Movie Review: Dial M for Murder (1954)

Dial M for Murder (1954) directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Former tennis star Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) married Margo (Grace Kelly) for love and money. He's off the tennis circuit and realizes he is rather dependent on her money. His other problem is that she is in love with a crime author from New York named Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). They had an affair while Mark was in London and kept up correspondence when he returned to New York. Tony hatches a complicated scheme to have his wife murdered, using the visiting Tony as an alibi while he has someone else do the deed. But the plan does not go off according to plan, leaving Margo alive and the would-be murderer dead on their living room floor.

This classic Hitchcock thriller is based on a popular play. The story sticks mostly to the apartment with only a few of the trademark visual flourishes that Hitchcock is famous for. The complicated plotting works nicely, almost like an episode of Columbo, where viewers know who the murderer really is and the resolution is in finding the flaw in the plan or some other way to get the criminal to reveal themselves. While the movie doesn't have the bold visuals of North by Northwest or Vertigo, it still is very satisfying to watch.

Recommended.