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davidahallnum5
Aug 149 min read

Dial M for Murder 3D Blu-ray Review

MOVIE REVIEW

Dial M for Murder is a 1954 Alfred Hitchcock thriller based on the stage play by Frederick Knott. It revolves around a man named Tony Wendice, a tennis player, who married to a woman named Margot. Realizing that his wife is having an affair with another man named Mark Halliday, he blackmails his old college buddy Charles into a plot to murder her. The plan goes into action about halfway through the film, but that's about all I can say. All I'll finish with is that the latter half of the film turns into a reverse murder mystery where despite the audience knowing who was out to kill Margot, the police officers and those surrounding Tony struggle to figure that out.

I might be in the minority here, but I've never actually seen many Alfred Hitchcock films. The only one I recall ever sitting through to the end was The Birds. I've read up about how great Rear Window and Vertigo are. And of course, Psycho is purely iconic. But I still have yet to actually sit down and watch them from beginning to end. So I'll just have to take most people's word when they say that Dial M for Murder is one of Alfred's weaker films. Though, that's not supposed to be so much a degradation to the film as it is a testament to how great Alfred's other works are. Taking it on its own, though, I actually found Dial M to be an enthralling thriller.

Upon reviewing this film, I realized I haven't actually reviewed that many intellectual thrillers, especially ones from way back in the day. I can't really delve that much into the plot itself. This is one of those movies. But there were certainly elements that help the film stand out. For one, being how Dial M was based on a stage play, 90% of the film takes place in one room. There are some random shots that take place outside or in other buildings (if you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about). But for the most part, it's all in the apartment, a fascinating feat I surprisingly haven't seen that much of in murder drama films. Even with that, Ray Milland makes a solid villain who's menacing when he needs to be while also being charming enough to persuade anyone to his liking. Grace Kelly is a blonde bombshell as well as a great actress, and she brings her A-game acting chops here. The script here is pitch-perfect with engaging dialogue and a balanced tone that knows how to be keep the suspense going the whole way through, though I think most of that can be credited towards Frederick Knott rather than Hitchcock, the author of the play. The movie does meander a bit towards the end. But in the moments where it counts, Dial M for Murder is intense, captivating, and iconic.

And that's about all there is to it, without giving anything away that is. I know Hitchcock has put out better works that I have yet to see. But it seems he's really brought his all to this relatively modest story about a man's revenge plot and a few people that get caught in the crossfires. Personally, I found the film to be top-notch and thoroughly entertaining. For a thriller, how much more can you ask? I don't know if I'd call it my personal favorite murder drama. But it is at least in the top 5. Though seeing how few murder dramas I watch in general, I doubt that's saying much. Still, if you have a good couple of hours to spend and you're looking for a rock solid Hitchcock feature, Dial M for Murder delivers the goods.


OVERALL FILM RATING: 4/5


3D REVIEW

Dial M for Murder has got to be one of the most fascinating 3D releases out there, not because of how good the 3D is, but because of the story behind it. The film was in production during the height of the 3D craze of the 50's when 3D hits were hitting the theaters like House of Wax and Creature from the Black Lagoon. Alfred Hitchcock himself was reluctant to move along with filming in native 3D seeing how the original story never really called for it, but he went along with it anyway. Alas, when the film finally did release, 3D was so out of the public interest that upon its release, people were staying away from the film in droves unless they just released the flat version. And so, Warner Bros. complied. It wouldn't be until the 1980s when the 3D version of the film would get dug up again and shown in public theaters for the first time. So yeah, just the novelty of the film alone makes it a standout in a sea of 3D flicks. And thankfully nowadays, there's enough affordable 3D Blu-rays of the movie out there so that virtually anyone with the equipment can see Dial M for Murder the way it was initially intended.

But how actually is the 3D? Is it a gem that 1950s audiences missed out on just because of how disastrously the 3D craze crashed right as it came out? Honestly, probably not. But it's far from a waste of time and money. Like Alfred Hitchcock acknowledged, the premise of the film, being set in one room and not lending its way to atmospherics, great depth, or even pop outs, wasn't the best choice for 3D. That being send, once he caved into Warner Bros. requests, there was at least an attempt to use it. Throughout the film, the camera is placed in certain angles such as from the tops of ceilings, right next to chairs, behind doorways, in hallways, or besides desks with lamps or candles on them in order to draw attention to the depth on display. It's subtle, but it does more often than not elevate the 3D from a state of just simply being present. The overall effect of the film, to me at least, is like looking through a window into the apartment. The 3D doesn't particularly draw attention to itself, but this isn't a poor way to use it. If anything, the feeling of being in front of the characters does make the story somewhat more engaging. And thankfully, it manages to tow the line between featuring strong parallax and causing eye strain, allowing for the room to really stretch out while not creating health issues similar to Jaws 3-D.

