Darlings, if you thought Grace was something as Lisa Fremont, in "Rear Window,' climbing the fire escape to Raymond Burr's apartment, in that imitation Schiaparelli dress, wait till you see hear in "Dial M For Murder." This princess was some tough cookie!!!!!!!!!!!
Grace plays Margo Wendice, married to washed up tennis pro, Tony Wendice, played by Ray Milland, and living off of Grace's money.
When Anthony Dawson, as Captain Lesgate, aka Swann, enters the apartment, and attacks Grace from behind, choking her with a scarf wrapped around her neck--at least, it's a designer one!!!!!!!!--you should see the strength Grace forces to grab a pair of scissors from behind, and stab Swann!!!!!!!!!!
Wow!!!!!!!!!!!! Go, Grace!!!!!!!!!!!! This princess is one tough cookie!!!!!!!!!!!
The story is contrived, but the colors lush. Ray Milland is unusually suave, if a bit long in the tooth, and Hitchcock's cameo is ingenious. But, it is Grace's show all the way!
The real reason to see this overly contrived, stagey film--one of Hitchcock's lesser efforts, but hey, I would rather see second rate Hitchcock than Quentin Tarantino!!!!!!--is that red dress in beginning!!!!!!!!!!! I want it!!!!!!!!! We all do!!!!!!!!!! It's what I am aiming for, when I leave the house for work, darlings!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I won't tell you how well I succeed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is widely considered the only artistically successful 3-D film ever made. Hitchcock took great care to root it in realistic spaces, to make the added sense of depth an intimate experience for viewers. Like a lot of his more "experimental" techniques, this carefully calibrated use of 3-D went right over the heads of audiences (who were expecting "cheap thrills" ala "House Of Wax"). "Dial M" also had the misfortune to arrive at the tail end of the first 3-D wave, so most theaters screened flat 2-D prints.
ReplyDeleteThat guaranteed snores and walkouts: "Dial M For Murder" is beyond tedious when viewed as a straight flat print in revival theaters or on television. The film is so specifically crafted for 3-D projection that it completely collapses without the 3-D effect. Scene after scene, the 3-D is designed to slowly but steadily lull the viewer into being comfortable in Grace Kelly's apartment: to make them "feel at home" or like they are watching the original Broadway production. So when the attempt on Grace's life finally comes, and Hitch amps up the 3-D dramatically, the viewer perceives it a visceral attack on their own personal space. Grace's hand flying out into the audience, desperately flailing for a weapon, any weapon of defense: that was pure movie magic. The remainder of the movie jarringly shifts into highly stylized mode, meant to convey Grace's sense of a world gone awry.
Sadly, hardly anyone has seen the 3-D version of "Dial M For Murder", so the movie has an undeserved reputation as a borefest. Some time in the late 1980s, a handful of 3-D revival prints were struck from the original negatives, and they circulate thru various repertoire theaters in big cities and college towns every five years or so. I highly recommend catching it in the form Hitchcock intended: its no masterpiece, but it does give some insight to how 3-D might have evolved in the hands of gifted directors (if the whole fad didn't crash and burn so quickly). The 3-D technicolor realism captured in this 60+ year old film makes "Avatar" and "The Force Awakens" look pathetic and amateurish.
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing so much about the film, I found the story and pace disappointing. Very contived; David, having seen it before, thought so , too. I wonder if it plays better on stage; Frederick Knott made a career of stage thrillers, his other being "Wait Until Dark." We all know the film, with Audrey Hepburn, but it was done on stage by Lee Remick!