The perfect suspence movie !
Added 8/6/2009
This could be the best Alfred Hitchcock movie ever made. Ray Miland does a terrific job being the mastermind criminal. Even though his plans get a wrench thrown in them every time, he rolls with the punches thinking up an answer for everything down to the last detail. I would recommend this movie to anyone for the intrigue factor. Alfred Hitchcock was the best, why someone thinks they could re-create one of his movies to make it better (Psycho) are out of their ever lovin' minds. He is the master. Watch it with all the lights out and no interruptions for the full effect. Creepy !!
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"Once he opens that door, we shall know everything."
Added 7/8/2009
Dial M For Murder takes place almost entirely within the confines of one room, breezes by in two acts, contains very little action, features only five characters of any real significance, and yet it feels absolutely epic. Its dialogue-saturated narrative ripples with tension, wit, and menace, every word of the script serving to propel, complicate, and enliven one of the most wonderful and quintessentially Hitchcockian plots you've ever seen. The story revolves around retired tennis player Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) as he attempts to murder his wealthy and unfaithful wife Margot (Grace Kelly. Be still, my beating heart!). A clever and calculating man, Wendice orchestrates a brilliant scheme that, if executed properly, will leave his wife dead and him with an airtight alibi. The plan goes off with exactly one hitch, but it's a pretty big one: Margot doesn't die. Not to be deterred, Wendice sets about turning the situation to his advantage.
I wouldn't want to give anything else away, so suffice to say that the fun of this movie is watching Wendice manipulate the police, Margot, and her lover Mark (Robert Cummings) into resolving the situation in his favor, all the while playing the concerned husband. He's a villain that's fun to root for; we hate his intentions but love his wit, his meticulous attention to detail, and his prodigious talent for improvisation. Squaring off against Wendice is the Columbo-like Inspector Hubbard (John Williams), whose talent for discovering the truth is as intuitive and uncanny as is Wendice's for concealing it.
Milland and Williams steal the show here. Their performances are understated but brilliant. Each man is dapper, witty, and charismatic, and they convey a charming sort of arrogance, an awareness of and admiration for their own cleverness. In their scenes together, they seem to talk over the heads of whoever else happens to be in the room, as if they're facing each other in a private game that nobody else is aware of. Except us, of course.
Hitchcock keeps the tension high, letting the labyrinthine plot strain against the edges of its claustrophobic setting, turning Wendice and Hubbard's conversations about extra latchkeys and missing attaché cases play like high drama. Classic.
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Classic Movie
Added 6/8/2009
If you like the old tried and true classic mystery, this is a great one. If you like Ray Milland, this is a good performance with typical Hitchcock twists. No technological extravaganza, just good entertainment to share with friends and a bowl of popcorn!
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Dial M for Murder--excellent purchase
Added 5/17/2009
The DVD of "Dial M for Murder" was purchased and delivered quickly as described. It plays well. Great transaction.
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3 stars out of 4
Added 1/27/2009
The Bottom Line:
Dial M for Murder is much better in its first half than in the predictable conclusion and it can feel a bit stagey at times, but Milland is delicious and the Master's direction is inspired: it's not one of Hitch's best, but it's a solid film.
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A Perfect Murder?.....NOT!
Added 3/25/2008
Aren't we lucky that cell phones weren't around in the 50's. Then Grace Kelly would never have had to leave her bed, to answer that potentialy fatal phone call in the living room.No matter how often you view this very suspense filled, thriller from Hitch, you still want to shout out to Grace Kelly."Look Out Grace...there's a murderer behind you!" That's one of the things I love about Hitch films. The connection to the characters, the need to help them. You practically want to get up and put those scissors in her hand, so she can protect herself from evil. Dial M has many of those moments, and is a superb classic that stands up to many repeat viewings.
Ray Milland has discovered his wife (Kelly) is having a love affair with Robert Cummings. Also she is the rich one in the family and he decides her time is up. He ropes in and hires a guy whose lifestyle makes for an easy blackmail mark. He's going to pay him 1000 pounds(well, after all it's only a few minutes work), and has it all worked out. Right down to the smallest detail. But uh-oh, the perfect plan starts unraveling almost the minute the plan is set in motion.The details start to go amiss, and don't stop until the end. Small things at first, a slow watch, phone troubles, the wrong person gets killed, you know little stuff like that! It is a joy to watch Ray Milland in action as he must explain away all of it to his wife and the police.
The film is a thing of beauty. Hitchcock made this film from a hit play, and filmed it in the same fashion. Most of the scenes are set in the confines of a small apartment. Hitch moves his actors around like the master he was. As mentioned Milland is a genius, Grace Kelly is wonderful as the good girl except for the little matter of the extra-marital affair. And of course we forgive her for this, because we too, like the Robert Cummings character better then the husband. Cummings also makes the most of his part. As a mystery writer, who knows the perfect murder can only happen in a book, he tries his hand at solving this mystery as well. John Williams, another favorite of Hitch's, is the Detective heading up the murder investigation. He's perfect as that Columbo type, who you know, that he knows what might have taken place, but needs to prove it. And it is fabulous to watch him put the pieces together.
Where's Hitch?....Where could he be in this film mostly made in one room. Ahhh..about 12 minutes in..the 'Picture' of innocence as he mugs for the camera at a class reunion.
The DVD is available here:Dial M for Murder - see my review of the DVD for features and quality details
A great addition to your Hitch collection...and always look behind you when answering the phone!..Enjoy...Laurie
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Dial M for Entertainment
Added 9/30/2005
I must be the last living American fan of Alfred Hitchcock movies to see DIAL M FOR MURDER. This thriller is based on the play by Frederick Knott, who also wrote the screenplay for Hitchcock. The movie stars Grace Kelly (Margot) who is married to Ray Milland (Tony, the ex-tennis player), along with Robert Cummings(Mark Halliday) who thinks that his recent affair with Margot is not known to Tony. Of course he is wrong as Tony vows revenge and plans the perfect murder of his wife. There are no perfect crimes, however-- at least not in the movies-- or we wouldn't have a film that runs for two hours. DIAL M FOR MURDER shows Mr. Hitchcock as his best as he leads the viewer down one labyrinth after another with much style and intelligence. The acting is fine, particularly that of John Williams who plays Chief Inspector Hubbard, who solves the crime as only a dry, detached British police officer can. Although Grace Kelly is billed as one of the stars, she spends a great deal of the movie time off camera on death row. I'm happy to announce that almost dying becomes her as she is just as refined and beautiful when she leaves the prison as before she went into it. About the only difference we notice is that she has gone from wearing a fur stole to a sensible (Republican?) brown cloth coat. I was reminded of how much we as movie lovers lost when Ms. Kelly abdicated her position as a Hollywood queen to become a princess of a region about the size of Central Park in New York City.
Query: Shouldn't Margot have been suspicious when Tony called her from his dinner appointment and didn't say anything into the telephone for several minutes while her assailant tried to strangle her? Shouldn't she have found his behavior strange at best and at worst damaging to his credibility?
At any rate, this movie-- in quite beautiful technicolor-- is entertainment at its very best.
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The perfect suspence movie !
Added 8/6/2009
This could be the best Alfred Hitchcock movie ever made. Ray Miland does a terrific job being the mastermind criminal. Even though his plans get a wrench thrown in them every time, he rolls with the punches thinking up an answer for everything down to the last detail. I would recommend this movie to anyone for the intrigue factor. Alfred Hitchcock was the best, why someone thinks they could re-create one of his movies to make it better (Psycho) are out of their ever lovin' minds. He is the master. Watch it with all the lights out and no interruptions for the full effect. Creepy !!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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