Dial M for Murder

Dial M for Murder (1954)

4 corrected entries

(5 votes)

Corrected entry: Early in the film, Grace Kelly is talking to Bob Cummings about their extra-marital relationship and blurts out "Oh, Bob." even though Bob Cummings' character's name is "Mark Halliday."

Correction: I think it's Grace Kelly's accent that just sounds like she said "Bob" but she actually did say "Mark".

Mozzie-6

Correction: Tonight, I heard "Bob" for the first time. Then I checked the CC. Nothing. I played it back a couple of times: "Bob." And then I played it with my eyes closed-just listening, and it sounded like it could be "Mark." But since I wasn't thinking about it when I heard it the first time tonight, I'm leaning towards "Bob."

She does say "Mark." You can hear the "mm" at the beginning. She doesn't have a hard "k" sound at the end though, she has a very soft "k" sound like she did at the end of the word "drink."

Bishop73

Corrected entry: The ending relies on Tony knowing where the key is on the stairs and Margot not knowing. Unfortunately there are any number of reasons for him knowing about a backup key that do not mean he is a murderer, and she could be smart enough to know she is certainly under police surveillance (and custody) and not touch the key on the stairs. Tony could easily make the argument that he had one made as a backup and put it there. Swann could have followed him one day and saw it and used it. His knowing the location of the key certainly does not necessarily mean he hired a hitman.

Correction: Under specific questioning both the Wendaces were clear to the Inspector that there are only two keys to the flat, hers and his, and no maid etc has a key. So, if later he then tells the police that he had made a duplicate which Swann had seen him use, he would be accused of lying to the police - and they would be very suspicious as to why would he lie about it: if he had told the truth at the start that there was a third key that would have shown how Swann got in, and got his wife Margot off the hook for letting him in. And anyway, for that to work, that would mean there should be 3 keys that fit the lock but the are only two; if the one the stairs is a duplicate 3rd, and the Inspector has Wendace's, then where is Margo's key? The key in her bag is actually Swann's key.

Corrected entry: Near the end of the movie, when Tony leaves to go to the police station and retrieve his wife's belongings, he rushes out of his apartment, pulling hard on the door so it shuts itself and keeps on moving, leaving the apartment building. He never stopped to lock it. This is an important mistake because the whole point of the key business at the end is to determine if the police inspector can get in with the key he has in his possession. The door isn't locked, yet the inspector uses the key he has in the door, goes inside the apartment, phones the police station to tell them he got in and to "start the ball rolling," meaning now it's confirmed the key he used unlocked the door...the door Tony hadn't locked.

Correction: It is common in Europe (the film takes place in London in the 1950s) to have apartment doors which lock automatically. You have to use a key to get in again, even if you hadn't previously turned the key once or twice in the lock to secure the door for good.That kind of device is usually called a snaplock. When Grace Kelly stands in the doorframe saying goodbye to Ray Milland and Robert Cummings who are going to a stag party, you can see that the door has no knob or handle on the outside (which is typical for snaplocks).

Corrected entry: After the trial, Chief Inspector Hubbard visits Tony to execute a complicated ruse that he had prearranged with Sergeant O'Brian (at the station) and Detective Williams (stationed upstairs). The ruse relies on the inspector mentioning Margot's handbag and switching raincoats with Tony. The inspector would have left the apartment without doing either of those things had it not been for Mark being present and calling out to the inspector, but the inspector would not have expected Mark to be in the apartment.

jmat

Correction: We do not know that the Inspector did not have some other plan to do these things, to come back some moments later for example. He could have just taken advantage of Mark's appearance.

There are an infinite number of things in any fictional movie that we do not know. It's possible to make up alternate facts to suit an alternative plot line - but that would be a different movie. My plot hole does not rely on an alternative that the inspector did not express.

jmat

Continuity mistake: Before Tony leaves he closes the drapes. He then says he won't go out and will stay home. She says to go out, and he agrees, so he goes to the drapes and closes them again.

More mistakes in Dial M for Murder

Margot Mary Wendice: How long have you known this?
Chief Insp. Hubbard: Did you suspect it yourself?
Margot Mary Wendice: No, never. And yet... What's the matter with me, Mark? I don't seem able to feel anything.

More quotes from Dial M for Murder

Trivia: Alfred Hitchcock wanted the film to look as natural as possible, with the camera at eye level with the actors. Since movie cameras were large (especially 3D cameras), Hitch had a small trench built into the soundstage floor, so that the camera lens was, roughly, at eye level.

Colin Schmit

More trivia for Dial M for Murder

Question: Who is in the photograph on the liquor table in the beginning?

More questions & answers from Dial M for Murder

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