Dial M for Murder
A London playboy plots the perfect murder of his rich, unfaithful wife.
Trailer
Director
Alfred Hitchcock
Studio
N/A
Release
29 May 1954
Runtime
105 min
Genres
Crime, Drama, Mystery
Cast & Characters
Ray Milland
Grace Kelly
Robert Cummings
Did You Know?
Critical Assessment
Dial M for Murder holds 8.1/10 on IMDb (204,423 votes), 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, 75/100 on Metacritic.
Not enough independent critic/audience score breakdown available.
Ratings as of 2026-07-30
AI Verdict
AI-generatedBased on aggregated scores (8.1/10 on IMDb (204,423 votes), 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, 75/100 on Metacritic), this is a data-driven snapshot rather than an editorial take.
Fan & Critic Buzz
The general public reaction to the movie "Dial M for Murder" is positive, with many reviewers praising its suspenseful plot, stellar performances, and Alfred Hitchcock's directing. Some critics suggest that the film is underrated due to its lesser-known status compared to other Hitchcock movies. The audience seems to enjoy it as a well-crafted mystery thriller, despite some minor criticisms about its exposition and 3D footage.
Reviews
I used to consider this second-tier Hitchcock, but a re-watch proved to me just how excellent the script and directing were, as well as how stellar and underrated both Grace Kelly and Ray Milland tend to be, at least presently, three generations after the fact. The suspense is ti…
talisencrw · 10/10No, I'm afraid my murders would be something like my bridge: I'd make some stupid mistake and never realize it until I found everybody was looking at me. Middle tier Hitchcock it may be, by his own admission, but it's still one of the finest mystery thrillers around. Ray Milland…
John Chard · 8/10Just with a glance at the cast list and the knowledge that it's directed by the legendary film-making genius Alfred Hitchcock, you know it's going to be good. This taut, nicely-done thriller was originally filmed in 3D, though I wouldn't say it's any less effective when viewed no…
barrymost · 7/10While this is not one of the most popular Alfred Hitchcock films out there, it is still brilliant. You can immediately recognise this film has Sir Alfred Hitchcock’s signature on it from the way the film is shot and its story is told. I did not know anything about the film before…
Jack · 8/10It is very obvious that this was written as a play. It is very heavy on exposition to cover almost all activities that take place outside of the "essentially" one room of the apartment. Nothing wrong with that, but it gives the film a different feel. This is more of an intellectu…
katch22 · 9/10This is definitely my favourite Hitchcock thriller. Adapted from Frederick Knott's equally enduring stage play; Ray Milland is wonderfully suave, debonaire and calculating as "Tony" who goes to some effort to enact the perfect murder to despatch his cheating wife (Grace Kelly). H…
CinemaSerf · 8/10