Hitchcock's DIAL M MURDER - murder plot scene analysis
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- Опубликовано: 19 ноя 2018
- Detailed study of shot choices, editing, dialogue, acting etc in one of Hitchcock's best movie scenes, the murder plot in DIAL M FOR MURDER. Written, edited & narrated by Rob Ager.
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The actor who played Swan had played the part in the original theatre version. He and the police inspector knew their parts extremely well by the time of the film.
HUNDREDS of performances. Knott's play was a hit. There is nothing like theater to perfect your craft. The actor night after night from audience response knows down to a split second
how long to pause and when to stand still, when to move etc. Anthony Dawson was a wonderful bad man! (In real life he was smart, funny and adorable)
My most favourite Hitchcock film. No horror, no suspense, no gore, no violence except for one scene and that too brilliantly shot. Ray Miland is sheer delight to watch! Thanks Rob for an excellent analysis.
How about a video on Rope? I think it's by far Hitchcock's most underrated film.
"Rope" is too in-yer-face. "Dial M" is his true underrated masterpiece.
@@flippert0 not underrated at all. M still gets critical acclaim.
Truffaut in his interview with Hitchcock admires the film as a 'staged play done well' but then blurts out he has seen it over and overk, sometimes two times in a week! Your close examination nails it. Any director can learn so much from this one scene. A similar scene that another online critic closely examined is the whole scene in Vertigo when Scotty first meets Gavin Elster at the shipping office.
This one is my favorite. I've learned more about the psychology of manipulation and scene direction in this video then anywhere else.
It’s a tennis game and the winner is the chap with all the trophies behind him. The lamp is the net. The money thrown across the room is also a tennis shot reference. And love means nothing to tennis players :D
Very cool take, I wouldn't have noticed that.
Imagine marrying someone who looks exactly like Grace Kelly for THE MONEY.
Always thought the same, but it works since we feel she "belongs" to the arms of handsome Robert Cummings. It also makes Ray Milland's character extremely cold and we might even get a homosexual vibe, a theme which Hitchcock already addressed in Rope.
I watched this movie 13 or 14 times. I love every detail. Sometimes I just play it to watch "a few minutes" and then I go to the end. Happened yesterday. And seeing this video, I did the same thing, "let's see this analysis for some minutes" and then one hour just passed... Great stuff! I'm not a filmmaker, but as a writer and playwriter, this amazes me.
One of his best. I always like to watch Hitchcock movies over Christmas.
Grace Kelly was superb. To Catch a Thief and Rear Window are another two of my favourites.
I saw this film for the first time the other day and very much enjoyed it. And what a nice bonus it is to find this analysis video about it too :)
This is possibly my favorite video on RUclips. Amazing analysis
Also, I love that Hitch added Tony's rapid eye movements going over Swan's face after asking if he is 'satisfied.' ...Masterful.
hitchcock liked these one on one battles for narrative dominance, the parlour scene in Psycho and ship yard office scene in Vertigo are two other great examples.
Informative insight and techniques to my favourite of all Hitch's movies.
Just one observation of my own though. In your earlier introduction to Grace Kelly's character you call her Margaret.
I think, in fact, her character's name was Margot.
That being said, thoroughly enjoyed your narrative. Great work.
I love the way the old London telephone exchanges are involved. M for Museum or Murder!
Excellent analysis. I’ve always loved this movie. Saw it when I was a kid and immediately recognized it for the masterpiece it is.
At 57:21, for a moment, Ray Milland´s shadow reminds me of the Hitchock logo
I thought the same thing
I’m delighted to see you examine this scene. I love this film, mostly because of this scene. Have watched many, many times. It deserves the analysis you’ve given it, and you have done a wonderful job. Seeing new things now thanks to you. Ray Milland is an underrated actor; he could do just about anything and never wastes your time.
I’ve only seen Milland in this and his two Columbo episodes but he is an absolute delight to watch.
The murder scene in this movie is *brutal.*
racewiththefalcons -- Try the stabbing scene from, "Zodiac".
Brutal? It was downright pornographic. Hitchcock was one seriously fucked-up individual.
Excellent analysis Rob.. another great vid.
Some thoughts:
- Dynamic camera angles were also likely because it was a 3D release in 1953, so the low/high angles would look right for cinema goers in the pit/stalls.
