Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings
A former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.
Watching ‘Dial M For Murder’ I thought the premise seemed awfully familiar. Then I realized it was remade in 1998 as ‘A Perfect Murder’, starring Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Margot, a wealthy socialite, is married to Tony. She is having an affair with writer Mark Halliday. Unbeknownst to her, Tony knows about her affair. Tony was a big tennis star once, and now that he doesn’t play anymore, he realizes how dependent he is on Margot to satisfy his expensive taste. He decides to have her killed so he can inherit her fortunate.
Tony contacts an old school mate of his, Charles Swan, who goes by various names due to his criminal nature. With enough information on Charles, Tony blackmails him into killing Margot, and Charles realizes he has no option. Tony plans the murder and Charles’ escape plan to perfection. However, on the night of the attack things does not go according to plan. And then the investigation starts…
There are a few twists along the way. The story did get a bit over-complicated towards the end, so I can perfectly well understand why it was changed for the remake. I must be honest, I much prefer ‘A Perfect Murder’, which I found more intriguing, and more suspenseful. ‘Dial M for Murder’ is also a lot more dialogue-heavy. Back in 1954 – with no other movie to compare it with – ‘Dial M for Murder’ must have captivated the audiences.
Would I watch it again? No.
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