3D Blu-ray Review Dial M for Murder 3D Blu-ray Review (2 Viewers)

[Douglas R]

At long last I've received my copy of DIAL M FOR MURDER. It's one of my favourite Hitchcock films. l know all the twists and turns of the plot but I never tire of seeing it. I never thought I'd ever get the chance to see it in 3D and I thought it looked terrific. On my 47" LEG passive TV the picture didn't appear dark as some have said and neiether did I see any ghosting. The titles were particularly effective in 3D.
There's a scene in the film which I've always though is clumsily edited. It's when Ray Milland and Anthony Dawson are seated with Milland discussing the plan as Dawson smokes his pipe. There's what appears to be a continuity error as Milland's position alters and their drinks are suddenly empty. But it's more than a continuity error because I've always got the impression that a chunk of dialogue has been cut. The other thing which I can never understand is why Grace Kelly would prefer insipid and lightweight Robert Cummings to suave and worldly Ray Milland!

 

[phillyrobt]

Thanks!

 

[phillyrobt]

Thanks!

 

[Doug Otte]

The other thing which I can never understand is why Grace Kelly would prefer insipid and lightweight Robert Cummings to suave and worldly Ray Milland!

Indeed, Cummings seems a poor choice for the part - not very convincing as a boyfriend for a goddess. Actually, when I watched it this time, something struck me that I never noticed before. Being a mystery writer implies that he might see through Milland's plot. Interestingly, when he returns to the apartment to convince Milland that Kelly can be rescued from the death penalty, his scheme actually divines Milland's true plot. I expected him to be doing it because he figured out that Milland actually did it, but it was a chance "idiot savant" type of coincidence. It wasn't until Williams revealed Milland's guilt that the plot was truly revealed.
So, Cummings' role was really a kind of MacGuffin in this film. We thought he would be important to solving the plot, but he actually wasn't!

 

[Moe Dickstein]

Technically the MacGuffin is the item the characters care about that the audience doesn't.
In Dial M I think you'd say the key or the blackmail letters are the MacGuffin.
I think you could call Cummings the red herring though...

 

[Cineman]

I would say we are supposed to be drawn far more to the Milland character and regard Cummings as a somewhat trivial and aging pretty boy with whom Kelly had a brief affair but she is now ready to settle down with her husband in a more conventional, routine kind of marriage. Her days of cheerleading for the latest sports hero (Milland, the former tennis star) and "dreamy" Rajah are coming to an end and so is her relationship with this Hollywood-connected 'convenience' from across the pond (although Milland doesn't know that about her, we do because the first scene between her and Cummings has her breaking up with him).
In that respect, I think Cummings is perfect in the role. I believe the early shot of Cummings talking to Kelly, sitting somewhat awkwardly with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other, not handling either particularly confidently as though he had gotten more than he either deserved or could handle, is the tip off that Hitchcock does not want us to regard this man as the knight in shining armor who will sweep Kelly off her feet and avoid all this trouble with keys, scissors, blackmail letters and all. Milland is so much smoother, he doesn't have trouble juggling his "props" the way the Cummings character does and the way Hitchcock wants to show us he does.
Then, because Cummings is such a fun and engaging actor, I think he definitely pulls off the "screenwriter plot/story conference" scene with Milland later, bringing a more than welcome comic relief and dynamism to the proceedings in the final stages while the noose is dangling over Kelly's head.

