Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder 1954 - Storyline and 1950s Fashion
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Grace Kelly Dial M for Murder, the storyline and all her fabulous 1950s fashion in the movie
This post is all about Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder
Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder (1954) is one of his better-known films that has been remade several times, probably the most well-known remake being A Perfect Murder starring Michael Douglas.
Hitchcock’s version stays close to the play it was based on, and is filmed almost entirely in the same room—similar to his next film he created with Grace Kelly, Rear Window.
Grace Kelly stars as Margot Wendice, who is married to Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) but in love with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings).
Her husband, a retired tennis star who married her for her money, found out about the affair and plots to kill her before she leaves him and he loses the plush lifestyle he’s become accustomed to.
His plot goes wrong when the man he has hired to kill his wife gets killed instead, so he tries to twist the story so that it looks like she has murdered the man instead of killing him in self-defense.
This was Grace Kelly’s first collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, she would go on to star in two: Rear Window later in 1954, and To Catch A Thief in 1955.
For more on Grace Kelly Hitchcock movies:
Grace Kelly's fashion in Dial M for Murder
Grace Kelly's costumes in Dial M for Murder were were designed by Moss Mabry.
The rest of Grace Kelly's Hitchcock movies the costumes were designed by the legendary Edith Head.
Her clothes were designed to start out cheerful and happy, then get more subdued as Grace Kelly's mood darkened.
“We did an interesting color experiment with Grace Kelly’s clothing. I dressed her in very gay and bright colors at the beginning of the picture, and as the plot thickened, her clothes became gradually more somber.”
While her outfits are stunning in the film, I personally think the costumes that Edith Head designed for Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief and Rear Window suited her a bit better.
Grace Kelly 1950s fashion: Cream-colored dress
As the movie begins we only see Grace Kelly’s first dress for a moment as she’s sitting at the table eating breakfast and reading the newspaper.
She reads that her lover is back in town.
Although the angle isn’t very good, it appears that she is in a robe of some sort, which she has accessorized with a simple pair of pearl earrings, red lipstick and of course, perfectly styled hair.
Grace Kelly 1950’s fashion: Strapless red evening gown
In the next scene, Grace Kelly is talking to her lover, played by Robert Cummings, and explaining to him how her husband Tony’s behavior has changed for the better.
She also tells him about how she saved one of the letters he wrote her was stolen, (must’ve been steamy!) and she was blackmailed about it.
She paid the blackmail money, but never received the letter in return.
She wears her most elaborate dress for this scene, a gorgeous strapless red evening gown with a defined waist and a 1950’s style circle skirt.
She has accessorized with with a simple pendant necklace and matching earrings.
This is closer to the classic 1950’s fashion that we’re used to seeing Grace Kelly wear, very similar to the dresses she wore in Rear Window.
This is also the brightest color she wears in the film, right before things take take a turn for her character.
Grace Kelly 1950’s fashion: Red house dress
The evening that the murder is planned, Grace Kelly wears a long sleeved red shirt dress, accessorized with red lipstick and some stud earrings.
Here, her husband is insisting that she stay home because (unknown to her) he is going to take her key to the front door and leave it outside in the stairwell for the murderer to be able to come in while she’s sleeping.
They have a bit of an argument, because she wants to go see a movie, but he wants her to stay home, so she finally agrees to stay home and work on his newspaper clippings.
Grace Kelly 1950’s fashion: White negligee
Perhaps Grace Kelly’s most famous outfit in the film, is her negligee that she is wearing when the hired man tries to strangle her.
Hitchcock builds the suspense as she answers the phone call from her husband, not hearing the killer creep up behind her.
During the struggle as he is trying to strangle her, she reaches for the scissors that she left out on the desk from doing her husband’s paper clippings, and in a twist, stabs and kills the man.
Grace Kelly 1950’s fashion: Blue-gray wool dress
Here is where we really see her outfits become more somber.
She is wearing a conservative blue-gray wool dress, accessorized with more subdued makeup when she is tried for the murder of the intruder.
Remember the blackmail that she told her boyfriend about earlier?
Her husband has managed to twist the story to look like she met her blackmailer and then killed him.
Grace Kelly 1950’s fashion: Blue-gray wool dress with brown coat
She is again wearing the same blue-gray wool dress, this time with a brown coat thrown on top in the final scene when the police inspector, along with the help of her boyfriend find out she is innocent.
It all had to do with the house key that her husband had taken earlier and left out for the murderer.
Unknown to the husband, when the murderer came in, he took the key from the stairwell, unlocked the door, and then replaced it before entering the apartment.
Her husband, when trying to set her up, removed the latch key he found on the dead man, thinking it was the one from the stairwell and had replaced it in his wife’s purse.
In reality, he had actually taken the man’s own latch key and put it in his wife’s purse.
The detective figures out the mistake and tests both her and her husband to see which one would figure it out and realize the killer had replaced the key in the stairwell.
Of course the husband realizes it and finds the key in the stairwell, thus incriminating himself and proving Grace Kelly’s innocence.
Dial M for Murder Ending Explained
The movie wrap up quite suddenly making the ending confusing.
After all the suspense that Hitchcock built up throughout the movie, it suddenly ends, leaving you thinking, wait, what?
Basically, the house key is the key (no pun intended) that get Grace Kelly off the hook.
Her husband made a mistake when he took the key off the dead man, thinking it was the key to the apartment, when it was actually the man's own house key.
When that key doesn't work later on, but and the husband is the only one who knows where the real key is, he confirms his guilt.
This post was all about Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder and her 1950s fashion throughout the movie
What did you think of Grace Kelly in Dial M for Murder?
In which Hitchcock movie do you think Grace Kelly had the best fashion?
Other posts you might like:
Grace Kelly Movies - A Vintage Fashion Lover’s Guide
To Catch a Thief Grace Kelly - 10 Elegant Outfits You’ll Love
Originally published Dec 2020, updated May 2024
References:
Dial M for Murder, The blonde at the film. https://theblondeatthefilm.com/2014/11/12/dial-m-for-murder-1954/
Moss Mabry, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moss_Mabry
Dial M for Murder, IMDB. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046912/
Grace Kelly, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Kelly
Robert Cummings, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Cummings
Ray Milland, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Milland
Alfred Hitchcock, Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock