Better On Paper then Real Life

Dial M For Murder
Alfred Hitchcock

Starring:
Grace Kelly
Robert Cummings
Ray Milland

The author in this film said, It sounds better on paper then real life, it never works the way you think it does., and that is exactly one key point made in this movie.

You are presented with an author (the lover),the wife(who is cheating) and the ex-pro tennis player (the husband and the man who thinks he created the perfect murder) all in a small apartment dealing with the mysterious murder of the man who came into the home to murder the wife.

Sounds simple?

Not really. As with all of Hitchcock's films there is the twists and turns that aren't expected.

This movie was very well made. With very few characters and very little background but with a well thought out story line that packs a wallop and a half. I only had one complaint about the movie, the scene were the wife is being accused of murder in the courts, it was just her and her expressions (which weren't very well done) and a judge having a black scarf put on his head sentencing her to death.
This was poorly done, and had wished for a bit more courtroom dealing, but otherwise, the movie was excellent.

The movie almost came off as a play done on a stage because it was kept more to the apartment. I counted about five other scenes that weren't in the apartment, but they were quickly done and not as elaborate as most Hitchcock's background droppings are done.

Short Blurb:

The wife is having an affair with an old American lover who happens to be a mystery author. Her husband, an ex-pro tennis player has caught on to it but doesn't tell neither one he knows.

The evening that the husband comes home, he sends his wife and her lover out for the evening (pretending he still doesn't know about their love affair)and calls up an old college peer that lives on the wrong side of society.

The college peer and the husband discuss the plans for the perfect murder. It sounds great. But this is Hitchcock, you know it isn't going to work out as planned.

What happens is that the wife kills the to be murderer by accident while her husband is listening on the telephone. He hurries home and ends up planting things (not telling what)so that it looks like his wife planned this murder.

She gets arrested. Husband thinks he got away with an even better plan, but the author and the police detective have their own ideas of really happened in the apartment that night.

The plan is now turned on the husband and what happens next is the usual twists and turns of Hitchcock.
I will not go further because it would ruin it for you.

But I will recommend listening to this movie, there is key points that make this movie very interesting.

Hint on Hitchcock: watch for the picture the husband takes off the wall.

Content ratings:
language: none
Sexual contents: none
violence: one bad murder scene, and one showing of blood.
Age appro; 13 and up

(if you have seen this movie, did you (haha) catch the hint I have here?)