Capote & Hitchcock Part 3: Dial M for Murder

     So I'm guessing that by now you've all figured out that I'm a pretty big Hitchcock fan. If I had to pick one favorite, it would have to be Vertigo; but after that, it would be pretty hard for me to start ranking them... Anyway, I'm only going to do one more In Cold Blood comparison, and that will be with Dial M for Murder (1954). For Shadow of a Doubt, I examined some of the similar narrative techniques used by Capote and Hitchcock; and with Rope, I was looking at queer subtext. In Cold Blood's connection to Dial M for Murder isn't quite as distinct as the prior two, but there are plot echoes here which are more pronounced than in other Hitchcock films. I think that the main impetus for my making a connection to this film is two-fold: 1) I was already hitched to the Hitchcock wagon with Shadow of a Doubt and Rope. 2) Dial M for Murder is one of Hitchcock's most straight-forward detective-style mysteries so it naturally aligns with compositional elements Capote's work. The film is based on a stage play of the same name and was rewritten by the playwright for the screen, but Hitchcock nevertheless left his distinctive mark on it.

Before you read further, I must add a spoiler alert here for those who haven't seen Dial M for Murder.

     The most pronounced similarity between In Cold Blood and Dial M for Murder is that both involve the unraveling of a mystery of which the audience already knows the essential truth behind the crime. We know that Dick and Perry killed the Clutter family as we regard Dewey's investigation of the crime. In Dial M for Murder, we know that Tony is behind the bungled plot to kill his wife, Margot, (that results in her landing on death row in any case) as we watch the inspector and Margot's lover piece together what really happened. The significant difference here though is that we already know the ultimate fates of Dick and Perry whereas we're not entirely sure how things will turn out for Margot and Tony. A second similarity lies in the fact that both murders that don't exactly go according to plan. There's no money-filled safe in the Clutter house, and Margot ends up killing the man that Tony blackmails into murdering her. Furthermore, the criminals in both cases believe that they have gotten away with their crimes but are brought to justice in the end.

      Clearly, none of these plot developments are particularly unique. They have been the substance of many great, and not-so-great, works since the world's earliest literature. However, in the hands of master craftsmen like Capote and Hitchcock, an audience is spellbound and given the opportunity to see how brilliantly these time-tested tales can be realized. Moreover, Capote's superlative work in his genre is doubly effective because it so vividly demonstrates how such violence and warped psychology is most certainly not the exclusive domain of fiction.