Rent Dial M for Murder (1954)

1954 - Dial M for Murder review by JD

I don't expect many to read this review. If you are considering a lesser known 1954 Hitchcock you are already a certified film buff. Ray Milland was not known to me previously but he is an interesting actor. Good (not great), unglamourous and undramatic. Grace Kelly is the opposite. The entire piece is filmed in a room. Standard for a play (from which this was taken), unusual for a film. Good plot, not amazing but very entertaining.

Stage Thriller. - Dial M for Murder review by Steve

Exciting adaptation of Frederick Knott's London stage hit is one of Alfred Hitchcock's impediment films, almost entirely shot on a single set. Ray Milland plays a bitter and betrayed man of leisure who plans the perfect murder of his rich, unfaithful wife (Grace Kelly) which crumbles excruciatingly under investigation.

It's a clever murder story with the confinement of the action proving no barrier to friction free suspense and some satisfying complications. Hitch fills the set with memorable images, such as the ostentatious demise of a hired assassin (Anthony Dawson) killed with Kelly's sewing scissors.

 Some critics see this as a rehearsal for Rear Window, which is similarly staged on a single set. But it is more than that. It's one of the best ever conversions of a traditional British stage thriller to the big screen,  and enhanced with many virtuoso Hitchcock flourishes.

 This kind of thriller is inevitably quite superficial, with flimsy characterisations and little relevance to real life. But, the unscrupulous Milland and the dapper (Columbo-esque) investigator John Williams make it fun. It was intended to be seen in 3D, which no longer seems a possibility.