- The weird obstacles (that blummin lamp) was likely for the 3D effect too
- Comical that Millands photo collection is all wimbledon shots + 1 college reunion
- Wonder is the Japanese figurine of Kannon, goddess of mercy
- The scene with the giant dial & finger breaks the film though (for modern eyes)
- Millands grey suit (like N by NW) versus Dawsons country check tweed jacket; Millands tie with central stripe (== game line in tennis)
- Millands seating placement between the (behind) green vase/lamp and goddess vase; then moves to the settee where the lamp separates the two and the goddess (maybe Kannon) is on Dawson's 'side' (if it is mercy, then that's were Dawson would want it, though he doesn't yet know he's an already hooded fishy)
- the one-room set gives away the origin... Dial M was original a 'chamber play'. HitchC had a quote about that... something about buying a play was all about buying the construct. It was all there.
hooked fishy (not hooded)
Thank you, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
This sequence reminds me of the sequence in VERTIGO when Scottie visits Gavin Elster at his shipyard office. That sequence is considerably shorter (running at about five minutes) but it's exactly the same approach to storytelling. Hitchcock isn't simply photographing people talking but, through the blocking, dialogue, mise en scene, is communicating all sorts of information about the plot, character, themes, and also foreshadowing.
In VERTIGO, Elster's true intentions are not revealed until much later in the film. In DIAL M, Wendice's true intentions are gradually revealed throughout the sequence. In both cases, the power dynamics take radical shifts - from more or less equal to begin with to totally one-sided by the end of the encounter. In the case of VERTIGO, Scottie doesn't know it. In DIAL M, Lesgate/Swan is resigned to being over a barrel.
I've always loved DIAL M FOR MURDER. Initially it was a childhood enjoyment of a fun thriller. Over decades of revisiting it has gradually evolved into a more thorough appreciation of Hitchcock's total mastery of pure cinema.
By the way, the gloves are not latex :)
oh my god thank you for this. the gloves😂😂😂
This was really good. Dial M is a favorite of mine.
In 27:56 he takes a step while pointing the cane at Swann, another small step in dropping the initial charade.
In 37:17 Swann is being framed against the fire, which we see for the first time (so based on the silence we might have assumed the fireplace was not lit), conveying the turmoil inside him as he's trying to navigate out of the trap.
This is an excellent analysis! Thank you for this! One of my favorite Hitchcock films.
Dial M for Murder was also an early 3D movie and has been recently digitally restored to that format. Love to see it in 3D.
Great work. I’ve seen this movie several times and have never thought of this scene in the way that you have. You could do classic Hitchcock full time. There is plenty of material. I’m enjoying your channel very much.
The camera angles are shot to capture the 3D that was the original film's/studio's intent. The wife's name is Margot not Margaret. The pinky rings are identical on Swan and Wendice .The pinky rings on each man (Swan and Wendice) are school rings. Every detail of the apartment, every word and movement were directed by Hitchcock. The gloves were cotton not latex. Notice Margot's wardrobe as it changes color/hue from light to dark as the tension in the film progresses. The low angles were achieved by a pit installed in the floor to house the camera/and crew. This was a film adaptation of a successful stage play/made for TV film in Britian.
You're spoiling us, Rob.
This movie was originally shot in 3-D. I saw the 3-D version at the Music Box Theater in Chicago in the early 1990's. Some of the shots highlight the 3-D effect like Grace Kelly outstretching her hand towards the camera while being attacked. Another is the shot of Tony and the guys sitting at a table during the stag party. There's a bottle sitting in the middle of the table that stands out in the 3-D version. If watching in 3-D, be alert for scenes with objects in the foreground.
Bits were part of the Universal Studios Hitchcock 'ride' too back in the 90s.
Yup. I've heard stories about the props, especially the phone and pinpad, so to say, it had to be gigantic for it to work in VistaVision, or whatever it was filmed in. Can't remember if this was one of the batch of films he used that for.
jim blake -- I have to say that the idea of doing this movie, in 3-D, seems so unsuitable to me...but, then again, I might actually enjoy it if I ever saw that version. Who knows?
I can't comment on the effectiveness of the 3-D for ALL of the movie (I haven't seen the whole 3-D version) but I CAN comment on the 3-D CLIP that is on youtube. For example, the scene when Grace's character gets out of bed in her bedroom has the 3-D effect BADLY positioned at the extreme FRONT of the scene. (The BEST position for ALL 3-D scenes is the MIDDLE of a scene to minimize the divergences at the extreme front & back of a scene.) It's a good movie, but I wish that Hitchcock had had more experience (or an assistant with such experience) on how to best position the 3-D effect when he made this movie.
