| | |  | Science Fiction | Home » » » » Dial M for Murder | | | | | | | Description: | | When American writer Mark Halliday visits the very married Margot Wendice in London he unknowingly sets off a chain of blackmail and murder. After sensing Margot's affections for Halliday her husband Tony Wendice fears divorce and disinheritance and plots her death. Knowing former school chum Captain Lesgate is involved in illegal activities Tony blackmails him into conspiring to kill Margot. When she kills Lesgate in self-defense Tony implicates her as being guilty of premeditated murder. Halliday must out-stratagize Tony to save Margot's live.Running Time: 105 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 085391115625 | | | Features: | |
• When American writer Mark Halliday visits the very married Margot Wendice in London, he unknowingly sets off a chain of blackmail and murder. After sensing Margot's affections for Halliday, her husband, Tony Wendice, fears divorce and disinheritance, and plots her death. Knowing former school chum Captain Lesgate is involved in illegal activities, Tony blackmails him into conspiring to kill Margot
| | | Product Details: | | | Actors:
| Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Joe Alves, Peter Bogdanovich, Richard Franklin | | Director:
| Alfred Hitchcock | | Format:
| Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC | | Language:
| English, French | | Subtitle:
| English, Spanish, French | | Number of Discs:
| 1 | | Studio:
| Warner Home Video | | Run Time:
| 105 minutes | | DVD Release Date:
| September 07, 2004 | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 113 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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 Clever murder mystery, theatricalMar 13, 2010
I wouldn't put this movie in the top drawer of Hitchcock's output but it's still well worth watching. With the DVD, the extra features are very illuminating and watching the analysis of people like Peter Bogdanovich deepens the viewer's understanding and enjoyment.
The movie is based on a successful play by Frederick Knott, one of those playwrights much celebrated in their own time and now mostly forgotten. Hitchcock's treatment is very theatrical. Almost all the action takes place in one room. But his camera angles and the way he switches focus from one character to the next is masterful.
SPOILERS AHEAD: Tony Wendice, an ex-tennis player, wants to get rid of his unfaithful wife. He hires an old university acquaintance with a seamy past to do the deed. But his perfect crime goes wrong and the murderer ends up murdered. Quick as a flash, Wendice frames his wife for the murder.
The performances are all excellent but Ray Milland as Wendice stands out. This is a superb depiction of an oily, comletely amoral yet charming man. It's part of Hitchcock's genius that the viewer actually sympathizes with him. Grace Kelley is gorgeous as the wife, although not required to act up a storm. Other great performances come from John Williams, the chief inspector, and Antony Dawson, the murderer turned victim.
There are parts of the plot which are totally unrealistic and it's hard to say anything deep is explored in this movie. Just watch it to enjoy a master at work, in full command of a superb cast.
 Second tier Hitchcock but still worth watchingFeb 28, 2010
I'm surprised that this is getting so many high ratings. It has never been considered one of Hitchcock's best films despite the minimal presence of Grace Kelly. Hitchcock was, in my opinion, the greatest filmmaker of all time, but his virtues were overwhelmingly visual, not verbal. Of the dozens and dozens of famous scenes in his many movies, virtually all of them were focused on visual techniques. The basic problem with DIAL M FOR MURDER is that it is almost all talk. It is a stagey adaptation of a stage play that has few (though not none) Hitchcockian touches. For the student of film, it is one of the least interesting of Hitchcock's films of the 1950s, especially given that the film is rarely seen in 3D, in which it was filmed. I'm pretty certain that the 3D cameras along with the talk-talk-talk nature of the film it simply isn't compelling.
The fact is that most film viewers are focused merely on whether a story is interesting. The performances of the actors are all good and the plot is fun, but as a Hitchcock film, it is one of his least interesting. Over the years, I've seen nearly all of Hitchcock's movies 4 or 5 or even 6 times. But I've barely been able to stand watching DIAL M FOR MURDER three times. While I think Hitchcock may have made more out and out masterpieces than any director who has ever lived, and certainly more than any director who worked primarily in Hollywood, he also made a surprising number of weak films, usually when he ceased to be interesting in a project after it began. This film doesn't belong to the bottom tier of films with true clunkers like UNDER CAPRICORN and JAMAICA INN, but it in is in the next batch. The screenplay makes it perhaps more entertaining than another stagey film, ROPE, but the technical challenges of that other film at least make it more interesting from a technical standpoint. Apart from the 3D effects in this film (which unfortunately don't work for us), there is simply not much interesting here.
By the way, I've not heard precisely how they get the print for this version of the film. 3D films were created by the use of two parallel cameras. My guess is that they simply take the film from one of the two cameras and use that for the 2D print that we see now. Still, of the sixty odd Hitchcock films that I have seen, I would place this somewhere between 40 and 50 on the list in the order of my preference. It isn't a bad film; it simply isn't representative of the Master at his best.
0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Tough to rateJan 30, 2010
It's tough to rate this one as all 5 ratings apply to some parts of this movie. The plot line is tttttt-erribly full of holes & Bob Cummins does no one any good as the paramour. He was supposed to be in love with an understated, slinky, see you at the back door female. He instead played a frantic flighty female. Ray Miland is cool as the I'm not as smart as I think I am criminal. Grace Kelley is her usual classical female. Check "Rear Window" for her best. This is a 2 star.
The best of this picture goes to the old investigator who was analytical, amusing, thoughtful, respectful & strong as needed. John Williams is the star here & no doubt. He defeats the bad guy, rescues the damsel, keeps Cummins from mucking it up & restores proper order to things. He is not responsible for the crater lake sized holes in the story which he fills more than any other character. Here is a 5 star.
Hitchcock takes a beating down on 1 & 2 star reviews but you see the master in the lighting & photography. His forte in any case. Here is a 4 star.
The flow of the scenes was a bit jerky hopping from one to the next sometimes. Some people blame directing or editing for it & it can sometimes be. I think here it was a storyline fault not directing or editing. Remember changing a story doesn't mean better it just means different. This is a 3 star.
The 1 star portion goes to every human involved in producing this movie that I both love & hate to love.
My overall review probably makes no sense to me or anyone else ( I'm thinking now)- You should see the sets & lighting, enjoy the really good characters as they outweigh the bad, forget the storyline errors & enjoy what Hitchcock did extremely well here. 4 stars.
 One of the Best!Jan 21, 2010
This is just a great movie! Considering that it takes place in one room, it is a masterpiece.
Movie reviewDec 24, 2009
VERY happy with the movie I received. The DVD was in mint condition and not one glitch throughout the movie! Thanks!
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