2017-07-13 Thu

Shhhh, be careful when you dial ‘M’, you might get…KILLED!

Perhaps even buying this stamp might! Monaco Post issued the adjacent commemorative stamp of this classic on 16th January 2014. Be careful it’s not yet old and may not have been brought under control through exorcism!

Dial M for Murder is a 1954 thriller directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on a play by Frederick Knott, who also wrote the screenplay of the movie.

Retired tennis player Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) discovers that his wealthy wife, Margot (Grace Kelly) is cheating on him with crime author Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Tony decides to have her murdered because he is the inheritor of her will, but if she would divorce him he'd lose her money. With a mixture of blackmail and reward, he gives the task to Swann (Anthony Dawson), an old classmate of his, whom he knows to be a crook. Tony creates a plan which he thinks to be perfect; however, things go wrong, when Margot manages to kill Swann. Tony, however, is able to use the situation to his own advantage, making things look as if Margot killed Swann because he was blackmailing her. It appears to be working, except Mark doesn't believe she's guilty and the police uncover a few anomalies!

Dial M for Murder was filmed in 3D, but by the time of its release, the 3D fad was dying out, so it had only a brief original release in 3D, followed by a conventional, "flat" release. Despite 3D being a gimmick, Hitchcock was able to employ it effectively, without too much distraction from the rest of the film.

The film was remade in 1998, with the title A Perfect Murder.