My favourite film of all time. Thanks for your interesting analysis.
12:57 In regards to your comment about the photograph being incredibly steady and that no human hand could hold a photograph so still: There is a scene in "The Wizard of Oz" where Professor Marvel takes out Dorothy's photograph of her and Aunt Em from Dorothy's basket and looks at it prior to telling her "fortune". In that scene, too, the photograph is incredibly still and has a background in the shot that does not match the background of Professor Marvel's carriage. I suppose doing a still shot of a photograph during the studio days was standard.
Excellent analysis! It's amazing how much tension can be mined from an exposition scene, but the filmmaking, writing, and acting make the sequence so effective and memorable.
I always interpreted the “ohh by the way..” moment Tony revealed his key as being a subtle “middle finger” to the Inspector.
I LOVED this review of this favorite scene from one of my favorite films by Alfred Hitchcock- whose single-set films- this, Rope, Lifeboat, Rear Window, I like best- easily my favorite filmmaker-
I just have one small note of correction to add-
At around 58:00; you described the phone call from Margot as being an unexpected development and make subsequent inferences based on this supposition.
But it isn’t- Tony was, after all, ‘intending’ to accompany Margot and Mark to the theater that night, and at the last minute told them that he had some urgent work to do- we see what this ‘urgent work’ is- it’s the scene you’ve marvelously vivisected. However, Tony tells Margot to call him at intermission to see how his work is going- there’s a chance he could join them for dinner afterwards, he says, despite missing the play. So Margot’s call at intermission wasn’t at all an unexpected development.
Also, when Margot says it’s a “wonderful play” and they’re “enjoying every minute of it!” and Tony says “I’m sorry- I mean, I’m glad!” It sounded like a very natural response- he’s sorry he’s not there, because “it’s a wonderful play”, but glad because they’re “enjoying every minute of it.”
Likewise, Tony’s saying,
“Al...Bentall- Who’s that? Another one of your boyfriends?” despite the dramatic irony inherent in the statement, seems pretty clearly to’ve been meant as a joke- and Margot’s laughing answer, “ALBERT HALL, you idiot!” shows she took it as one. That’s all!
Again, thank you for posting this wonderful review. This is your first that I’VE seen. I look forward to more!
One of my favourite analysis videos of yours Rob. Have watched a few times.
These kinds of scenes remind me of the opening to Inglorious Basterds.
I wish I could find the interview, but QT mentioned this film in regards to Basterds or one of his other films. Basically how every ounce of what we see, even the slightest change in facial expression, camera angle etc was carefully planned, even more than usual, to heighten the suspense and pique the viewers experience. Great observation
@@mk-ultramags1107 Yeah, every so often, I watch an older movie and think to myself "huh, this reminds me of a Tarantino film."
@@TheZaius Tarantino takes way too many liberties from other directors now wonder he's retiring.
Fantastic! You Rob, are as carefully controlled & meticulous in your scene analysis as Tony Wendice is in his murder preparations.
Another entertaining and cerebral analysis. And of my favorite Hitchcock film, no less. I'd love to hear your studies of Rope and The Birds.
V good analysis. Great movie and you have captured most of the key elements that make it so great. Thanks.
I'm liking this! If you have more videos on here, I'm going to watch those, too!
I love Hitchcock movies. I've seen Dial M for Murder several times.
The freeze of the photo was what Kubrick used (As you know of course) at the end of 'The Shining,' Michael Mann uses it quite a bit as well... Basically to make it look like a Postcard, but one directed at the character holding it and especially the viewer as well.
And the panning shot is basically Tonys POV, because as it cuts back, we see his eyes more or less following what we just saw by the camera. I've always been a huge fan of Hitchcock but recently, much of his work was on Starz and I must've watched all of them a few times each, seeing something new everytime.
Excellent work Rob.
Brilliant Rob. Excellent observations.
Loved the narrative 💜 Thank you
AGER'S ON FIRE
Our film Sense is purified.
Incredible video! Thank you for this!
I was lucky enough to see this in it's original 3D format. Fantastic, best 3D movie ever.
Dial M for Murder is certainly up there, but the best 3D movie ever is probably the film noir thriller Inferno (1953).
Thanks for your time and consideration to share.
Brilliant analysis. Your reference to Ray Milland as Hannibal Lecter really struck me. Do you perform this level of scene analysis via your for money downloads? If so, could you point me to a list of your scene analyses like this one? Thank you.