 

[rsmithjr]

I always liked Robert Cummings and especially in this role.
i see him as an essentially good and honest person, despite his dalliance. He is not happy with what he has done and is trying to make amends somehow. When he says that he could commit the perfect murder "on paper", what he is really saying is that he knows he is incapable of such a grand and deliberate hoax, he is basically too honest. He is a bit weak around the edges but fundamentally strong at the core especially when the chips are down.
Milland's sophistication is a part of the overly confident persona who thinks that he really can control and manipulate everyone and everything. He needs to feel that he has proven his superiority and "won", just like in tennis. Notice how Milland rather graciously concedes to John Williams when Milland is finally caught. Just like jumping over the net to congratulate your opponent, a final act of superiority even when defeated.
The fact that Cummings is a bit awkward just when Milland is being suave just underscores these diametrically opposed people.
Kelly, for her part, never actually says that she prefers or even loves Milland. It is just that he has been a lot nicer lately (part of his plan it turns out!), and this undermines her psychological justification for the infidelity. Now that Millland is nice, she must be nice too, but she doesn't love him, she still loves Cummings. She later says that she "suspected something like this" (or some such) when Milland is caught. Despite his thinking through all of the angles, she never really believed him.
There is also a bit of Anglo-American rivalry here between the two male characters. The American is a bit unsophisticated ("you know New York and all that" Milland says) but basically good, the Englishman is smooth but corrupt. American stereotypes of England during the 50's after all dwelt on the fall of the British empire together with the rise of the "American century". I think this is there someplace as well.

 

[Moe Dickstein]

If anyone ever gets a chance to see the Criterion version of 12 Angry Men, the original Live TV version starred Cummings and is on there.
The qualities above described actually make the script work better, as Fonda comes across as sort of a "liberal crusader" type in the film and Cummings is just your next door neighbor who's not quite sure if maybe this kid is innocent but let's try to find out. It makes the piece work better.

 

[Ejanss]

And the 3D is NO gimmick here either, rather a brilliant device to make a mostly one-set film into a beautifully engaging warren of new angles and configurations.
Bring on the rest - if HOUSE OF WAX looks this good, I'll be in heaven.

FINALLY got around to renting it (now that 3D-BlurayRental.com now has a Netflix-like month plan, and I can catch up on all the summer 3D movies I avoided in theaters so I could see them at home--And naturally, the Golden Age had to come first)
The 3D's nice, crisp and restored to proper synch; not a hint of the headache that sank the 50's version.
And although I know Hitch didn't use any pop-out "gimmicks", I could see him trying to play with foreground/depth items, just to break up the monotony of long dialogue scenes: The camera would wander past the lamp on the table, the items on Milland's desk, the chandelier in the overhead shot, things to "remind" us it was in 3D.
And even that actually worked--In the scene where Kelly and Cumming are discussing the blackmail letter while pouring drinks, it's behind a row of bottles on the bar. I'd switch the set back and forth; in 2D, it's an absolutely normal scene, in 3D, the characters are in back, while the bottles are right up front, acting as a barrier between us and the characters. (Even though we'd have to be literally a fly on the wall, at that angle.) Hitch loved to put up barriers to keep the audience "powerless" to help the characters--like the scene in Frenzy, where the camera wanders back out the street while the murder occurs--and from all the upfront obstacles, we feel as if we don't belong in the apartment at that moment.
I remember seeing Creature and Wax back in the 80's revivals, but back then, I hadn't seen enough 3D in frequent enough doses to be a connosseuir yet--This one passes muster, now bring on more Golden Age!

 

[mikeyhitchfan]

Originally Posted by Douglas R /t/324315/dial-m-for-murder-3d-blu-ray-review/90#post_3993742
The other thing which I can never understand is why Grace Kelly would prefer insipid and lightweight Robert Cummings to suave and worldly Ray Milland!

Apparently she preferred Milland in real life as she had an affair with him AND Anthony Dawson while filming (and according to Hitchcock - she even did the cameraman or some other off camera person who was small of stature) "she even f*****d little Freddie!"

 

[Robert Harris]

Originally Posted by mikeyhitchfan /t/324315/dial-m-for-murder-3d-blu-ray-review/90#post_3996445
Apparently she preferred Milland in real life as she had an affair with him AND Anthony Dawson while filming (and according to Hitchcock - she even did the cameraman or some other off camera person who was small of stature) "she even f*****d little Freddie!"

