Classic Hollywood Reviews: Dial M for Murder

Cara Classic Hollywood Reviews 3 Comments

As we near the release of Stars in the Night, I’m sharing some of my favorite classic movies with you. Why? Because Stars in the Night is set partly in 1942 Hollywood and entirely in the world of the stars. I have long loved classic movies, and would love to know what your favorites are as well. And even though it’s not Christmas, I have to share one of my absolutely favorite movies with you.

A few years ago for  Christmas I bought a TCM collection that contains four suspense movies. On a recent flight Dial M for Murder, an Alfred Hitchcock flick, was available to watch. It’s always a good choice when you want to watch Grace Kelly in action — and enjoy a suspenseful movie.

An ex-tennis pro executes a plot to kill his wife. When things go horribly wrong, he shifts to plan B. The plot is brilliant, as the husband plots the perfect murder. I love that the boyfriend is a crime novelist, who tries to weave a tale of how the husband could have plotted the murder.

Grace Kelly plays the wife while Ray Milland plays the husband. I haven’t seen him in anything else, but very much liked his screen presence. All in all this is a great movie when you want something that has twists and not a hint of romance. It’s definitely one I’ll watch again.

If you’ve seen Dial M for Murder, what did you think?

Here’s more about Stars in the Night: Hollywood 1942. When attorney Audra Schaeffer’s sister disappears, Audra flies to Hollywood to find her but instead must identify her body. Determined to bring the killer to justice, Audra takes a job with the second Hollywood Victory Caravan. Together with Robert Garfield and other stars, she crisscrosses the southern United States in a campaign to sell war bonds. When two other women are found dead on the train, Audra knows the deaths are tied to that of her sister. Could the killer be the man with whom she’s falling in love?

Comments 3

  1. I love Hitchcock movies (except for Psycho). Dial M is definitely one of my favorites. Watch the Grace Kelly closely in the movie…this is so brilliant… In the opening scene where she’s kissing her hubby, Ray Milland (who was in Love Story and many other movies, too), she’s wearing white. When the boyfriend comes, she’s in that red cocktail dress…then as the movie progresses, she’s in gray and drab brown. Just her wardrobe and hair alone give a sense of what she’s going through. Great visual stuff that we don’t even realize when we first watch it.
    Okay — can you tell I studied Hitchcock movies in my film crit class at the Univ. of Texas! Hee Hee. -Becky Yauger

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