TEHRAN- Prominent English director Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 detective film “Dial M for Murder” went on screen at the Arasbaran Cultural Center in Tehran on Wednesday. 

Film critic Amir Qaderi attended a screening of the film followed by a review session.

“Dial M for Murder” is based on English playwright Frederick Knott’s successful stage play of the same name. Starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson and John Williams, the film centers on Tony Wendice, a retired professional tennis player who is married to wealthy socialite Margot. 

Tony discovers that Margot has been having an affair with Mark Halliday, an American crime-fiction writer. Fearing that Margot will divorce him and leave him without access to her wealth, Tony secretly devises a plan to have her killed and inherit her fortune.

To carry out the murder, Tony approaches Charles Swann, a former Cambridge University classmate who has a criminal record and makes a living through small-time scams. Tony reveals that he knows about Margot's affair and tells Swann that he once stole her handbag and found a love letter from Mark. He had used the letter to blackmail Margot anonymously.

Tony then manipulates Swann into agreeing to murder Margot. He secretly obtains Swann's fingerprints on the blackmail letter and threatens to expose him unless he carries out the killing. Tony also offers him £1,000.

The plan appears straightforward. Tony and Mark are supposed to attend a party while Margot remains alone at home. Swann is to enter the apartment using Margot's latchkey, which Tony hides beneath the carpet on the staircase. Tony will telephone the apartment at a predetermined time, and when Margot answers the call, Swann will strangle her. He is then supposed to make the killing look like a burglary gone wrong.

The plan, however, goes disastrously wrong. When Swann attacks Margot, she manages to defend herself and fatally stabs him with a pair of scissors. Tony soon returns home and immediately begins manipulating the evidence to make Margot appear responsible for the murder. He moves the key he believes Margot used into her handbag and places Mark's letter on Swann's body. He also destroys evidence linking Swann to the original plan.

When Chief Inspector Hubbard investigates the case, Tony provides a carefully constructed version of events. He suggests that Swann may have entered the apartment after stealing Margot's handbag and copying her key. Margot's confused statements further undermine her position, allowing Hubbard to suspect that she killed Swann in retaliation for his blackmail.

Margot is eventually arrested, convicted of murder and sentenced to death.

As her execution approaches, Mark begins to suspect that Tony is responsible for the entire scheme. He confronts Tony and suggests that he confess to paying Swann to kill Margot, arguing that such a confession could save her life.

Hubbard, however, has already begun to uncover inconsistencies in Tony's story. He notices Tony's unexplained spending and eventually discovers a large amount of cash in his attaché case. More importantly, the inspector realizes that the key found in Margot's handbag actually belonged to Swann.

Hubbard concludes that Swann must have returned Margot's key to its hiding place immediately after entering the apartment, rather than replacing it when he left. He then sets a trap for Tony.

The final sequence provides the film's decisive revelation. Margot is brought back to the apartment and attempts to unlock the door with the key in her handbag. When it fails, Hubbard's suspicions about Tony are confirmed. Later, Tony returns to retrieve the handbag and discovers that his own key is missing. He retrieves the hidden key from beneath the staircase carpet and uses it to enter the apartment, unknowingly proving that he is the person who knew exactly where the key had been concealed.

With Hubbard and the police waiting for him, Tony realizes that his elaborate murder scheme has collapsed. He calmly accepts his defeat and congratulates the inspector.

SAB/