Though it’s known as Alfred Hitchcock’s 3D movie, almost no one got the chance to see it that way; people had gone off 3D by the time Dial M for Murder hit theaters, so most people saw it in 2D, just like you can on Netflix. But March 1 through 3, you can visit SIFF Cinema Uptown, and watch it in an extra dimension. This hi-def version of the 1954 thriller was scanned from the original 2-camera negatives — “better than the old scratchy version you’ve seen on late-night TV for decades,” says a reviewer, but not Criterion quality.
On the other hand, Grace Kelly in a Hitchcock film is always Criterion quality. And for some, this is Hitch at his very best:
Dial M for Murder has a romping plot, a gloriously slimy villain and – thanks to the fact that … the action is mostly constrained to one room – some of the weirdest, tricksiest camera work of Hitchcock’s career.
It’s a cautionary tale about marrying tennis pros. Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) is long past his glory days, and is eyeing his wife Margot’s life insurance policy enviously. You almost got to be creeped out by Cary Grant in the role, but studio bigwigs didn’t want their man’s image sullied. Margot (Kelly), for her part, is eyeing crime writer Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Things quickly become convoluted, as Tony tries to blackmail a Cambridge man (which I think tells you all you need to know about Cambridge) for nefarious ends.
The SunBreak’s RvO, who did manage to catch a 3D screening some decades ago, says that it’s not gimmicky, but more like the way 3D opens up Herzog’s spelunking in Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Hitchcock decided against blowing out the theatrical walls of Dial M — it was based on a surprisingly popular BBC teleplay by “notoriously unprolific” Frederick Knott (who also wrote Wait Until Dark), which had gone on to take the stage as well. So 3D places you inside the apartment with Tony and Margot and Mark, and the seething tensions there.
