Dial M for Murder(1954)
Warner Bros. May 29, 1954
A jealous former tennis player plots the perfect murder of his wealthy wife in their London flat, triggering a tense trap of betrayal and evidence.
Release Details
Original Release | May 29, 1954 | Limited
1999 Re-release | Apr 9, 1999 | Limited
View Advanced Data Watch Trailer
Box Office Results
2026-10-04T11:39:29.435Z
All Releases (2)
$24,845
$18,530
$46,284
$12,168
$12,168
Current Showtimes
Theatres near you, nearest first
Search radius
Technical Specifications
Aspect Ratio: 1.66 : 1
Other Details
Country of Origin: United States
Language: English
Summaries
Plot Summary
- Tony Wendice (Ray Milland), a former tennis player who now sells sports equipment, lives with his wealthy wife, Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly), in their London flat. Tony and Margot have made reciprocal wills, with each named as beneficiary of assets totaling £90,000. Margot previously had an affair with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), an American crime writer, but ended the relationship when he returned to the United States. When Mark returns to London, Margot tells him that she burned his letters except for one, which was stolen by a blackmailer who demanded £50. She mailed the money to a pawn shop address, but the money was never collected, and the letter was not returned. Mark proposes that Margot tell Tony about their relationship and divorce him, but Margot refuses because she does not want to hurt Tony.Tony has secretly learned about the affair and has spent a year preparing to murder Margot. He stole her handbag to obtain Mark's letter and used the letter to impersonate the anonymous blackmailer, discovering that Margot would pay to recover it. He also watched Margot and Mark together during their farewell gathering at Mark's studio flat. Tony gradually withdraws small amounts of money until he has accumulated £1,000 in used one pound notes, which he intends to use as payment for a contract killer. He selects Charles Alexander Swann (Anthony Dawson), an acquaintance from Cambridge who now uses the name Captain Lesgate, and investigates Swann's criminal activities until he has enough information to blackmail him.Tony arranges for Margot and Mark to attend the theatre while he remains at home preparing an explanation for his absence. He then invites Swann to the flat on the pretext of discussing the purchase of an expensive car. Tony reveals that he knows about Swann's criminal past and tells him about Margot's affair, the stolen letter, and the blackmail. He threatens to expose Swann unless he agrees to murder Margot, offering him £1,000 for the killing. Swann reluctantly accepts.Tony plans to create the appearance of a burglary that turns into murder. He tells Swann that he will attend a stag dinner with Mark and telephone the flat at exactly 11:00 p.m. Swann is to enter through the hall door using Margot's latchkey, hide behind the curtains, and attack her when she comes into the living room to answer the telephone. Tony takes Margot's key from her handbag and hides it beneath the carpet on the staircase outside the flat, where Swann can retrieve it.Tony's plans encounter an unexpected problem when Margot says that she intends to go to the cinema instead of remaining at home. He persuades her to stay and paste old newspaper clippings about his tennis career into an album. She takes a large pair of scissors from her mending basket and leaves them on the desk beside the telephone when she finishes the task. Tony and Mark leave for the stag dinner, while Swann enters the flat and hides behind the curtains.At the dinner, Tony discovers that his wristwatch has stopped. When he learns that it is already a few minutes after 11:00 p.m., he hurriedly leaves the room and uses a telephone in the hotel lobby. Swann is preparing to leave the flat when the telephone rings. Margot enters the living room and answers it, allowing Swann to attack her from behind. She struggles with him and reaches the scissors on the desk, stabbing him in the back. Swann falls onto the scissors and dies. Tony remains connected to the telephone while Margot cries out. He tells her not to touch anything and says that he will return immediately.Tony reaches the flat and finds Swann dead. He quickly changes his plan. Rather than presenting Swann as an unknown burglar, he decides to make it appear that Margot knew him, allowed him into the flat, and killed him deliberately. Tony places Mark's letter on Swann to connect him with the blackmail. He removes Swann's latchkey from the dead man's pocket and returns it to Margot's handbag. He burns Swann's scarf and replaces it with one of Margot's stockings, then