cult film freak: DIAL M FOR MURDER

Written by James M. Tate / 8/04/2010 / No comments / alfred hitchcock , anthony dawson , crime , fifties , film noir or melodrama , grace kelly , perfect murder , ray milland , robert cummings , suspense

DIAL M FOR MURDER

8/04/2010 | No comment

year: 1954 rating: ***

Perhaps it's Alfred Hitchcock's fault. He made his villain so likable that the third act of this classic melodrama becomes a let-down when the somewhat one-dimensional good guys, including a cop and a crime novelist, hone in on the wrathfully delightful Ray Milland...

The always-intense actor deliciously plots a "perfect murder" of his rich wife during a gloriously long scene (with Anthony Dawson) in that sublimely executed second act, thus leading to the pivotal "homocide" that still packs a wallop.

What Hitchcock and his actors do with few locations, and tons of dialogue, is amazing.

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Tags : alfred hitchcock , anthony dawson , crime , fifties , film noir or melodrama , grace kelly , perfect murder , ray milland , robert cummings , suspense

James M. Tate

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