
Dial ‘M’ for Murder (1954)
Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
I grew up watching Dial ‘M’ for Murder and it’s long been one of my favorites from the “Master of Suspense”. For a film that takes place solely (with two small exceptions) inside an apartment, it’s amazing how he maneuvers through the plot. Even with these limitations Hitchcock utilizes magnificent staging and camera work so you never once feel claustrophobic. As he’d proven with Lifeboat and Rope, he has a knack for creating suspense in tight spaces. Everything in the film has these subtle nuances that add to the experience, from the cinematography to the music to the facial expressions of the characters. To this day it gives me chills when Grace Kelly screams out “I saw his eyes!”.
As a whole the film plays out like an elegantly choreographed dance. The characters waltz around each other in each scene, which is particularly noticeable in the scene between Wendice and Swann. We spend the latter part of the film watching Wendice and Chief Inspector Hubbard in a mental tango as one tries to outsmart the other. Even after seeing it so many times it continues to grip me because it’s so intellectually and visually stimulating. The film was shot specifically for 3-D (and it helps to know this fact), so everything in the frame is deliberately placed so that you feel like you’re in the room. And man what I would give to have a chance to see this in 3-D on the big screen, I would imagine it’s pretty spectacular (albeit headache inducing). With or without that extra dimension, it’s just a wonderful film that showcases Hitchcock’s mastery as a filmmaker.
Grade: A