Ray Milland in Dial M for Murder (1954)
Ray Milland won the Best Actor Oscar in 1946 for his performance as Don Birnam in “The Lost Weekend.” He is most remembered for that film although he began acting in 1928 and continued through the mid ’80s. He had his own TV series from 1953-55 as a teacher.
Grace Kelly was two decades younger than both of her co-stars. Her brief but memorable film career took place in the first half of the 1950s, after which she wed Prince Rainier III of Monaco and was known as Princess Grace. Their son, Prince Albert is the current ruler of the tiny nation.
Bob Cummings (billed in this movie as Robert Cummings) was just 3 years younger than Ray Milland, and also had a lengthy career in film and TV, from the 1930s through the mid-80. He also had a TV series in the 1950s that ran for 5 seasons and one in the early 60s that only lasted one season.
John Williams played the role of Inspector Hubbard in Dial M for Murder’s original Broadway run. That earned him the 1953 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play
Anthony Dawson also played his same role as the murderer-for-hire in the original Broadway run.
Frederick Knott wrote both the play and the screenplay.
Alfred Hitchcock didn’t have a cameo per se in this film but he did appear in the framed photograph on the wall of the Cambridge classmates’ reunion.
VJ, I can’t believe that Dustin Hoffman is 80 years old! Where does the time go?
Wow, yeah, Rain Man joins the Octogenarian Club as time marches on. When you think that he was born in ’37 and The Graduate came out in ’67, he was almost over the hill already when he made that film. 😉
No matter how many times I watch Dial M for Murder I like it more and more. Ray Milland and his eye movements speak volumes imo. My favorite part of the film is the ending when John Williams (the inspector) dials the phone and combs his moustache. LOL. That says gotcha more than any other movie I’ve seen.
Hitchcock was a master in directing.
@Rhonda I saw the movie with Gwyneth Paltrow & Michael Douglas. Didn’t like it. Poor attempt at imitation.
I agree, Jacob. No one comes even close to Hitchcock in cleverness or suspense.
@Jacob, that bit with the mustache was a fantastic touch, as was the inspector’s annoyance with the “gifted amateur.”
My very definition of a great movie is what you have said about Dial M — no matter how many times you watch it, you like it more and more.
I came across a couple of excerpts from Anthony Dawson’s (Swann) unpublished memoirs that concern Dial M online — one about how Hitchcock gave him a heads up that he had the role in the film and another about how he was seeing Grace Kelly until Ray Milland showed up
I don’t remember Ray Milland at all in Rich Man, Poor Man, that was such a great miniseries.
I don’t care much for Gwyneth Paltrow myself. I used to think Michael Douglas was so cute, of course that was nearly 40 years ago when he was in The China Syndrome lol. I haven’t found him at all appealing in many years.
Yeah, that’s what I mean about being fikkle. I thought Michael Douglas was so cute in Streets of San Francisco, and thought he’d be a big screen idol like his dad, but nah. Guess those shoes were too big to fill.
Milland played the father of that girl, Virginia (Kim Darby), who threw herself shamelessly at Rudy even when he married Julie (Susan Blakely). I loved that mini-series and this other one called “Celebrity” about 3 high school friends with a dark secret. One becomes an actor, one becomes a reporter and the bad one becomes a preacher. That one is so hard to get– they sell it on Amazon for $40 and up, and from the complaints on there, a lot of the sellers are only selling one part. I managed to get one VHS tape many years ago that had all 3 parts for about $36. I doubt if you will ever find that one in the library, but you might find the book by Thomas Thompson. It actually has a better ending than the mini-series.
That was such a great miniseries. I do remember Kim Darby and who could forget Susan Blakely as Julie?
I have no recollection at all of the Celebrity miniseries, although I did remember the book when you mentioned it. The library has a copy of the book, but it’s not available to borrow, isn’t that odd?
yes, Rhonda, most peculiar
VJ, have you seen A Perfect Murder with Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow? It was based on Dial M for Murder, a similar premise but not a remake.
I wonder what Ray Milland was like in real life, he was so smarmy to me in films. Didn’t he play Ryan O’Neal’s father in Love Story?
Yes, Milland did play Ryan O’Neal’s father in Love Story. I remember he also had a role as Rudy’s mentor Duncan Calderwood in the miniseries “Rich Man, Poor Man.”
I’ve seen clips of A Perfect Murder but never the whole movie. I must admit, I am not a big fan of Gwyneth Paltrow and I’m rather fikkle about Michael Douglas. lol!
I thought Milland was rather droll in Dial M..