Dial M for Murder

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by Frederick Knott from his own play, Dial M for Murder is the story of a man who plots to have his wife killed not just for her extramarital affair but also to inherit some money. The film is an intriguing story in which man conspires with another to have his wife killed where the plan suddenly goes wrong which forces him to find ways to get his wife’s money. Starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Dial M for Murder is a splendid and riveting film from Alfred Hitchcock.

The revolves around a former tennis pro who learns that his wife’s old lover has returned to Britain where he conspires with an old friend to have her killed so he can gain her inheritance as well as humiliate her lover. It plays into a man who knows that his socialite wife is having an affair but doesn’t want her to know that he knows where he would do whatever to humiliate her and have her money. Once the murder takes place, something does go wrong but the character Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) would find a way to still profit from these misfortunes as he would charm and talk his way to the authorities including Chief Inspector Hubbard (John Williams) about what had happened.

The film’s screenplay by Frederick Knott largely takes place in the apartment home of Wendice and his wife Margot (Grace Kelly) where Wendice would do his conspiring as well as where the murder, investigation, and aftermath would occur. It’s a film with a very intimate setting with few scenes set outside of the apartment as there’s also some very stylish dialogue that doesn’t just drive the story but also pinpoint key moments in what is to happen and such. Knott’s script also helps play into the suspense where its first act is about Wendice conspiring with old college friend Captain Lesgate (Anthony Dawson) where it would involve some blackmail as it becomes clear in how much in control Wendice is. The second act is about the murder and its aftermath where Hubbard is in control as it raises a lot of question as Margot’s lover Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings) believes something isn’t right as he knows about these things since he is a writer.

Alfred Hitchcock’s direction is very engaging for the intimacy that he creates where there are a few scenes shot on location in London yet most of it is shot inside the apartment. While Hitchcock does maintain a sense of intimacy and theatricality into the setting, he also infuses it with some stylistic shots such as some unique crane high camera angles, slanted angles, and other moments to help play into the sense of mystery and intrigue. Hitchcock’s usage of close-ups and wide shots would also play into that air of high drama and suspense as it relates to Margot and how she is caught off guard in her husband’s scheme. The way Hitchcock would play up the murder scene just adds to his mastery of suspense as it’s a slow build-up where something does happen but he also finds a way to subvert it. Even in the aftermath where Hubbard takes control as he figures out every scenario that occurs where Hitchcock knows how to frame him and everyone else in these scenes. Especially for the third act where he and Halliday both go into their own investigations as it plays to what was at the crime scene and what wasn’t. Overall, Hitchcock crafts a very gripping yet intelligent film about a man’s plan to have his wife killed for greed and revenge.

Cinematographer Robert Burks does excellent with the film‘s colorful cinematography to play into the look of London in some of its exteriors while using some unique lighting schemes and mood for the scenes set at night in the apartment. Editor Rudi Fehr does fantastic work with the editing with its usage of rhythmic cuts for some of the conversations along with some stylish cuts to play into its suspense. Art director Edward Carre and set decorator George James Hopkins do amazing work with the design of the apartment and its rooms as well as some of the apartment halls which add to the sense of intimacy throughout the film.

The sound work of Oliver S. Garrettson, Stanley Martin, and Robert G. Wayne do terrific work with the sound to help play into the atmosphere of the suspenseful moments as well as the very quiet moments in the film. The film’s music by Dimitri Tiomkin is superb as its lush orchestral score play into the drama along with some eerie themes for its suspenseful moments.

The film’s cast includes some notable small roles from Leo Britt as a storyteller at a party Wendice and Halliday go to, Patrick Allen and George Leigh as a couple of detectives aiding Hubbard, and Robin Hughes as the police sergeant who helps Hubbard in the film’s climatic third act. Anthony Dawson is excellent as Wendice’s old friend Captain Lesgate who is asked to kill Margot in exchange for not having his identity revealed over his criminal activities. John Williams is amazing as Chief Inspector Hubbard as the man who investigates the murder as he tries to figure out every scenario but also see what he overlooked as it’s a very fun and witty performance.

