Cheap Dial M for Murder (Video) (Alfred Hitchcock) Price

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Customer Reviews of Dial M for Murder

Hitch's first colour film and the beautiful Grace Kelly
Although Hitchcock considered this film one of his lesser efforts, DIAL M FOR MURDER (based on the hit Broadway play by Frederick Knott) contains enough thrills and twists to keep fans happy, and Hitchcock's touch is evident in every scene. <
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>Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly) seems to have the perfect marriage with her tennis champion husband Tony (Ray Milland). But we soon learn that Margot has another man on the side, Mark Halliday (Bob Cummings). When Tony discovers the affair, he plots the death of Margot at the hands of a `burglar'. But the plan goes awry when Margot manages to free herself and kills her assailant. Tony accuses his bewildered wife of murder and it's up to the resourceful Inspector Hubbard (John Williams) to solve the case and prove Margot's innocence. <
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>While the film doesn't have the same scope or impact as earlier films like "Shadow of a Doubt" or "Notorious", DIAL M FOR MURDER is the perfect film version of the Knott play. Hitchcock wisely did not open up the play too much, instead keeping the action almost exclusively in the Wendice apartment. Rather than creating a claustrophobic feeling, innovative camera angles and blocking create a "play-like" atmosphere without the cramped confines of the space becoming an issue. The performances are fine. Ray Milland delivers one of his finest portrayals, and the gives the character of Tony a softness and vulnerability that other actors might not have tapped into. In her first Hitchcock film, Grace Kelly is amazing as the targeted wife, looking scrumptious in some lovely gowns. Bob Cummings tries to give the one-dimensional role of Mark some life but the viewer is always more taken with Milland and Kelly. The supporting players John Williams and Anthony Dawson (as the ill-fated victim) both deliver handsomely. Originally filmed and screened in 3-D (and having the distinction of being Hitch's first colour movie), DIAL M FOR MURDER was a sound critical and financial success and remains an enjoyable and entertaining tale from Hitchcock's gallery of films.

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Not a movie to shut you brain off
This is a great movie but it has a few drawbacks. Most young people will have problem appreciating it as you'll see in the reviews below. I would've guessed most people who watched this movie has an idea what they were going to get, but some got off somehow. It has far more dialogue, detail, intelligence and far less violence or action than current thrillers. This movie demands much attention even by standards from those old detective/police movies as Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Chritie's, etc. No wonder one reviewer said this product didn't get much mouth-to-mouth recommendations. But for me this is challenging. It's incredible how prefectionist people were back then without the countless "top ten..." from today, as many critics as today, althoug this particular product might have a minor few mistakes. <
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> Maybe you have already read summaries of this movie from the editorials or spotlighs, so you're already aware the movie starts by introducing a marriage in trouble where the wife (Margot M. Wendice) is cheating with a writer (Mark Halliday) while the husband (Tony Wendice) is well aware..... and planning how to make profits rather than get revenge. The he begins his master with a huge degree of elegance that doesn't help to make it work in real life as someone tells him...."easy on paper, not on reality" There's some good suspense meanwhile but the challenge for the public starts when police does its investigation. Here's where the movie has some minor mistakes: <
>Tony tells the police he didn't know what time he called his wife, but later the police finds out he did know because Mark says Tony had asked the time. Besides, Tony never clarifies why he called his wife. Anyway Tony creates a lot of confusion to get away. Then the challenge is catch him and the movie gets even more interesting. <
>Finally, one more thing I enjoyed was not hearing the ridiculous words like "bloody" that are endlessly repeated in many other movies with British characters.

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Good Old Murder-Mystery
Recently I have noticed that I enjoy the older movies. I bought Dial M for Murder because I had heard how good it was. The comparisons between the plot of that murder mystery and the typical murder mystery of today is that this one was a little less predictable. As the story evolves you have an idea what is going to happen, but it still keeps you on the edge of your seat, until it actually happens. Definitely worth adding to your collection.