hides its matching stocking on the desk where the police will discover it. Tony also tells Margot to deny that he instructed her not to call the police, intending to make her conduct appear suspicious.The police investigate the death. They determine that Swann entered through the hall door rather than the French windows because his shoes are not dirty. Chief Inspector Hubbard (John Williams) questions Tony and Margot, examining the evidence surrounding the dead man, the letter, the stockings, and the missing key. Margot gives conflicting answers during the questioning, while Tony supplies explanations that support the appearance of a planned meeting between Margot and Swann. Hubbard concludes that Margot killed Swann after he attempted to blackmail her, and Margot is arrested.The case proceeds to trial. The evidence includes Mark's letter, the absence of a key on Swann, the lack of forced entry, and the stocking that Tony planted. Margot is convicted of Swann's murder and sentenced to death. Tony's scheme therefore appears to have succeeded, leaving Margot awaiting execution.Several months later, on the day before Margot's scheduled execution, Mark visits Tony and proposes that Tony save her by claiming that he hired Swann to murder Margot. Mark explains that he could present the case as a murder conspiracy in which Tony arranged the killing and Margot acted in self defense. His proposed explanation closely matches what Tony actually did. Mark argues that the case against Margot rests on the letter, the missing key, and the stocking, and that Tony could reverse the evidence by confessing to the plan.Hubbard arrives and questions Tony about his recent spending. Tony has been using the £1,000 intended for Swann on numerous purchases, attracting police attention. Mark discovers Tony's attaché case containing the remaining money and brings it to Hubbard. Tony responds by claiming that the money belonged to Margot and that she had intended to pay Swann for the blackmail before changing her mind and killing him. Hubbard appears to accept Tony's explanation, while Mark leaves after concluding that Tony will not follow his proposed confession.Hubbard has not accepted Tony's explanation. He investigates the latchkey and discovers that the key in Margot's handbag fits Swann's flat rather than the Wendices' door. He then searches the staircase and finds the actual key beneath the carpet, confirming that Swann returned the Wendices' key to its hiding place after entering the flat.Hubbard devises a test to determine whether Margot knows where the hidden key is located. After visiting Tony, he deliberately takes Tony's raincoat, leaving Tony with Hubbard's coat and its key. Tony leaves the flat, allowing Hubbard to enter using Tony's key. Hubbard telephones the prison and arranges for Margot to be released. Margot returns to the flat with the key from her handbag, but it does not fit the door. Hubbard watches her reaction and sees that she does not know about the key beneath the staircase carpet. He opens the door for her, establishing that she could not have used the hidden key herself.Hubbard has Margot's handbag returned to the police station. Tony returns home wearing Hubbard's raincoat and discovers that the key he has does not open his own door. Inside, Hubbard, Margot, and Mark wait for him. Tony remembers that he must collect Margot's belongings from the police station and leaves to retrieve her handbag. He returns with the key from the bag, but that key also fails to open the door.Tony realizes that the situation has changed. He goes to the staircase, lifts the carpet, and retrieves the hidden key. When he uses it to enter the flat, Hubbard, Margot, and Mark are waiting inside. Tony understands that Hubbard has reconstructed the murder plan and exposed him through the key. He congratulates Hubbard and then offers everyone a drink while Margot cries. Hubbard remains composed as he combs his mustache and telephones Scotland Yard to report that Tony has been caught.
Storyline
- Inside a polished London flat, Margot Wendice tries to keep an old affair buried while her husband Tony moves through the rooms with terrifying calm. He has learned enough to turn guilt, money, and a stolen letter into a murder plan, forcing a compromised acquaintance into the role of intruder. A ringing telephone, a hidden latchkey, and a pair of scissors twist the scheme into something messier, pulling the police toward a version of events that makes Margot look trapped by her own secrets. Mark Halliday and Chief Inspector Hubbard keep pressing at the small physical details, while Margot fights to be seen as more than the evidence arranged around her. — Quill & Camera
