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DVD (13)
The fun of Dial M lies in its duel of wits...
Dial M is less a filmed play than a highly cinematic investigation of theatricality.
Dial M remains more of a filmed play than a motion picture, unfortunately revealed as a conversation piece about murder which talks up much more suspense than it actually delivers.
The screenplay tends to constrain rather than liberate Hitchcock's thematic thrust, but there is much of technical value in his geometric survey of the scene and the elaborate strategies employed to transfer audience sympathy among the main characters.
[Hitchcock] tried once before, in Rope, to build up a whole continuous drama in one set. He wasn't as successful in that venture. Dial M has all the space it needs.
Was by far the most visually compelling of studio stereoscopic movies.
Hitchcock thriller is tense, but not graphic.
In Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder, even the innocent have poker faces.
The film is about creating and maintaining suspense, which Hitchcock manages quite effectively. (TCM Greatest Classic Films: Murder Mysteries)
A modest thriller in comparison to Hitchcock's later works, but one that's nonetheless taut and cleverly managed.
Lower case Hitch, but diverting and sleek.
It all moves along in a rather efficient if lifeless fashion, with only John Williams shining as a canny police detective.
While it's true that Hitchcock left most of the play's dialogue intact and kept the single setting of the play's apartment, he did quite a bit more to bring the story to life.
Critics seem to prefer the more theatrical, psychological melodramas to the brainy whodunits. But pay no attention - this film is definitely a classic
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