Dial M for Murder

"...in stories things usually turn out the way the author wants them to; and in real life they don't... always."

Dial M for Murder is a 1954 crime/thriller Directed by the great Alfred Hitchcock. This one didn't quite make my '10 Alfred Hitchcock Movies Everyone Should See' list (which you can check out by clicking here), but that doesn't mean that it isn't a really good film. Like so many of Hitchcock's films, it ropes you in early on and keeps you locked in all the way through.. he's not called 'The Master of Suspense' for nothing after all. So, if you haven't seen this one, I'm just going to give the setup and a few other thoughts without spoiling how everything unfolds.

Ray Milland plays Tony Wendice who is a former professional tennis player and has discovered that his wife Margot (played by Grace Kelly) has been having an affair with an author named Mark Halliday (played by Robert Cummings). Instead of directly confronting her, Tony keeps his knowledge of the affair a secret and proceeds to plan the perfect murder. He figures that by having his wife killed he not only gets his revenge, but will also get the money left to him in her will. So, Tony gets in touch with a low-level criminal who happens to be an old college classmate of his, lays out the plan, and offers the man a substantial amount of money to carry out the murder. But, not everything goes as planned...

This movie was filmed in 3-D but it isn't one of those that looks ridiculous if you just watch it on your TV without 3-D glasses. There is the occasional object in the foreground that looks a tad off, but Hitchcock pretty much filmed it like he would any other film, and didn't resort to 3-D tricks like things popping out at the audience. The acting is solid, the story is interesting throughout, and I recommend checking it out if you've never seen it.

It's a classic and I give it a 5 out of 5.

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