Dial M for Murder is a classic thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock and starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, John Williams, Robert Cummings, and Anthony Dawson.
Tony Wendice (Milland) is an ex-tennis player married to wealthy socialite Margo (Kelly), who is herself having an affair with American crime writer Mark Halliday (Cummings). Wendice wants out of the marriage and probably a bit of revenge, but doesn't want to give up the meal ticket, so conspires in an extremely long con to have his wife killed by a seedy ex schoolmate Swann (Dawson). But everything goes utterly tits-up with the murder, Swann winds up dead, and Wendice, making the best of a bad situation, manipulates events so that it looks like Margo killed Swann deliberately for blackmailing her. She's sentenced to death, but through the persistence of Halliday and, more importantly, Chief Inspector Hubbard (Williams), the truth comes out and she's released while Wendice faces arrest.
Dial M for Murder is based on a play, and Hitchcock has a knack for filming plays as plays without opening them up and losing the focus. The play is also pretty dialog based (I mean, they generally are), which in a movie translates to people talking a lot. But again, Hitchcock manages to make that exciting because of camera angles, subtle little moments and motions, and even shadows on the wall. And, of course, it doesn't hurt that he has a fantastic cast - Milland is smooth and likeable even when he's planning murder. Dawson manages to come off as kind of bumbling and pathetic even as he's trying to strangle a woman. Grace Kelly is...well, largely a plot device or a prop, if we're being honest, but she plays her scenes well (one of the issues with the whole movie being set in one apartment is that a lot of the really meaty bits with Margo - trial, sentencing, and so on - happen offscreen).
The really impressive performance is John Williams as Hubbard, however, because he makes us actually believe that a police inspector would care so much about getting the right person for a crime that they'd continue working a case even after someone has been convicted. Hubbard comes off initially as kind of avuncular and maybe a little clueless, but he's actually very shrewd and deliberate,
Not exactly related, but I watched a video on Yubtub recently about why dialog in modern movies is so difficult to understand versus how clear it was in older movies, and it has to do with positions of mics and that actors had to actually project and face specific directions. And the result is that someones dialog in older movies comes off as a little funny, since it's louder and more enunciated than the situation might require, but for the most part, it's perfectly effective even if the actors can't whisper or mumble. I remember thinking about that during the last scene where Tony's scheme is finally laid bare and he offers everyone a drink.
My Grade: A-
Rewatch Value: Medium
Next up: The Howling
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