Dial M for Murder (1954)

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Frederick Knott (screenplay)
Frederick Knott (play)

Release Date:

29 May 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Kiss By Kiss...Supreme Suspense Unfurls!

Plot:

An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to murder his wife. When things go wrong, he improvises a brilliant plan B.

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Money | Police | Blackmail | Lure Of Riches

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Ray Milland	...	Tony Wendice
Grace Kelly	...	Margot Mary Wendice
Robert Cummings	...	Mark Halliday
John Williams	...	Chief Inspector Hubbard
Anthony Dawson	...	Captain Lesgate - aka Charles Alexander Swann
Leo Britt	...	The Storyteller
Patrick Allen	...	Detective Pearson
George Leigh	...	Detective Williams
George Alderson	...	First Detective
Robin Hughes	...	Police Sergeant

Also Known As:

Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder (USA) (complete title)
Dial 'M' for Murder (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

105 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Warnercolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Spain:T | West Germany:12 (video) (re-rated) | West Germany:16 (nf) (original rating) | South Korea:12 (DVD rating) (2004) | Brazil:16 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Norway:16 | USA:Approved (PCA #16708) | USA:PG (1982 re-release) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 3D, which explains the prevalence of low-angle shots with lamps and other objects between us and the cast members. There was only a brief original release in 3D, followed by a conventional, "flat" release; The New York Times review mentioned it opened with the "flat" release at the Paramount in New York. The 3D version was reissued in 1980.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: In a shot of the Queen Mary, a part of the wall holding the backdrop is visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Margot Mary Wendice: let me get you another drink. Mark, before Tony comes I ought to explain something.
Mark Halliday: Yes, I've been waiting for that.
Margot Mary Wendice: I haven't told him anything about us.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Simpsons: Hit & Run (2003) (VG)

Superior Hitchcock with an exquisite Grace Kelly

This is a fine example of the kind of mystery that little old ladies from Pasadena (or Russell Square) adore. Perhaps Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) starring Cary Grant might be comparable in its gentile and bloodless ability to glue us to the screen.

This is certainly one of Hitchcock's best, but most of the credit must go to a devilishly clever play written by Frederick Knott from which the movie was adapted. (He also wrote Wait Until Dark (1967) starring Audrey Hepburn.) Hitchcock does a good job in not tinkering unnecessarily with the material. He also has the exquisitely beautiful Grace Kelly to play the part of Margot Wendice.

Ray Milland plays, with a kind of high-toned Brit panache, her diabolical husband, Tony Wendice, a one-time tennis star who married mostly for security. John Williams is the prim and proper Chief Inspector Hubbard. He lends to the part a bit of Sherlock Holmesian flair. One especially liked his taking a moment to comb his mustache after the case is solved. Robert Cummings, unfortunately plays Margot's American boyfriend as inventively as a sawhorse. For those of you who might have blinked, Hitchcock makes his traditional appearance in the photo on the wall from Tony Wendice's undergraduate days.

The fulcrum of the plot is the latchkey. It is the clue that (literally) unlocks the mystery. There is a modernized redoing of this movie called A Perfect Murder (1998) starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow in which a similar business with latchkeys is employed. I am not very good with clues so it was only after seeing that movie and Dial M for Murder for the second time that I finally understood what happened. Follow the latchkey!

Of course I was too distracted by Grace Kelly to fully appreciate such intricacies. I found myself struck with the ironic notion that anyone, even a cuckolded husband, might want to kill Grace Kelly or that a jury might find her guilty of anything! She remains in my psyche America's fairytale princess who quit Hollywood at the height of her popularity after only five years and eleven movies to become a real princess by marrying Prince Rainier of Monaco. Something was lost there, and something was gained. She was in essence the original Jackie Kennedy Onassis. I think, however, that the old saw about the man who marries for money, earning it, might apply to American princesses as well.

At any rate, Grace Kelly's cool and sublime bearing was on fine display here. Hitchcock cloths her in discreet nightgowns and snug (but certainly not clinging) dresses that show off her delicate figure and her exquisite arms and hint oh so coyly at her subtle sexuality. She was 25-years-old, stunningly beautiful, and in full confidence of her ability as an actress. She had just finished starring opposite James Stewart in another splendid Hitchcock one-room mystery, Rear Window (1954), and was about to make The Country Girl (1954) with Bing Crosby for which she would win an Oscar for Best Actress.

So see this for Grace Kelly who makes Gwyneth Paltrow (whom I adore) look downright gawky, and for Ray Milland whose urbane scheming seems a layer or two of hell removed from Michael Douglas's evil manipulations.

By the way, the "original theatrical trailer" preceding these Warner Brothers Classic videos is what we used to call the "Coming Attractions"--that is, clips directly from the movie and a promo. You might want to fast forward to the movie itself.