Dial M for Murder (1954)
91%RT Audience Score: 92%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
5 wins & 3 nominations total
Dial M for Murder may be slightly off-peak Hitchcock, but by any other standard, it’s a sophisticated, chillingly sinister thriller — and one that boasts an unforgettable performance from Grace Kelly to boot.
Dial M for Murder is a classic Hitchcock film that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Ray Milland is perfectly cast as the scheming husband, and the set-up is nothing short of ingenious. The “kill” scene is genuinely thrilling, and the use of 3-D technology (even if it’s a bit outdated now) adds an extra layer of excitement. Plus, who doesn’t love Grace Kelly’s impeccable style and poise? This film is a must-see for any fan of classic cinema or Hitchcock aficionado. Just be prepared to hold your breath during the suspenseful moments!
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Stage 5, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios – 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1954
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.66 : 1
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Runtime:1h 45m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 29, 1954 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 29, 2006
Genre(s)
Crime/Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Dial M for Murder, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Alfred Hitchcock, Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Frederick Knott, Warner Bros Pictures, PG, Mono, 1954, 1h 45m, box office performance, reviewed by Derwent May, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Peter Bradshaw, Nigel Andrews, Matthew Thrift, David Parkinson, Mike Massie, PJ Nabarro, Patrick Nabarro, Tim Dirks, David Keyes, Tim Brayton, Jennie Kermode, starring Ray Milland as Tony Wendice, Grace Kelly as Margot Mary Wendice, Robert Cummings as Mark Halliday, John Williams as Chief Insp Hubbard, Anthony Dawson as Charles Alexander Swann, Captain Lesgate, Leo Britt as The Storyteller, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, produced by Alfred Hitchcock, written by Frederick Knott, Crime/Mystery & thriller, Drama, MPAA rating, budget, produced by Alfred Hitchcock
Worldwide gross: $31,207
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $392,056
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,797
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 42,754
US/Canada gross: $24,845
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $312,129
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,450
US/Canada opening weekend: $12,562
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $157,817
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,766
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,400,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $17,588,293
Production budget ranking: 1,433
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $9,471,296
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$26,667,534
ROI to date (est.): -99%
ROI ranking: 2,014
Grace Kelly – Margot Mary Wendice
Bob Cummings – Mark Halliday
John Williams – Chief Insp. Hubbard
Anthony Dawson – Charles Alexander Swann, Captain Lesgate
Leo Britt – The Storyteller
Director(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
Writer(s)
Frederick Knott
Producer(s)
Alfred Hitchcock
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award
5 wins & 3 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (47) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (42) | Rotten (5)
Ray Milland is sufficiently suave as the misbegotten genius, and Hitchcock has moved about very sure-footedlv on what continues to be for the most part just a stage.
April 16, 2020
Derwent May
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Ray Milland is great as cold fish Tony Wendice, a former tennis pro who plans to bump off his adulterous wife. Still, Grace Kelly is mis-cast (or misdirected) as the spouse in question.
July 26, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Charlotte O’Sullivan
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The set-up is ingenious and the “kill” scene genuinely thrilling.
July 25, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Grace Kelly reaches out into the audience for murder scissors; foreground tea tables all but clonk your knees; a tell-tale door key – how many Hitchcock revelation moments feature those! – is brandished inches from your nose.
July 25, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Nigel Andrews
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Second tier Hitch perhaps, but no less enjoyable for it, and still a marvel of cinematic technique.
July 25, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
Matthew Thrift
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
Despite Hitchcock’s own reservations this is definitely worth a look. Interesting to his aficionados and darkly funny and depressing in turns.
July 22, 2013 | Rating: 3/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Although the first act is where the franticness resides, the brilliance of the film is in the aftermath.
August 18, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The film will mainly be of interest to Hitchcock aficionados and fans of ’50s moviemaking – from the décor and costume, to the lovely use of Technicolor.
October 31, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
Dial M For Murder (1954) is director Alfred Hitchcock’s screen version of English playwright Frederick Knott’s script. It was filmed in 3-D with the faddish technology that was available at the time (but already going out of fashion)…
September 29, 2019 | Rating: A+
Tim Dirks
Filmsite
The movie is worth seeing even now, if for no other aim than to show a man ambitiously experimenting with the devious facets that would inspire greater films.
November 25, 2015 | Rating: 3/4
David Keyes
Cinemaphile.org
An exercise made by an enormously talented constructor of thrillers in the most fertile period of his career.
July 5, 2014 | Rating: 8/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy
The risk with clever thrillers is always that they will focus on pleasing the intellect at the expense of developing more depth. Dial M For Murder is a different kind of animal.
August 19, 2013 | Rating: 4/5
Jennie Kermode
Eye for Film…
Plot
In London, wealthy Margot Mary Wendice had a brief love affair with the American writer Mark Halliday while her husband and professional tennis player Tony Wendice was on a tennis tour. Tony quits playing to dedicate to his wife and finds a regular job. She decides to give him a second chance for their marriage. When Mark arrives from America to visit the couple, Margot tells him that she had destroyed all his letters but one that was stolen. Subsequently she was blackmailed, but she had never retrieved the stolen letter. Tony arrives home, claims that he needs to work and asks Margot to go with Mark to the theater. Meanwhile Tony calls Captain Lesgate (aka Charles Alexander Swann who studied with him at college) and blackmails him to murder his wife, so that he can inherit her fortune. But there is no perfect crime, and things do not work as planned.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Grace Kelly’s performance in Dial M for Murder is described as “unforgettable” by Fresh Kernels.
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