Review of Dial M for Murder (1954) by Ryan H — 06 Jun 2010

Another masterpiece from Hitchcock. I love films that have small settings but don't feel limited. Almost the entire film is set within a single room of a London flat. Tony is a smart character, perhaps too smart. He catches his wife having an affair, and a year after putting enough thought into it, decides to murder his wife. He has the perfect person for the job, a clean escape plan, and an alibi. Everything on paper says this should work. But oh the irony!

**spoilers**.

Tony sets the object that his wife would use to murder her murderer. In a way, Tony stabs himself in the back. Talking about getting stabbed in the back, this movie is more graphic than most films by Hitchcock. This is probably why there was an intermission. After Margot kills her murderer in self defense Tony rushes home to her side. There are a few minor details Tony must take care of. The main thing would be the key to the house and plant the love letter that Tony found which led him to knowing about his wife's affair. Planting everything this way would assure the detectives that his wife killed the man because he tried to blackmail her, which would still make sure that she would be killed. It took me longer than I like to admit because I was hoping that Tony would have a change of heart. When he hears his wife struggling on the phone he seems to have a change of mind. Perhaps he was just being human and couldn't stand the thought of someone being murdered. What Tony never expects though, is that Mark actually loves Margot more than he does. Mark will do anything to prevent her from being hanged. The same Investigator is on the case and he's not fully believing that Margot murdered the man because of blackmail. He ends up playing a game of cat and mouse until he finally corners Tony. Brilliantly written and executed. There is not a single moment I would change. It seems like Hitchcock was also experimenting with some new shots in this film. People talk about Vertigo and Psycho more than his others, but so far I still stick behind my opinion that those are some of his weaker films.