Travis Simpkins: Dial M for Murder (1954): Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly and Ray Milland

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Dial M for Murder (1954): Alfred Hitchcock, Grace Kelly and Ray Milland

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Dial M for Murder (1954) was the Master's only film to be shot in 3-D. Purposely stage-like in composition, objects were placed in front of the camera to add depth as the camera rolled using the "Natural Vision" 3-D method. Hitchcock later said, "3-D was a nine day wonder, and I came in on the ninth day." Nevertheless, the story is amazingly good and suspenseful, dealing with a husband planning the perfect murder and arranging his wife's death... only to have things come unhinged at the last moment. The cast is great, including the ever-beautiful Grace Kelly, Ray Milland, Robert Cummings and John Williams. The story was re-filmed in 1998 as A Perfect Murder.