Dial M for Murder (1954)

Too much of everything

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Great Film overall

A Masterpiece!

Perfect plan and perfect execution by Tony Wendice but due to Swann panic his second plan also failed. Swann left key outside I mean after murdering Margot Swann had to come back from the door. He left key outside I don't think he could make such a small mistake but again no crime is perfect.Overall Perfect.

It's 1954, all the actors speak like they're in a commercial but what a brilliant story well told. Constantly having to think on his feet Ray Milland's character is slick and totally believable. The ending is extremely clever. No matter how old you are you will appreciate this movie.

As a film fan who has always had a limited movie preference of Hollywood movies from the 80s to today, iv'e recently decided to expand my movie viewing horizons and try to watch different films, example, foreign movies and old movies like this. I rented and just finished streaming Dial M For Murder on Amazon Prime Video for the first time and am very impressed with this movie, it is very good, well-acted and the story is brilliant. Most of the film is set in a small flat, but the flick still manages to be gripping.The film score is dramatically perfect for every scene, the attack/attempted murder scene was disturbing, but thank God it wasn't that long. As soon as this movie starts it gets straight to the point, this is one of the major differences between movies back then and movies of today, even though the plot is explained - most movies today take their time telling the story, they show the characters meeting for the first time, dating, then getting married e.c.t. But these old movies just cut straight to the chase. I didn't hear any swear words or profanity in this cine and it was still a great film. Obviously movie-makers of today still watch these old films due to references and remakes, they are obviously inspired by these old movies, but why not take being inspired one step further and exclude blasphemous words and curse words?! Obviously films today add swearing in a lot of dialogue because society has changed and the majority of people swear in their vocabulary in everyday life, but it would still be good if movies banned swearing, it would make films overall even better.Dial M For Murder is a must-watch, it's very suspenseful, i enjoyed it. Not all of Alfred Hitchcock's movies look appealing, in my book, but i will continue to look through his filmography because there are probably some more really good films like this one.

Margot Wendice has had an affair with her friend Mark and since her handbag, which contained a particularly incriminating letter, was stolen she has received blackmail demands. She doesn't know that the handbag had actually been taken by her husband Tony. He is a former tennis pro but now he is living on his wife's wealth and is concerned that she may leave him… he doesn't want her, just her money, so he plots what he thinks is the perfect murder. Having seen a rather disreputable character he knew when he was up at Cambridge he uses a combination of blackmail and payment to get the man to kill Margot. Things don't go according to plan; Margot fights back and her attacker ends up dead. Now Tony has another plan… while acting as though he is trying to help her he works to ensure she is hanged for murder!Given that this film is based on a play it isn't too surprising that it has a very theatrical feel; largely because almost all of the action takes place in the Wendice's flat. This isn't a problem though as the story is solid. Tony's scheme is just about plausible and the way he reacts after it fails almost makes him feel more villainous and the scene where the attempted murder takes place is intense as the attacker tries to strangle Margot with a stocking and she fights back with a pair of scissors. Ray Milland does a fine job as Tony, keeping him outwardly respectable rather than a pantomime villain. Grace Kelly is also solid as Margot. The rest of the cast are pretty good too. Inevitably some of the attitudes displayed are rather dated; most notably when a policeman warns a junior colleague to be careful how he carries Margot's handbag or he could be arrested himself… no doubt this was meant to give viewers a chuckle but these days seems rather shocking. Overall I wouldn't say that this was a classic Hitchcock film but it is still well worth watching.