A former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.A former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.A former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 5 wins & 3 nominations total
Richard Bender
- Banquet Member
- (uncredited)
Robin Sanders Clark
- Detective
- (uncredited)
Jack Cunningham
- Bobby Outside Flat
- (uncredited)
Robert Dobson
- Police Photographer
- (uncredited)
Guy Doleman
- Detective
- (uncredited)
Bess Flowers
- Woman Departing Ship
- (uncredited)
Robert Garvin
- Banquet Member
- (uncredited)
Herschel Graham
- Banquet Member
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSir Alfred Hitchcock wanted Cary Grant to star, but Warner Brothers felt that he would be miscast as a villain.
- Goofs(at around 24 mins) Wendice throws a £100 bundle on a pink armchair. The money falls right at the back of the seat. A few minutes later, Swann takes the money which is now right in front of the armchair.
- Quotes
Tony Wendice: It's funny to think that just a year ago, I sat in that Knightsbridge Pub actually planning to murder her. And I might have done it, if I hadn't seen something that changed my mind.
C.A. Swan: Well? What did you see?
Tony Wendice: I saw you.
- Crazy creditsThe title is shown on a background of a British telephone dial; its MNO marking is replaced by a single large M which forms the single M of the title.
- Alternate versionsThe film had an intermission in its original 3-D release, although it is less than two hours in length.
- ConnectionsEdited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Le contrôle de l'univers (1999)
Featured review
Tense and exciting.
Tony Wendice (Ray Milland), an ex-tennis player, unhappily married to Margot (Grace Kelly), correctly guesses that she has been cheating, with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Mark writes crime stories. Unbeknown to Margot and Mark, Tony knows about the affair, and wants to teach Margot a little lesson, by taking away the thing that is her life. But, being too guileful to do it himself, Wendice blackmails one of his old school friends into murdering her, and the essential thing to doing it is his latchkey.
Dial M for Murder succeeds on many levels, and it is largely thanks to some superb dialogue, written from a tricksy-yet-capable script that never gets too deep. The cast are a treat. Ray Milland is an absolute gem, extremely sly and dispassionate, yet a character so full of self-assurance that one almost sides with him. Grace Kelly completes her great year (she gave an Oscar-winning performance in The Country Girl and also starred in Rear Window) by emanating the poised, beautiful being, that is vulnerable, yet oddly unassailable. And it's weird in that even though she's cheating on her husband, you care for her a lot more than him (although that could do with the fact that he's trying to kill her...) And John Williams, as the police detective, is quite wonderful.
Alfred Hitchcock manipulates and enthrals his audience here like the master that he is. Each scene has a sense of direction, great pacing, and is staged realistically. Stunning full colour photography and a haunting, atmospheric score from Dimitri Tiomkin complete this great package. The ending, when it comes, feels a little too nice to be truly realistic, but that is my only major quibble with an otherwise highly entertaining, thrilling movie.
Dial M for Murder succeeds on many levels, and it is largely thanks to some superb dialogue, written from a tricksy-yet-capable script that never gets too deep. The cast are a treat. Ray Milland is an absolute gem, extremely sly and dispassionate, yet a character so full of self-assurance that one almost sides with him. Grace Kelly completes her great year (she gave an Oscar-winning performance in The Country Girl and also starred in Rear Window) by emanating the poised, beautiful being, that is vulnerable, yet oddly unassailable. And it's weird in that even though she's cheating on her husband, you care for her a lot more than him (although that could do with the fact that he's trying to kill her...) And John Williams, as the police detective, is quite wonderful.
Alfred Hitchcock manipulates and enthrals his audience here like the master that he is. Each scene has a sense of direction, great pacing, and is staged realistically. Stunning full colour photography and a haunting, atmospheric score from Dimitri Tiomkin complete this great package. The ending, when it comes, feels a little too nice to be truly realistic, but that is my only major quibble with an otherwise highly entertaining, thrilling movie.
helpful•15135
- PizzicatoFishCrouch
- Oct 14, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,400,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $24,845
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $12,562
- Apr 11, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $43,308
- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.66 : 1
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