Well done, Rob.
About the large amount of exposition: even though Hitchcock was the most adept of directors when it came to depicting things visually, when he found a stage play that he wanted to film, he kept the exposition in the dialogue rather than "expand" everything by filming every little scene.
According to the famous interviews done of Hitchcock by French director Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock admired stage plays that could condense most, or all, of the dramatic action into one room. That was one of the things that drew him to Dial M for Murder. Aside from the "trial" scenes with off-screen voices, the action takes place either in the townhouse, in front of the townhouse, or (right after the killing) on the patio outside the French doors, when Grace Kelly is gasping for air.
Naturally, because this story started as a play, there would be a lot of spoken exposition, so Hitchcock kept it in rather than film a whole bunch of scenes with Swann and his lady lodgers and paramours--none of whom were very consequential to the rest of the story.
*** UPDATE **
This film was originally filmed in 3D--it was the 50s, after all.
You’re amazing 🤩. Thank for all you do 👍
This is pure gold
The low angle shots are made possible by the 3-d 'pits'
Brilliant analysis of a brilliant scene.
Fascinating. Thank you!!!!!
What a great video on one of my favorite movies
fantastic analysis. Dial M is my favorite hitchcock movie
I am so excited to watch this video!
You're quite prolific today mr. Ager!Thank you!
Excellent analysis and dissertation Rob. Great job and I love this movie.
One thing that surprised me was your description of the gloves at 8:10 as latex gloves. I’m thinking they were probably cotton at that time.
"Poor old Alfred. He never could back a winner."
Nice dialogue concerning the director😄
Nice touch with the vase shadow, Alf 16:10
Later it's just a shadow 28:30
One of your best
Superb. A scene analysis like this prompts me to watch the film 🤓👏
Delightful video, thx.
Wonderful film. Excellent analysis. Though one thing always bothered me when viewed this picture.
Surely Swan and Wendice should have recognised each other from the reunion dinner and not Cambridge!? Tony should have used that to segway into it all.
The reunion dinner would have taken place more recently than their time at university. At the time of the dinner Tony would probably still have been a major tennis star and he's sitting at the same table as Swan. There's no way Swan would not recognise him from this moment in time as he enters Tony's flat.
It is said in the story that Tony and Swan were three years apart in their college years so they would barely have known each other as they would not have moved in the same circles. The problem is the reunion photo (which was added to the film in order to give Hitchcock a clever cameo appearance). In real life college reunions are held for particular college years e.g the class of 54, there is no way that two students three years apart would have been in the same college reunion.
Just an incredible movie. And a great analysis as well 👏 👍
Would love to hear your thoughts on Sicario. Would be nice to see a newer film discussed.
Good shit!!! Its almost like the greatness of the movies need the translation...
In tennis terms it is Match Point set,Woody Allen movie not similar to this but close parallel murder defective story about tennis player who becomes "instructors" of wealthy women.
Love this movie along with Rope.
Rob Ager, this was an excellent analysis of the the scene you describe. I never would have seen all the points you highlight. I just saw the film for the first time. Although I didn't think much of the mystery part, this really isn't about the mystery. It's more about the human behavior of manipulation based on greed. My favorite part is the tennis match between the tennis pro and the ill equipped challenger. I had to go back and see it again to catch what you pointed out plus all the key portions. My only criticism of the film is, I think it was too weak a role for Grace Kelly. I think a lesser known actress would have been more effective. I think her beauty might have gotten in the way. Just my opinion...I think Ray Milland was at his best.
I have only just found your verbose descriptions. I am loving them! Have you considered doing film commentary? I would love to see your psychological analysis on alien to alien 3, or maybe even hear my theory on the subject! (I wrote loads on it and never got around to adding it to a any form of media)
Check his site for Alien material
collativelearning.com
Check out his, "Let's Over-analyze Alien" video, it's somewhere on RUclips. It's HILARIOUS. Basically Rob shuts down all the folks who somehow say that 'Alien' isn't full of sexual subtext etc... It's fantastic stuff. Must watch!
er.......are you sure you know the meaning of " verbose ' ?
How is that it was funny how the police made such a big deal of £1000 in 1954 London ($1160 at the time).
Meanwhile, in 1954 New York in Rear Window, Grace Kelly explains that The Dior dress that she’s wearing, from France, costs about that much.
Quite a financial difference in her characters.
£1000 in 1954 would have been twice the salary of the average man so it would have been a big deal for the police.
