Dial M for Murder (DVD, 2004)

I am not what you would call a movie buff. In fact, I have really been disappointed by many movies recently...hype, hype, hype! All the best bits of the movie are shown in the commercials with nothing original and funny left to go and see. I also am a bit critical of 'older' movies...the audiences back then just weren't as sophisticated as today, and of course, how could special effects of 50 + years ago compare to computer graphics?

Well, I recently watched the movie DIAL M FOR MURDER. I didn't know it was a Hitchcock. I didn't know of the "big name" stars in it. I just watched it, and honestly, didn't expect a lot. Boy, was I excited by what I saw!!!

The movie starts off fast...there's a wife who has an affair with another man. While she's away, her husband recruits an old acquaintance and blackmails him into accepting a simple assignment - to kill his wife. Simple, as loving hubby has spent a year planning every last detail. But when things go wrong, hubby has to figure out a way to turn the events around so that he still comes out looking innocent. The movie is divided into 2 parts...Before (the crime) and After. Many people like the second part better (when the Inspector becomes a main character) but I thought both parts were equally riveting. While a bit unbelievable (I hope), it is conceivable, and really...it's presented so well that you're swept along for the suspenseful ride.

I did not know that, originally, this was filmed in 3-D (a movie gimmick to lure TV watchers back into theaters). Once you know that, you can see how certain shots would have been very effective with that effect...it doesn't really change how you'd watch the movie, but the added knowledge makes you appreciate it more. I learned this info (and much more) from the very informative EXTRAS that were included on the DVD. I enjoyed them almost as much as the movie itself).

Before I saw this movie, all I knew about it was that it was a Hitchcock murder mystery (not my favorite kind of movie) and I can still hear actor Phil Hartman (as Troy McClure) making reference to it as "Dial M for Murderessness", in a Simpsons spoof. Now I am anxious to see the movie again, as my eyes have been opened to a whole 'lost' era of movies.

There's lots of action, suspense, romance...to use a cliche, it's a "roller coaster ride" of excitement! I was so into this movie and I couldn't believe it. I really enjoyed it, and I wanted to let others know that just because a movie is "old" and the stars in it may have passed on before you were even born, that does not mean that you should miss the movie.