Robert Cummings is fantastic as Mark Halliday as a writer who is also Margot’s lover as he tries to figure out what is going on as he knows something isn’t right about what had happened. Grace Kelly is brilliant as Margot Wendice as a socialite who is unaware of what her husband wants to do as she spends time with Halliday which would play into the target on her back. Finally, there’s Ray Milland in a marvelous performance as Tony Wendice as a former tennis pro who conspires a plan to kill his wife in not only getting revenge on her but also take her inheritance as it’s a performance full of charm as it allows him to bullshit his way through everything as it’s just a fun performance to watch.

Dial M for Murder is a remarkable film from Alfred Hitchcock. Featuring a great cast, a compelling premise, and some stylish yet intimate direction, the film is definitely one of Hitchcock’s finest films. Especially in the way he manages to find ways in playing with the ideas of suspense and plotting. In the end, Dial M for Murder is a phenomenal film from Alfred Hitchcock.

Alfred Hitchcock Films: (Number 13) - (The Pleasure Garden) - (The Blackguard) - (The Mountain Eagle) - (The Lodger) - (A Story of the London Fog) - (The Ring) - (Downhill) - (The Farmer’s Wife) - (Easy Virtue) - (Champagne) - (The Manxman) - (Blackmail) - (Juno and the Paycock) - (Murder!) - (The Skin Game) - (Mary) - (Lord Camber’s Ladies) - (Rich and Strange) - (Number Seventeen) - (Waltzes from Vienna) - (The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film)) - The 39 Steps - (Secret Agent) - (Sabotage) - (Young and Innocent) - The Lady Vanishes - (Jamaica Inn) - Rebecca - (Foreign Correspondent) - (Mr. & Mrs. Smith) - Suspicion - (Saboteur) - (Shadow of a Doubt) - Bon Voyage - Lifeboat - (Spellbound) - Notorious - (The Paradine Cage) - Rope - (Under Capricorn) - (Stage Fright) - Strangers on a Train - I Confess - Rear Window - To Catch a Thief - (The Trouble with Harry) - The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956 film) - (The Wrong Man) - Vertigo - North by Northwest - Psycho - The Birds - Marnie - (Torn Curtain) - (Topaz) - (Frenzy) - (Family Plot)

© thevoid99 2015

2014 Cannes Marathon: The Lost Weekend

(Co-Winner of the Palme d’Or & Best Actor Prize to Ray Milland at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on the novel by Charles R. Jackson, The Lost Weekend is the story of a writer struggling with alcoholism as he tries to clean himself up. Directed by Billy Wilder and screenplay by Wilder and Charles Brackett, the film is an exploration into a man and his addiction to alcohol as Ray Milland plays the lead role of Don Birnam. Also starring Jane Wyman, Phillip Terry, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling, and Frank Faylen. The Lost Weekend is a harrowing yet mesmerizing film from Billy Wilder.

Taking place in the span of a long weekend in New York City, the film explores Don Birnam’s struggle with alcoholism as he was supposed to go away for a long weekend with his brother. Instead, Birnam’s thirst for booze has him creating trouble for himself much to the worry of his brother Wick (Phillip Terry) and Don’s longtime girlfriend Helen St. James (Jane Wyman) who had been trying to get him sober. With Wick away for the weekend and Helen searching all over the city to find Don, Don would often shut himself from the world in his apartment finding whatever booze he has or use whatever money he can find to buy liquor. It’s essentially a character study of a man at the throes of his sickness as it raises question into when he will reach his bottom.

The film’s screenplay by Billy Wilder and producer Charles Brackett creates a structure that plays into Birnam’s descent as the first act is about Birnam hiding from his girlfriend and brother while doing whatever to get a drink at his favorite bar as it takes place on a Thursday. The second act is set on a Friday where Birnam is at his favorite bar talking about how he met Helen while talking about his ambitions to create the ultimate novel about his alcoholism. The third act is about Birnam finding his bottom and his desperation to drink booze and do whatever to get money so he can buy a bottle or something. The script would not just explore Birnam’s desperation but how low he can go into doing whatever just to have a drink as he would want one more. There’s also some very strong dialogue in the script as it plays to Birnam’s own self-loathing but also his struggle to get clean as he would endure not just others who have the same problem but also the sense of terror that his addiction has taken a toll on him.

