Dial M For Murder (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954): USA

Reviewed by: Alexander Berg         Viewed at: Metro 4, Santa Barbara

This is one of those films that needs to be seen just because it’s a classic (much like all of Hitchcock’s films) and if you ever get the rare opportunity that I did I would recommend you to see it in 3D.

The film starts out by us finding out about an affair Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly) is having with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings) and how she is planning on leaving her husband Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) because of it. What she doesn’t know is that her husband knows about the affair she’s having and that he is plotting to have her killed because of it. To do this he blackmails his old friend Captain Swan Lesgate (Anthony Dawson) to do so. Will his elaborate plan work?

This film is really interesting and differs from the usual mystery films that I have seen. Unlike many other murder mysteries we always know who the murderer is and instead we wonder if anyone is ever going to figure it out.  Usually you would get extremely bored by a story only driven by dialogue all the way through but Hitchcock finds a way to keep you interested all the way through. The fact that it’s basically only played out in one single room throughout the whole film makes it even more incredible. The character we see the most of is Tony who wants his wife murdered and how he copes with everything. His calm attitude towards the whole thing makes it seem like he’s not that crazy and at certain points you find yourself almost wanting him to pull off the murder.

The cinematography in the film is pretty simple as it is played out in the same environment with a smooth bright light all the way through. The 3D doesn’t bring that much more to the film since it is rarely showing you more than shots of people talking. It does have certain times when he has placed the camera right behind bottles that is shown in the foreground while the person is standing in the background to show you the effect. This film wouldn’t need to be shown in 3D but it still is a nice feature that brings just a bit more to the film.

This film is exciting and thrilling just the way that Hitchcock can make it and we are constantly reminded about how good he is as a director through the characters long dialogue, Mis-en-Scene and costume design. A nice feature is that throughout the film Grace Kellys character Margot is wearing darker and darker clothes showing us her set of mind getting worse and more distant.

This film isn’t a masterpiece according to me but it is really interesting to watch as a filmmaker (again like all of Hitchcock’s films). It’s a film that in a way shouldn’t work due to all the dialogue but does anyways, and extremely well. It is really well made and it gets you involved and thinking throughout the whole journey. I would really recommend everyone to see this film as it in a way is a part of film history.