Alfred Hitchcock has his fair share of movies in the IMDb Top 250, and Dial M For Murder is one of them. And yet you never really hear anyone talking about this brilliant movie in the same way that you do established classics like Rear Window or Vertigo. Based on the play of the same name by one Frederick Knott, Dial M For Murder stars Ray Millard, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings and John Williams (not the great composer, the actor). Shot in a similar fashion to that of Hitchcock's Rope (though Dial M For Murder is the superior film), the plot concerns a former tennis pro and his plot to murder his wife. When things take a turn for the worst, however, he is forced to improvise an alternate plan - one which fits perfectly with Hitchcock's passions for the macabre. If you've been avoiding this one, or didn't realise it was classic Hitch, do educate yourself on its greatness ASAP.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