Wilder’s direction is very entrancing not just in some of the noir-look of the film but also in his approach to framing. Some of which involved some tight close-ups and medium shots where Wilder would put Don right near the camera with Wick and Helen in the background to showcase how detached he is from them. Wilder does go for some simple shots but also maintains that sense of dread about when Don would hit his bottom. Wilder also puts in a lot of symbolism into his images such as the typewriter as it’s the one thing that Don has and needs yet his thirst for booze would have him do things to that. Especially as Wilder puts into great detail in his frame over the look of Don’s apartment and the things he sees as it would include a scene where he’s in a ward in the third act as he is confronted by men suffering from alcoholism. Even a flashback scene of the night Don meets Helen at a play where Don sees images of actors drinking as it plays to his struggle where it would come into this third act and climax into the decision he would make in his life. Overall, Wilder creates a very haunting yet intense film about a man’s struggle with alcoholism.

Cinematographer John F. Seitz does incredible work with the cinematography with its use of shades and lighting schemes to play into that sense of darkness creeping around Don in his apartment and the ward he briefly stays in. Editor Doane Harrison does excellent work with the editing with its approach to rhythmic cuts to play into Don‘s sense of fear and self-loathing along with a few fade-outs for structural reasons. Art directors Hans Dreier and A. Earl Hedrick, with set decorator Bertram C. Granger, do amazing work with the look of Don‘s apartment as it would play into the chaotic world that he lives in.

Costume designer Edith Head does brilliant work with the costumes from the dresses that Helen wears to the ragged suit and clothes that Don would wear. Sound recorders Stanley Cooley and Joel Moss do terrific work with the sound from the way things sound at the apartment as well as the bar Don goes to. The film’s music by Miklos Rozsa is fantastic for its mixture of somber yet chilling orchestral music that includes some eerie accompaniments from the theremin that adds to the dark tone of the film.

The casting by Robert Mayo and Alice Thomas is superb as it features some notable small performances from Mary Young as Don’s neighbor, Frank Faylen as a nurse at the ward who knows Don’s condition very well, Doris Dowling as a fellow bar patron Don knows and sometimes flirt with, and Howard Da Silva as the bartender Nat who doesn’t want to give Don anymore but needs to run his business. Phillip Terry is terrific as Don’s brother Wick who always ensure that he helps but starts to lose his patience over his brother’s drinking. Jane Wyman is amazing as Helen as this woman who becomes aware of how serious Don’s problem is as it’s a very fierce performance that has Wyman be dramatic but also not willing to give up. Finally, there’s Ray Milland in a magnificent performance as Don Birnam as this self-loathing writer who has a hard time being sober as he falls off the wagon again as he becomes desperate for booze as it’s a very dark yet captivating performance that explores the world of alcoholism.

The Lost Weekend is a phenomenal film from Billy Wilder that features a towering performance from Ray Milland. Not only is this film one of the most sobering portraits of alcoholism but also in how dark it is as it was a very daring film to be shown in the mid-1940s. Especially from someone as brave and confrontational in a filmmaker like Billy Wilder who wasn’t afraid to push boundaries. In the end, The Lost Weekend is a remarkable film from Billy Wilder.

Billy Wilder Films: (Mauvaise Graine) - (The Major and the Minor) - (Five Graves to Cairo) - Double Indemnity - (The Emperor Waltz) - (A Foreign Affair) - Sunset Boulevard - Ace in the Hole - Stalag 17 - (Sabrina) - (The Seven Year Itch) - (The Spirit of St. Louis) - (Love in the Afternoon) - (Witness for the Prosecution) - Some Like It Hot - The Apartment - (One, Two, Three) - (Irma La Douce) - (Kiss Me, Stupid) - (The Fortune Cookie) - (The Private Lives of Sherlock Holmes) - (Avanti!) - (The Front Page) - (Fedora) - (Buddy Buddy)

© thevoid99 2014