A very astute observation of the best scene in this great film. I take it from your accent that you're not from Texas .
Rob, I’ve watched every video you have on here prob at least 5 or 10 times. Your great with what you know. I have 1 request. On here you always do dark and heavy movies. Try doing a somewhat happy one. A comedy. Or something lighter in tone. Thanks.
He did Monty Python and the Holy Grail recently.
Great flick and I’m digging this analysis! The movie, based on a play, is a great, comfy yet suspenseful ‘drawing room’ murder mystery.
Would you ever review ‘A Perfect Murder’ which is basically a remake of this? It’s quite good for a non-Hitchcock one ha!
Do you have an analysis on The Birds?
awesome!!!!!
Subscribed!
Impeccable acting from all concerned . I suppose it's possible that another
cast could have carried it off but difficult to imagine.
I've noticed in multiple Hitchcock movies that he actually get's the Dutch-origin names right.
Most movies nowadays just take two randomly Dutch sounding words and combine them in something that doesn't make sense.
Van Doorn or De Groot is fine, De Doorn or Van Groot isn't.
Dial M is right there, just below, Double Indemnity" as my favorite. Maybe because I'm a Californian. The story fits together like a watch. Tiny note re Dial M, there are two shots of the main characters where someone else is actually photographed. Dial M is a masterpiece. Hitch did not win best Director for it and that is something that the Academy will never live down. They'll never live it down.
have you ever made, or considered making, a fan edit of a film ?
(BTW I want to again recommend you check out the Spicediver fan edit of Dune, it is like a case study in how a fan edit can fix a film)
Ah, yes! Fanedits are something I think Rob would excel at, and quite possibly enjoy a fair bit.
Pure crap, just like the other Fire Walk With Me 3 hour edit. Every "fanedit" of something originally shot by David Lynch is a crime that should be punished with years of prison The only person who could've "fix" Dune is David Lynch back in'84, with the final cut in his contract! However, his theatrical cut is still 1000 times better than this mess!
LOL EllroyLynch Bowie youve clearly never seen it. The Dune fan edit - "Dune (1984) Alternative Edition Redux fanedit (178 min)" - is a BILLION times better than both the theatrical and tv cut. Go watch it.
You must be mixing it up with something else or you're just lying for whatever reason. There is literally no way a human being with eyes and ears could prefer the theatrical butchery over the fan edit. (It also seems you've mixed up the theatrical and the TV version.)
@@Dadutta clearly never seen what??? I like all the deleted material. I'm saying that this fanedit sucks as a feature film. Lynch would've never edited the movie that way. Not to mention the "artistic" choice of cutting away many voice-over internal monologues. This is not a David Lynch movie anymore. It's a masturbation for Herbert-obsessed nerd types.
Someone may have shared this already, but Ray Milland's last name is correctly pronounced mi-LAND.
You should watch The Sunset Limited, the whole movie is just Tommy Lee Jones & Samuel Jackson talking, that's it.
Very nice analysis. BTW, Ray Milland's surname is pronounced "Mill-AND."
good stuff indeed, I can't remember when I last watched this movie, and I had well forgotten the plot, the black humour is first class, the kids these days wouldn't understand
I have this in 3D! I love the old 3D movies most of all, it is like being in tbe scene and time travelling!
@19:14 Two liars telling half truths... The lamp in the middle is symbolic of the truth being somewhere in the middle of each of their statements?
Both men wearing pinky rings. A sure sign of dubious character!
LOVE THE MOVIE WATCH IT TWO OR THREE TIMES LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT THE MOVIE LOVE THE POWER OF THE MUSIC THE COMPOSER WROTE LOTS OF MUSI BOTH FOR THE FILM AND CONCERT HALL..........THANK
Interesting analysis but I am not sure whether you realise that the movie was shot in 3d which explains some of the different angles , and odd prop placement. They were trying to get the most "3d wise" out of a one room set
please do a study of "Signs" (2002). i'm wondering if you're coming to the same conclusions as I do. or maybe better, the same conclusion.
Of course, the story Wendice hatched as explained at 56:47 of Swan having entered through the window would have been blown apart had the murder succeeded as planned, on account of the police ruling that entry method out by finding no wet fibres.
Love this movie
This is brilliant. 😃 I wonder if it's on Netflix 😄
You can watch a clean copy DIAL M FOR MURDER here: tubitv.com/movies/326245/dial_m_for_murder
Just a few ads to sit through.