When I was a kid my friends and I went to one of the local movie theatres to see Hitchcock’s Dial M For Murder (1954) in 3-D. We wore
those flimsy paper glasses and gasped when Grace Kelly's hand emerged from the screen, clutching a pair of scissors.
Recently I got to
relive that moment by attending a screening at Film Forum of a newly restored version
in digital 3-D. This time we wore solid, plastic glasses. The only film
Hitchcock ever shot in 3-D, it was great to see it again on the big screen.
Tony Wendice (Ray
Milland) is a former tennis player whose wealthy wife, Margot (Grace Kelly), is having an
affair with an American crime writer, Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Tony
plots what he believes to be the perfect murder of his wife, the details of which includes pressuring a former
schoolmate, Charles Swann (Anthony Dawson), into committing the crime. Tony
invites the visiting Mark to attend a stag party with him while Margot stays
home. The plan is for Swann to strangle Margot, make it look like a burglary, and
leave without a trace. What could go wrong? Apparently, a lot. Margot fights back and winds up
killing Swann. With some quick thinking Tony decides to use the situation to his advantage and implies to the police that Swann was blackmailing Margot, thereby giving her a reason for wanting him dead. Margot is accused of murder, and tried and convicted. While she's in jail awaiting
execution, Mark takes it upon himself to prove her innocence and finds an
unlikely ally in Chief Inspector Hubbard (John Williams).
Dial M For Murder is not one of Hitchcock’s best films. But
it’s still a Hitchcock film, which makes it more enjoyable than most other films. Grace Kelly is
her usual sophisticated, beautiful self and Ray Milland plays the charming snake like few can. I’ve never
been a big Robert Cummings fan and he didn’t change my mind with this film but Anthony Dawson was born to play a petty thief and John Williams steals every scene he’s in with his humorous delivery.
Set almost entirely
in the Wendices’ small flat, Hitchcock shot low, which combined with the crowded, richly coloured flat lends a claustrophobic feel
to the film. Based on a
popular play by Frederick Knott, at times it feels like you’re watching a
filmed play but that doesn’t take away from the moments of suspense or the
story itself.
The scene in which
Tony invites Swann over to his flat under the pretence of buying a used car
from him is important to the story because it establishes their relationship
and outlines the murder plan. Yet for the first time I noticed that the scene drags, too long compared to the rest of the film, even though it offers one of Hitchcock’s better screen appearances (he’s seen in a class reunion photo hanging on the wall).
The murder scene
though is classic Hitchcock. Tony phones Margot from the club, a ploy to get
her out of bed and over to the desk where Swann lies in wait. But everything
goes wrong when Margot, who’s being strangled on the desk, grabs a
pair of scissors and stabs Swann in the back. The irony is the reason the
scissors are out in the first place is that Tony suggested Margot spend the
evening pasting clippings of his tennis achievements in a scrapbook. Tony, who is still on the phone, hears
the entire thing, never flinching once.
This is where 3-D is used most effectively. I must confess, I’m not a big fan of the
medium. The recent films I’ve seen have given me a headache (Alice in Wonderland was a painful
experience) but the use in this film is fine if not very dramatic, save for Margot’s clutching hand.
Common objects
often play an important part in Hitchcock films. In Dial M For Murder it’s a latchkey (in Notorious there is an important key as well). At first, how
Swann got into the Wendice flat is a puzzle to Hubbard as is the fact that the
key in Margot’s purse does not fit the door. Later on, he puts two and two
together and a key helps to uncover the truth.
If you've never seen
Dial M For Murder or it's been a while, I suggest you check it out, whether in 3-D or not.
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