Review of Dial M for Murder (1981) by Ivan D — 10 Apr 2010

Hitchcock's take on complex police procedural and investigations, with twists and turns capable enough to cover up the lack of true Hitchcockian paranoia and suspense(although the made for 3D murder set piece was terrific).

I have to say that this is the claustrophobic older brother of "North by Northwest" in terms of scale, with majority of the film taking place only inside a lone flat, but this was done for audiences to be able to concentrate on the characters' actions, emotions, and mishaps more.

Though there were really no memorable performance in the film, it was John Williams, who played Inspector Hubbard, who gave the best performance, and I also liked the surrealistic take on Margo's(Grace Kelly) trial.

To sum it all up, this is one of Hitchcock's most basic film, without any intricacies but the plot itself, but it still delivered, not with a suspenseful climax, but with a smartly penned conclusion.

And though the villain in the film was only remotely likable, I can't stop but to root for him and his accomplice, an effective, yet puzzling ingredient only great directors like Hitchcock can pull off.