If you don't know this from first hand experience, posting it to the world seems a bit of a reach.

I would not.

RAH

 

[Steve...O]

"Freddie" was the writer of the screenplay. This story, true or not, was related by Patrick McGilligan in his very enjoyable and informative (IMHO) bio of Hitch from a few years back. I'd have to dig out my copy to see how the author sourced his behind the scenes tales of this film. Personally, I could have done without having read this in the book as it puts Ms. Kelly in an unfavorable light and is really nothing more than Hitch gossiping about his leading lady.

 

[mikeyhitchfan]

Originally Posted by Steve...O /t/324315/dial-m-for-murder-3d-blu-ray-review/90#post_3996544
"Freddie" was the writer of the screenplay. This story, true or not, was related by Patrick McGilligan in his very enjoyable and informative (IMHO) bio of Hitch from a few years back. I'd have to dig out my copy to see how the author sourced his behind the scenes tales of this film. Personally, I could have done without having read this in the book as it puts Ms. Kelly in an unfavorable light and is really nothing more than Hitch gossiping about his leading lady.

I just read the notes from that book and these stories were published in several biographies of Grace. I don't think it's a secret that she slept around before she became Princess Grace. Perhaps Mr Harris has a point though. This thread is really not the place for such discussions.

 

[Bob Furmanek]

Check out the photo gallery in our article: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/dial-m-blu-ray-review
There's a pressbook article where she gives her views on marriage.

 

[Doug Otte]

David B. and Robert Smith: I enjoyed your thorough, thoughtful analyses of the characters in response to my clumsy post about Cummings' character. Thanks.

 

[Douglas R]

Check out the photo gallery in our article: http://www.3dfilmarchive.com/dial-m-blu-ray-review
There's a pressbook article where she gives her views on marriage.

There's a lot of good sense in that article
I must be one of the few people on this planet who never thought much of Grace Kelly's acting and I have never understood the adulation she received. She always seemed terribly wooden to me and then there's that phoney accent....

 

[Robin9]

I must be one of the few people on this planet who never thought much of Grace Kelly's acting and I have never understood the adulation she received. She always seemed terribly wooden to me and then there's that phoney accent....

I take pretty much the opposite view. I think Grace Kelly was a good actress but I've never understood why so many people think she was one of the great screen beauties. For me, she had a well-shaped but uninteresting face and the body of a 14 year old boy. Not my type at all, but I'll happily watch her movies because she was always good. Mind you, for me the perfect Hitchcock blonde was Eva Maria Saint.

 

[JohnMor]

Hmmm... a little curvier than most 14 year old boys I know.






I thoght Grace was terrible in Dial M For Murder (although I thought the whole thing was terrible for that matter, and never understood why Hitch wasted his time with such a creaky piece, stage hit or not.) But I did think she was wonderful in To Catch a Thief (she actually makes that movie for me) and The Country Girl.

 

[Robin9]

I thought Grace was terrible in Dial M For Murder (although I thought the whole thing was terrible for that matter, and never understood why Hitch wasted his time with such a creaky piece, stage hit or not.)  But I did think she was wonderful in To Catch a Thief (she actually makes that movie for me) and The Country Girl. 

This is strange. Again I disagree. I thought she was excellent in Dial M For Murder but really irritating in To Catch A Thief. I thought she was at her best in the two re-makes: Mogambo where she gives a brilliant portrayal of sexual hypocrisy and High Society where her looks were absolutely right and where she is far better than Katharine Hepburn was in The Philadelphia Story.

 

[Reed Grele]

Was finally able to check this out on my 10' front projection setup (Panny PT-AE7000). Ghosting is still a problem, but not as bad as on my Panny 65" plasma. The 3D adjustment on the 7000 will fix the ghosting on one plane, but will only move it to another. I'm using both 2nd and 3rd generation Panny glasses with same results.
It is strange that some 3D transfers behave this way with my setups. I cannot explain it.