Dial M for Murder
Directed by Albert Hitchcock
Written by Frederick Knott from his own play
1954/USA
Warner Bros.
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Tony Wendice: [to Mark] People don’t commit murder on credit.[/box]
This may be the only Hitchcock movie with a smart cop in it. I wish the script was a bit stronger.
The setting is London. Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly) is independently wealthy. Her husband Tony (Ray Milland) is an ex-tennis pro with no funds of his own. A year ago, Margot had an affair with mystery writer Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). She broke it off and he returned to the States. He kept writing to her and she destroyed all the letters but one, a “special” letter that she carried in her purse wherever she went.
Recently, the purse was stolen. Margot got the purse back, minus the letter and the money. Then the blackmail threats began. As the story begins, Mark has returned to London. This is making Tony very nervous, not because he particularly cares about infidelity but because he is afraid he will be cut out of Margot’s will.
So Tony embarks on an ingenious plan to solve his problem before Margot can leave him. The plan is almost too clever and it will take the combined efforts of Mark and Scotland Yard to untangle Tony’s web of deceit.
There are many things to like about this film but I think the script is too stagy and doesn’t hold together all that well. Kelly looks luscious and Milland makes a truly detestable villain. Nevertheless, I can’t believe that Kelly would prefer Robert Cummings to him in a million years. I’d like to see this in 3D someday.
Trailer
I liked this film a lot but do remember it was a bit stagy. Agreed over Milland versus Cummings! There was actually a Grace Kelly blogathon over the last couple of days for her birthday, so your posting is very appropritate.
Happy birthday, Grace! If anyone wants to nominate her for most beautiful woman ever, I won’t argue. But then there were so many …
This is one of my favorite Hitchcocks! I saw it for the first time about 1990 and I liked it OK, but it wasn’t a favorite.
But over the years. I would see it on the TV schedule and I’d watch bits of it, and I’d be kind of mesmerized by any segment. It didn’t matter when I turned it on, I’d watch 30 or 40 minutes.
Last year, I finally bit the bullet and watched the whole thing. And then a few months ago, I watched it again. Then I deleted it from the DVR… and within an hour, I was wishing I had kept it because I wanted to see it again.
Ray Milland is great. It’s a very carefully constructed film, beautifully shot. But the real draw is Grace Kelly. It’s her best movie.
When people tell me they just think it’s OK, I tell them, next time it’s on TCM, just start watching it and see if you’re not hypnotized within a few minutes.
It must just be me. I like but don’t love the movie. Part of the problem might be Robert Cummings.
Cummings is a bit of a weak link, The first time I saw it, my roommate made fun of Cummings mercilessly in every one of his scenes.
But he grows on you when you’ve seen it a few times. I very much enjoy watching him trying to match wits with Ray Milland when he’s trying to convince Milland to confess to the murder to stop the execution. He’s so out of his league! And Ray Milland trying to hide his contempt (and failing as far as the audience is concerned) is hilarious. Cummings doesn’t notice because he’s a total dingdong.
Why would Cummings even think that Milland would want to stop the execution if he believed that he hired the hit man? It makes no sense.
I don’t think Cummings thinks that Milland hired a hitman. He’s trying to convince Millland to confess in order to save Grace. (I would totally confess to anything to save Grace!)
Or maybe Cummings is very clumsily suggesting it just to see Milland’s reaction. I think Milland’s reactions in this scene might very well be when Cummings suspects that Milland really did hire a hitman.
Cummings character is an arrogant goof. I bet his mystery novels are terrible. But I can see why Grace might prefer somebody like Cummings after a few years of being married to Milland’s character.
A revisit to DIAL M FOR MURDER reminded me why I have always been lukewarm about it. 3-D may have helped slightly. When Grace Kelly’s arm reaches out during the attempted murder, it must have stretched right into the viewers face!