--- title: "Dial M for Murder: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dial-m-for-murder/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/dial-m-for-murder" critics_score: 71 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Dial M for Murder (1954): what the critics said Critics' score 71 from 16 reviews: 13 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative. With only 5 reviews in so far, most critics find Hitchcock’s thriller suspenseful despite its theatrical confines. Praise centres on the tightly worked plot, his handling of intimate exchanges and Ray Milland’s performance as the calculating husband. The 3D staging attracts attention, though the reviews differ on how consistently it works. Grace Kelly draws praise from several critics, but the Evening Standard finds her miscast and sees the inventive camerawork as the chief attraction. The reservations concern stage-bound presentation and uneven set pieces rather than a failure to generate tension. ## The Telegraph — Tim Robey Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 July 2013. Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 thriller is a precision-engineered delight, with or without the 3D. It is a taut diversion and an exercise in tidy professionalism from first to last, with every camera angle having a precise purpose. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10200229/Dial-M-for-Murder-3D-review.html) ## Film Comment — Michael Kerbel Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). The critic highlights the film's engaging plot and Hitchcock's inventive use of 3-D to enhance drama and audience involvement, making it one of the best 3-D films. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/3-d-or-not-3-d/) ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 4/5. Hitchcock took on the adaptation of Frederick Knott's play mainly to fulfil a contract and showed little enthusiasm for it. Despite some flat 3D set pieces, there are deft directorial touches and strong performances from Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-f432cv/dial-m-for-murder/) ## Slant Magazine — Rob Humanick Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 17 June 2011. The critic finds Dial M for Murder one of Hitchcock’s most purely enjoyable films despite its stage-bound origins. The direction of performers and the intimate exchanges between characters are singled out for praise. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/dial-m-for-murder/) ## The AV Club — Sam Adams Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 9 October 2012. The critic praises Hitchcock's innovative use of 3-D in a confined setting to explore space and depth, noting it as a thoughtful chamber piece rather than a gimmick spectacle, despite some hokey elements. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/dial-m-for-3-d-hitchcock-s-primer-for-depicting-the-th-1798233871) ## Time Out — Guy Lodge Rating 4/5. 23 July 2013. The 3D restoration highlights inventive spatial interplay in this chatty murder mystery despite its theatrical roots. The airtight plot generates strong suspense even while withholding little from the audience. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dial-m-for-murder-3d) ## Empire — David Parkinson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 31 March 2006. The film is one of Hitchcock's most bleakly amusing despite his own reservations about it. It reveals much about his approach to filmmaking through its technical challenges and use of 3D and colour. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/dial-m-murder-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Steve Emmons Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 28 January 1999. The piece presents the 1954 Hitchcock film as an efficient, studio-commissioned thriller shot mostly on one set in 36 days. It singles out the 3D murder scene with Grace Kelly reaching for scissors as a standout, visually revolting moment that Hitchcock used to strong effect. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-28-ca-2369-story.html) ## The New Yorker — John McCarten Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 29 May 1954. The film is a smooth confection changed little from the stage play. Ray Milland is convincingly pathological, Grace Kelly makes a sympathetic figure, and the piece becomes grimly diverting once the murder wheels are set in motion. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1954/06/05/kill-or-be-killed) ## The New York Times — Bosley Crowther Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 29 May 1954. Hitchcock turns Frederick Knott's one-set play into a sleek thriller of coils twining with evil. Ray Milland is excitingly effectual as the machinating husband, Grace Kelly does a nice job as the wife, and the film is vividly pictorial. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1954/05/29/archives/dial-m-for-murder-is-shown-at-paramount.html) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 26 July 2013. The innovative 3D camera-work is now the thriller's main selling point in this re-release. Ray Milland is great as the cold husband but Grace Kelly is miscast as the wife. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/dial-m-for-murder-film-review-8732467.html) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2013. Hitchcock's sole foray into 3D gains nothing from the technology, but there are some classic, thrilling touches. The setup is ingenious and the kill scene genuinely thrilling, with superbly played gems in the plotting scenes, but it becomes anti-climactic with tedious business involving latchkeys afterward. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/jul/25/dial-m-for-murder-3d-review1) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1953. The melodramatics have been transferred virtually intact but are not as impressive on film, remaining more of a filmed play than a motion picture. Performances and Hitchcock's suspense tricks gloss over basic weaknesses but not enough to rate it a cinch winner. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1953/film/reviews/dial-m-for-murder-1200417702/) ## Collider — Patrick Cooper Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2012. The critic views the film as a sharp, contained thriller with strong performances, especially from Ray Milland and Grace Kelly, that holds up despite Hitchcock's own later dismissal of it as a lesser work. The review singles out the clever plotting and the way a single living room setting is made cinematic. [Read the review](https://collider.com/dial-m-for-murder-blu-ray-review/) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 25 July 2013. Hitchcock excels by tightening a stage play into a confined-space thriller, using close details of action and expression to heighten subtexts and the characters' sense of being trapped. The result is a clever, socially aware film that builds tension through relationships and power dynamics, making it an absolute must for fans despite not being among his most famous works. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dial-m-for-murder-1954-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating [B]. 31 October 2012. The critic finds the film an enjoyable watch centered on the meticulous plotting and execution of the murder scheme, with strong praise for Ray Milland’s suave, chilling performance as the scheming husband. They single out the expressive use of color in Grace Kelly’s costumes and Hitchcock’s tight direction for keeping the single-set story engaging despite its stage origins. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/retrospective-the-films-of-alfred-hitchcock-pt-2-1940-1976-the-hollywood-years-20121031/5/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/dial-m-for-murder.md