Dial M for Murder

Reception

"This is a technical triumph that Hitchcock has achieved", wrote Bosley Crowther of The New York Times in a favourable review. "It is one for which he needed good actors. He has them—and the best of the lot is John Williams, late of the stage play, who is the detective who solves the sinister ruse."[13] Variety wrote: "There are a number of basic weaknesses in the set-up that keep the picture from being a good suspense show for any but the most gullible. Via the performances and several suspense tricks expected of Hitchcock, the weaknesses are glossed over to some extent but not enough to rate the film a cinch winner."[14] Harrison's Reports wrote that the film "shapes up as no more than a mild entertainment, despite the expert direction of Hitchcock and the competent acting of the players. The chief weakness is that the action is slow, caused by the fact that the story unfolds almost entirely by dialogue."[15]

Richard L. Coe of The Washington Post called the film "completely choice", with Williams and Dawson "smooth as silk in reprising their stage roles", adding, "Hitch has a field day with his camera angles, darting our eyes now here, now there, doing tingling tricks with shadows and long longshots in quick contrast to fuzzed close-ups. It's the work of a master enjoying his script."[16] John McCarten of The New Yorker wrote a generally positive review, writing that he wished the script would give Hitchcock "a chance to cut loose with one of those spectacular chases he used to specialise in", but finding that after a talky opening 30 minutes, "things speed up once the murder wheels are set in motion, and eventually the piece becomes grimly diverting".[17] The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote that the film "offers the prolific Hitchcock little more than an opportunity to carpenter a neat piece of filmed theatre—an opportunity which perhaps satisfied the master a little more than it does us ... The characters are fitted to their situations, and hardly exist in themselves (nor are they enlivened by the rather drab performances of Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings); only John Williams' dry, sardonic police inspector has a touch of individuality."[18]

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 90% based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "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".[19] In 2012, The Guardian called the film "a taut, acidly funny thriller".[20]

The film was listed by American Film Institute in 2001 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills (#48),[21] and in 2008 in AFI's 10 Top 10 (#9 in Mysteries).[22]


This content is from Wikipedia. GradeSaver is providing this content as a courtesy until we can offer a professionally written study guide by one of our staff editors. We do not consider this content professional or citable. Please use your discretion when relying on it.