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Dial M for Murder

While doing the right thing is important in real life; in regards to the world of cinema, sometimes things would be better if the villain won. This is the case with Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, a film that would have been more satisfying had the scoundrel rode off into the sunset.

Margot (Grace Kelly) has been having an on and off affair with an American writer, Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), while her tennis player husband, Tony Wendice (Ray Milland), was away. Now that Tony has given up the tennis life for good, Margot decides to put the put the relationship with mark to rest. The past comes back to haunt her when a love note that Mark wrote during their affair is stolen, and Margot is blackmailed via a series of anonymous letters. Little does Margot know that this is all part of Tony’s plan. After discovering that his wife cheated on him, Tony has devised the perfect murder for his revenge. Tony blackmails Captain Lesgate, a shady character from Tony’s past, to commit the murder. Tony is confident his plan is flawless but he soon learns that there is no such thing as the perfect murder.

Dial M for Murder is a film that works slightly better as a play than a feature. Although it is entertainingly suspenseful, the last act of the film really irked me a bit. I think my minor squabble with the film is directly linked to the characters of Mark and Chief Inspector Hubbard (John Williams). I found Mark to be rather annoying in the last half of the film. He goes from being the quiet “other man” who has been instructed by Margot not to say anything of their affair to Tony, to the guy who thinks he is in charge of everything. This is evident in the scene where Mark tries to convince Tony to make a false confession to save Margot. Mark essentially demands Tony to sacrifice himself so that Mark and Margot can live happily ever after. Mark’s assertiveness, not to mention his writer’s mindset, comes way too late in the film. His pleas should have come far before the trial even started.

The same must be said for Chief Inspector Hubbard’s sting operation. The whole final act is played out based on Hubbard’s hunch. At no point during the lengthy investigation does the answer occur to him. Yet just as one of the characters in Dial M for Murder is about to reach a critical juncture, he magically orchestrates his elaborate trap.

Despite qualms with the last act, the first two thirds of Dial M for Murder are wonderfully anchored by Ray Milland’s tantalizing performance. The film really jumps alive every time Milland is on screen. One of the best scenes in the film comes when Tony is implementing his plans to blackmail Captain Lesgate. Everything Tony does in that scene from walking with a cane to pointing out an old photo of when Lesgate was known as Alexander Swann, is calculated. It is a pleasure to watch Milland disarm Lesgate by systematically exposing one of his secrets. Ray Milland is so good in the film that I actually wish the ending had worked out in his favour.

Dial M for Murder may not be as strong as other Alfred Hitchcock films, but Ray Milland’s performance is reason enough to watch the film.


Alfred Hitchcock is the subject of this month’s LAMBs in the Director Chair series over at The LAMB website

Strangers on a Train Agree Long Wait is Murder

Strangers on a Train

The name Alfred Hitchcock is synonymous with films such as The Birds, Psycho, and Vertigo. While Hitchcock will be remembered for those iconic films, it his work on Strangers on a Train that instantly comes to mind for me.

While on the train one day, professional tennis player Guy Haines (Farley Granger) meets Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker). Bruno appears to be an avid fan of Guy’s and slowly begins to win his trust, which eventually allows him to pry into Guy’s personal life. Over the course of their discussion, Bruno reveals that he has come up with the perfect crime involving two strangers exchanging murders. Bruno would kill Guy’s wife, Miriam (Kasey Rogers), who refuses to give him a divorce, and Guy would kill Bruno’s father. Guy assumes that the conversation is just mindless banter. That is until Bruno shows up at his door with news of Miriam’s death. Bruno pressures Guy to hold up his end of a bargain that he never agreed to. Unable to go to the cops, and fearful ruining his relationship with current girlfriend Anne (Ruth Roman), Guy must find a way to stop the deranged Bruno.

What makes Strangers on a Train standout is the brilliant, and creepy, performance of Robert Walker. From the minute Walker’s Bruno is introduced you feel uneasy. Bruno is a compelling character because he represents that dark facet that can be found in all of us. He even points out in one scene that everyone has a moment of anger in which they wished someone else harm.

The fact that Bruno has the ability to instantly charm whoever he meets makes him even more dangerous. Guy can sense there is something a little off with Bruno when they meet on the train but he never is uncomfortable enough to leave the compartment. Bruno always makes a point to put Guy’s mind at ease. Bruno is such a smooth talker that he not only gets two socialites to reveal how they would commit a murder, but is able to convince one of the ladies, who has never met him before, to participate in a mock strangulation exercise. An exercise that nearly has fatal consequences.

Walker’s stellar performance only enhances the tension that fills Alfred Hitchcock’s film. Many of the chills in Strangers on a Train are a result Hitchcock placing Bruno in the background of many scenes. Whether it is at a Washington landmark or in the crowd observing tennis practice, Bruno is always present intently focused on his subject. This is best exemplified in the build up to the death of Guy’s wife. Miriam assumes that Bruno is merely a handsome man who is interested in her romantically, so she engages in an unspoken form of flirting. Yet Hitchcock clearly shows that Bruno has alternative motives. Using carnival rides, such as the merry-go-round and the tunnel of love boats, Hitchcock is able to set the stage for chase that only Bruno is aware they are a part of. Hitchcock smartly intercuts Miriam’s screams of glee when being tickled by friends, with the larger than life image of Bruno’s shadow on the cave wall in the next boat. Watching the stalker and prey game that Bruno plays with Guy’s wife is riveting.

Strangers on a Train is everything most modern day thrillers hope to be. It has a great premise, strong performances and it manages to maintain the tension after numerous viewings. Alfred Hitchcock has given the cinema world many gems over the course of his career but, for me, Strangers on a Train shines brightest.

*Alfred Hitchcock is the subject for this month’s LAMBs in the Director Chair series over at The LAMB website*