But while the 3D may not be the highlight of the show most of the time, there are several shots in the film that did actually stand out. A couple of them, of course, are the close-ups of the rotary phone. For those of you who don't know, in order to get the shot and without compromising the 3D effect, Alfred Hitchcock got Warner Bros. to build a giant rotary phone along with a giant wooden finger. And the resulting shot not only contains a surprising amount of depth for such a modest shot, but also highlights the small holes in the dial. This is an instance where I think the 3D actually enhances the story in way that's quite poetic. Dial M for Murder has quite the shocking lack of pop outs, even back in 50s when depth in-screen and out-screen was about 50/50. Here, it's pretty much 99/1. But the one percent of film that did use pop outs did make an impression. The opening credits are a pretty big example. But there were two big story moments that made even bigger examples. SPOILER WARNING The first was when Margot was getting attacked and her hand reaches out in your direction for help, and the second is when a police officer makes a huge discovery and holds out a key for you to get a good look at END SPOILERS

So yeah, Dial M for Murder, despite not having a story properly suited for 3D, does manage to get some milage out of the extra dimension thanks to the careful cinematography and direction of Alfred Hitchcock. That said, I wouldn't exactly consider it a 3D must-watch. Sure, the 3D isn't by any means hard to watch or poorly constructed. But the movie itself functions perfectly even without it. It's not like with Titanic or Jaws where even if you don't need 3D to fully appreciate it, it still packs an even bigger visual punch if you choose to see it that way. With Dial M for Murder, Alfred really does try to utilize 3D in a special manner. But too much of the time, it is still just kinda there. And like I said before, that's just because the story doesn't call for it. Sometimes, I even found me having to remind myself I was watching a 3D film because for a good 70% of the time, nothing really interesting was being done with the technology. Yes, it does bring the room out in a lot of interesting ways (especially when Grace Kelly is on-screen). But because the whole film is kept in one room, the effect wears off fairly quickly.

There is actually an exception to the rule, and as wonky as it is, it does make for an interesting case study in 50s filmmaking. And that would be whenever a movie screen is used as a backdrop. There are times when someone is looking through a window, looking onto a giant ship, or looking down the street when the backdrop is just straight flat. That would not be the fault of a lazy conversion team or a stylistic choice such as with Beowulf. That would be because back in the day, rather than filming on location in street or docks, Hollywood would often rather place the actor in front of a movie screen playing a video to act as the background. It's a trick that worked well enough in 2D. But when filming your set in native 3D, there's no hiding it (if they ever do a 3D conversion of Airplane!, I want them to keep that flat backdrop intact). And in Dial M for Murder, it's more than little distracting, though it's only in a few select scenes.

What am I forgetting? Oh, yeah. In the last 20 minutes of the film, the parallax randomly inverts for about a minute and half. That's a very minor complaint, but it's worthy notice.

All in all, Dial M for Murder is a bit of a mixed bag 3D-wise. On one hand, the addition of an extra dimension to the film does make the apartment more spacious, there are shots that create some neat camera angles for the 3D, and they throw in a couple of memorable pop outs for good measure. But on the other hand, it is a bit unnecessary from a story point of view. In the end, you could watch it 2D and walk away just about as satisfied with the film. I was at one point thinking about ranking this movie's 3D as just "ok," but then I thought about it and concluded that Dial M does have enough working in its favor to warrant a modest recommendation, unlike Pirates: Band of Misfits where it truly is "take it or leave it." It's not a very high recommendation, though. If you're just a casual 3D moviegoer, there's no harm in letting this one slide. But if you are a curious one who wants to see what this Alfred Hitchcock classic would look like in 3D, you'll probably find enough bang for your buck to make it worth your while.


3D RATING: GOOD


OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D






FINAL THOUGHTS


In a way, I believe that Dial M for Murder's lasting reputation is tied in with how infamous its history is with regards to its 3D version. That's a bit of a shame because otherwise, this really holds up as a highly entertaining, intellectually engaging, and suspenseful drama that once again proves great thrills don't need to come from shock or controversial matter, but rather from just plum good writing. While Frederick Knott may have conceived the original story and brought it to light via the stage, Hitchcock, being the master of direction he is, makes it work as a film. I had myself quite the experience with Dial M for Murder. And after seeing, I'm persuaded to check out something like Rear Window or Psycho in the near future. Until then, I implore you to check out Dial M if you haven't already. Now, would I suggest getting the 3D version? I'd say yes, but do know what you're headed into. If you're looking for a surprisingly mesmerizing 3D experience from an unlikely place as with the likes of Hugo or The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet, you won't find it here. This is more so a case of Hitchcock having something forced onto him and making the best out of it. You can get along fine without the 3D. But if you want to check it out just for the novelty, I say go for it. It's easy on the eyes and it does offer some nice 3D imagery every once in a while. Whatever your decision is, Dial M for Murder is a great movie however you see it, and one I highly recommend seeing, especially for youngsters who need an example in good writing if they seek to go to work in entertainment.


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