Don't Hang Up: Hitchcock's Classic Film Celebrates Its 70th Anniversary
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Abandoning this “stage-to-screen” camera gimmick, he decided to make his (only) attempt at a 3D film with Dial M for Murder (though most audiences in 1954 saw it in regular “flat 2D” because so few theatres were equipped for 3D). Hitchcock avoided typical 3D “shock effects” like weapons thrusting out at the audience or objects falling into the camera lens, but it didn’t really make it a better film-watching experience. Dial M didn’t need it.
At a time when movies were actively competing with the growing popularity of television that kept audiences at home instead of going out to cinemas, the competitive attempt of 3D wasn’t working and fewer films were being released in 3D. Dial M for Murder was one of the last. In the following year, Hitchcock began winning “the TV battle” differently with his top-rated “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” series And with Dial M, he let his trademark suspenseful, emotionally appealing story drive audience reaction instead of a “gimmick.”
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Dial M for Murder Vintage 1950’s Movie Cinema Poster; Dial M For Murder directed by Alfred Hitchcock 1954, Warner Bros., U.S.; One-sheet poster by Bill Gold starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams, Patrick Allen, Robin Hughes, Martin Sam Milner.
The film is shorter than the play, but the crispness of the dialogue and the tension of the narrative that he carried over from the play worked well. And many of the expected “Hitchcock touches” are there:
- An enigmatic beautiful blond character at the center of the drama (played here by Grace Kelly in the first of three films she made with Hitchcock).
- A MacGuffin – an object that is more critical to the characters than the audience.
- A tendency for the audiences to like and reluctantly root for the “bad guy.”
Dial M created a challenge for Hitchcock’s signature cameo, as it was in his other films with limited space for him to appear, such as Lifeboat where he appears in a newspaper weight-reduction ad or Rear Window where he shows up in one of the courtyard apartments winding a clock. Another stage-to-screen challenge involved Hitchcock taking advantage of recognizable locations like Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge and the Statue of Liberty in his films. While the space limitations of a stage play like Dial M negated including such notable landmarks, it also increased a sense of claustrophobia that Hitchcock took advantage of in the film.
Taking place almost entirely in the Wendice apartment, Dial M for Murder was a real test for the cameo appearance. Hitchcock tackled this by placing himself in a framed wall photo of a college dinner along with two of the main on-stage characters involved in the intrigue. The inclusion almost always generated a chuckle from audiences, who by this time in his career knew they’d see Hitch somewhere and were amused by his creativity in Dial M.
In a landmark year for movies that included On the Waterfront, The Caine Mutiny as well as Hitchcock’s own Rear Window, Dial M for Murder had the 14th highest box office and ranks fifth in Internet Movie Database’s most popular films of 1954. While a remake titled A Perfect Murder in 1998 with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow fell short, Hitchcock’s version remains a fan favorite, and it is a special treat for audiences of both stage and screen in Cincinnati to have a chance to see both the play and the movie during the 70th Anniversary of the film’s release.
Joe Horine is a film historian, professor and screenwriter. He has taught film, history and communications at the University of Cincinnati and has worked with multiple directors as a screen- writer including Brian De Palma. He will host film screenings of the movie on Aug. 19, 21 and 26. Click here for information.