The 1950s was when Alfred Hitchcock was at the peak of his filmmaking career, and with few exceptions, all his best films were from that decade. That list of his best includes this classic from 1954, his first of three outings with Grace Kelly as his leading lady. We’ve already covered Rear Window here, we’ll doubtless cover To Catch A Thief eventually, which also featured another star of this film, John Williams.
As to the film itself, yes. it’s great. Based on a stage play by Frederick Knott, who adapted his own play for the screen here. Hitchcock said about filming stage plays that all you have to do it to shoot them as is - although it has been said that what he meant was that you have to shoot them the way he would do it. Which is fair enough, as the way he shot this was flawless in capturing the theatrical feel while simultaneously making it feel like a major motion picture event. Trivia buffs might be interested to know that this is the only film Hitchcock ever made in 3D. If you were asked to guess which it was without knowing, this would not be high on your list, North By Northwest, Vertigo, The Birds and even the black & white Psycho would be more natural guesses, but no, it was Dial M For Murder. Things like Margot’s hand shooting out towards the viewer during the struggle were deliberately made very visual for the 3D format.
Hitchcock was called the Master of Suspense, and this is another great showcase of how. From the opening scenes we know something is brewing, but we don’t know what. Margot’s marital infidelity is established quickly and effortlessly - the sort of establishing detail that most directors would take time over, but which Hitchcock sets up in the opening couple of minutes. Because of this detail, it’s not clear who we’re meant to root for until Tony shows his hand to Swann - Swann was played, incidentally, by Anthony Dawson who later appeared as Dent in Dr No. And from the on we know exactly who the goodies and baddies are. Tony shows himself to be highly skilled at planning a perfect murder, we see exactly how his brain works, the whole setup story he tells Swann is gripping. He plans it down to the last detail, and the only thing that stops it coming off is his own watch stopping. Margot is able to fend off her assailant and accidentally kill him, but even this doesn’t stop Tony’s mind, he is able to take a setback and make it work to his own advantage. It takes genius to work out such a backup plan so quickly after the initial plan, the one he’d spent months perfecting so it couldn’t possibly go wrong, goes wrong, and Tony is a criminal genius.
Then of course in the second half, Chief Inspector Hubbard enters the scene as the investigative genius on the side of the angels. Here is the police inspector we all want in our corner. His solution at the end, based on who knows where the key is, is gripping. He tests both Margot and Tony in their turn, and catches Tony out. It’s the classic “only the villain would know this detail” moment, but Hitchcock handled it so beautifully that it doesn’t feel cliched at all. Incidentally, one of Hubbard’s men, Pearson, is played by a young Patrick Allen, whose name and face mean little in themselves, but whose voice was heard on so many things and ultimately became the standard that all British TV and radio announcers try to emulate (and fail miserably!).
This is and always has been in my top five or six Hitchcock movies. Three of the others we have already covered, and doubtless we’ll get round to the other two eventually! Five stars!