Dial M For Murder 3D

Dial M For Murder, Alfred Hitchcock's suspense classic, was one of the first films that helped Warner Bros. introduce 3D in U.S. theatres in the early 1950s. Originally designed to lure audiences away from their TV sets, 3D utilized a "left-eye/right-eye" dual projection process and polarized glasses, the basis for what is seen today. However, with the advent of CinemaScope, "the miracle you can see without glasses" and the higher costs associated with 3D, the fad was fading by the time Dial M For Murder was released in theatres. As a result, most 1954 moviegoers only saw the film projected in 2D, and it wasn't until the early 1980s that a classic 3D film revival allowed the film to be briefly seen theatrically, albeit in a "faux 3D" 70 mm composite print. Ranked Number 9 on the America Film Institute's 2008 list of the 10 greatest films in the "Mystery" genre, the story chronicles American writer Mark Halliday (Cummings) as he engages in a relationship with the very married Margot Wendice (Kelly) in London. He unknowingly sets off a chain of blackmail and murder. After sensing Margot's affections for Halliday, her husband, Tony Wendice (Milland), fears divorce and disinheritance, and plots her death. Knowing former school chum Captain Lesgate aka Charles Swann (Anthony Dawson) is involved in illegal activities, Tony implicates her as being guilty of premeditated murder. Halliday must out-strategize Tony to save Margot's life. (Gary Reber)