FAQ for
Dial M for Murder (1954) More at IMDbPro »

The following FAQ entries may contain spoilers. Only the biggest ones (if any) will be covered with spoiler tags. Spoiler tags have been used sparingly in order to make the page more readable.

For detailed information about the amounts and types of (a) sex and nudity, (b) violence and gore, (c) profanity, (d) alcohol, drugs, and smoking, and (e) frightening and intense scenes in this movie, consult the IMDb Parents Guide for this movie. The Parents Guide for Dial M for Murder can be found here.

No. Dial M for Murder was based on a play of the same title written by English playwright Frederick Knott [1916-2002].

Other than the fact that "murder" starts with "M", the Wendices' telephone number begins with "M", as can be seen when Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) dials home to awaken his wife Margot (Grace Kelly) so that her murder will commence.

Tony put it there after he had sent Margot to bed, burned the scarf, and planted the silk stocking. Remember that it was Tony all along who had stolen the letter out of Margot's bag and ever since he read it, he wanted to kill her. Tony's original plan was to have Margot killed by Swann (Anthony Dawson). That failed. So he quickly had to figure out a plan to have her killed some other way. He decided to have her executed by the State. In order to do this, he needed to make it look like Margot had not killed Swann in self-defense but had actually murdered him deliberately. For the police to believe that, Tony had to arrange things to make it look like Margot had the perfect motive to kill Swann. Tony figured that if the police found that love letter in Swann's pocket, they would assume that Swann had come to the house that night to blackmail Margot and that she had reacted by murdering him in cold blood.

When Tony came home and found Swann dead, he needed to concoct a new plan. His new plan revolved around framing his wife for the murder. By substituting the stockings for the scarf, he thought it would look like Margot strangled herself in order to get the marks on her neck.

Probably when he figured out the dilemma regarding the key to the Wendices' apartment. Right from the start, he was bothered by the lack of a house key on Swann's body, making him question how Swann got into the apartment. When he found out that the key in Margo's purse did not fit the door of their apartment, his wheels began to turn. He searched the hallway and found the key still under the carpet on the stairs. His next move was to find out who knew it was there--Margot or Tony.

When Margot first tells Mark (Robert Cummings) about the blackmail notes, he asks to see them and then says they're "printed all in caps -- anyone could have written them". Presumably, there's nothing tellingly distinctive about them.

Alfred Hitchcock has a cameo in almost all of his movies. Since Dial M for Murder is based on a play and takes place mainly in a single apartment, Hitchcock's cameo is not in the flesh. He can be seen, about 13 minutes into the film, on the left side of a black-and-white photograph hanging on the wall. He is sitting at a white-clothed banquet table across from Tony Wendice at a class reunion. Tony takes the photo off the wall and shows it to Swann.