story and main characters. We are soon aware that the Ray Milland character is the central figure and he has the central motivation throughout the film. (although this changes later in the story)

What's haunting and eerie about this film's premise is Hitchcock's use of the point of view throughout the film. We see the film through Milland's eyes and there are many POV shots to prove it.

With a bit of reservation, when the dramatic first half climax arrives we hope that the hired killer stays long enough to carry off his execution of the Grace Kelly character. The reason is because Hitchcock has conditioned our response with tension and suspense in this highly dramatic situation. We see Milland's watch has stopped, a restless hired killer ready to abort, a man taking up precious time on a pay phone, and the extreme close up of the dial number. In "western" film narrative with all of these suspense elements inter cut together we expect a big payoff. And the audience wants to see this murder carried out.

Variations of this theme were played out beautifully in Robert De Niro's, Travis Bickle character at the ending climax of Taxi Driver and Anthony Hopkin's Hannibal character in The Silence of the Lambs. (When Hannibal escapes that weird detainment configuration and Travis shoots down the pimps we are rooting for murder)

This is something Mr. Hitchcock knew way ahead of its time and it's a very odd dynamic; a compelling reality in the audience to movie-story relationship.

Although Hitchcock considered this film one of his lesser efforts, DIAL M FOR MURDER (based on the hit Broadway play by Frederick Knott) contains enough thrills and twists to keep fans happy, and Hitchcock's touch is evident in every scene.

Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly) seems to have the perfect marriage with her tennis champion husband Tony (Ray Milland). But we soon learn that Margot has another man on the side, Mark Halliday (Bob Cummings). When Tony discovers the affair, he plots the death of Margot at the hands of a 'burglar'. But the plan goes awry when Margot manages to free herself and kills her assailant. Tony accuses his bewildered wife of murder and it's up to the resourceful Inspector Hubbard (John Williams) to solve the case and prove Margot's innocence.

While the film doesn't have the same scope or impact as earlier films like "Shadow of a Doubt" or "Notorious", DIAL M FOR MURDER is the perfect film version of the Knott play. Hitchcock wisely did not open up the play too much, instead keeping the action almost exclusively in the Wendice apartment. Rather than creating a claustrophobic feeling, innovative camera angles and blocking create a "play-like" atmosphere without the cramped confines of the space becoming an issue. The performances are fine. Ray Milland delivers one of his finest portrayals, and gives the character of Tony a softness and vulnerability that other actors might not have tapped into. In her first Hitchcock film, Grace Kelly is amazing as the targeted wife, looking scrumptious in some lovely gowns. Bob Cummings tries to give the one-dimensional role of Mark some life but the viewer is always more taken with Milland and Kelly. The supporting players John Williams and Anthony Dawson (as the ill-fated victim) both deliver handsomely. Originally filmed and screened in 3-D (and having the distinction of being Hitch's first colour movie), DIAL M FOR MURDER was a sound critical and financial success and remains an enjoyable and entertaining tale from Hitchcock's gallery of films.