"Dial M for Murder". Burton Taylor Studio
Dial M for Murder (1954) was the only film Alfred Hitchcock made in 3-D. There is one terrific moment in it when Grace Kelly gropes for a pair of scissors to stab her assailant, and she seems to reach right out into the audience. Apart from that, Hitch’s special effects are largely limited to surrounding the Wendices’ oppressive living-room with foregrounded drinks cabinets and sofas. This production of Frederick Knott’s original 1952 play could do with some of that three-dimensionality. It’s flat. This isn’t entirely the fault of the cast and crew. The source material, now 71 years old, feels awkward, stagey and hopelessly old-fashioned. Although a big hit in its day, this is sub-Agatha-Christie fare, with one of the most tortuous, elaborate and unconvincing twists at the end that you’ll ever see. It opened in the West End in the same month as Christie’s The Mousetrap , and it closed three months later. The Mousetrap is still running today (and no, I’m not going to tell you who did ...