This Hitchcock classic came upon the silver screen in 1954. Starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings, the film has been hailed as a classic stage murder thriller. The master himself can be seen here (as he is in all of his films), in a reunion photograph that is shown about 15 minutes into the film. Ray Milland is superb as tennis pro, Tony Wendice, who is running out of cash and coldly schemes to murder his lovely wife, Margot (Grace Kelly), for hers.
His plan is diabolical as it involves blackmailing an old school chum to do the dastardly deed. Grace Kelley is effective and vulnerable. Her loveliness shines throughout the film, never more poignantly than the phone scene where she stands unprotected and oblivious to the killer waiting to strike behind her. The original murder scene, which involved a pair of scissors, was shot in 3 D for extra terror and suspense. It is brilliantly done with all the techniques of lighting and dialogue that mark the genius of Alfred Hitchcock. John Williams is wonderful as Chief Inspector Hubbard, a man of few words but many insights. Robert Cummings more than holds his own in his performance as mystery writer, Mark Halliday, Margot’s lover.
The film has been remade several times over the years, but none of them have come close to the power of the original. The most recent, A Perfect Murder, made in 1998 with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow, was not bad, but still lackluster in comparison to the original.
There is one flaw in the movie that I never noticed until I saw the film many times. I wonder if any of you out there have picked up on it. The discovery of the murderer rests on the identity of a house key, which is mistakenly placed in the pocket of the murdered would-be assassin. The flaw is the premise that all house keys look the same. (Maybe in 1954 there weren’t as many variations as today, but there had to be some.)
What are some of YOUR favorite scenes from this classic Hitchcock thriller?