Dial M for Murder

Based on a play by Frederick Knott, Dial M for Murder follows Ray Milland’s Tony Wendice as he conspires to murder his wife (Grace Kelly’s Margot) after learning that she’s been sleeping with a mutual friend (Robert Cummings’ Mark) – with Tony’s plan predictably going awry almost from the get-go. There’s admittedly never a point at which it isn’t completely obvious that Dial M for Murder has been adapted from a stage play, as the movie, which rarely leaves Tony and Margot’s cramped apartment, possesses a dialogue-heavy vibe that’s perpetuated by a pace that’s best described as deliberate. It’s just as clear, however, that filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock’s stylish direction, coupled with a uniformly superb assortment of performances, goes a long way towards keeping things interesting even through the narrative’s more uneventful stretches, and there’s little doubt that the movie benefits substantially from the periodic inclusion of palpably electrifying moments – with the film’s high point unquestionably the prolonged sequence in which murderer Charles Swann (Anthony Dawson) attempts to execute Tony’s convoluted plan. The sequence is so stirring and so engrossing, in fact, that the film can’t help but subsequently settle into a pronounced lull, with the emphasis on the police’s investigation, led by John Williams’ unflappable Chief Inspector Hubbard, ensuring that Dial M for Murder does fizzle out to a slight degree before recovering for a thoroughly entertaining final half hour. The superb conclusion confirms the movie’s place as a completely watchable yet less-than-consistent effort from Hitchcock, and it’s worth noting, too, that the film’s 3-D presentation is actually not as terrible as one might’ve feared.

*** out of ****

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