If you're wondering what inspired Baz Luhrmann's use of 3D in his theatrical and tricksy Great Gatsby, look no further. Luhrmann saw** Dial M For Murder *"many years ago" and noted Hitchcock's use of 3D to crank up the human drama of "actors standing in a room doing an eight-page scene". The original 3D game-changer is back on the big screen in July and has a new stereoscopic poster to let everyone know. Note how the tagline isn't *"Hitchcock phones it in!" here.
It may not be quite as exalted as **Vertigo **and Psycho, but with its nasty brand of double-dealing and Hitch's sure sense of the macabre, **Dial M **endures as one of the best of his straight-up thrillers. Like Rope, with its one-room set-up, it's adapted from a stage play - also by its screenwriter Frederick Knott - and it afforded the Master the opportunity to experiment with a new filmmaking format.
Its protagonists, Tony and Margot Wendice (Grace Kelly and Ray Milland) and American crime-writer Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), share a tightly-plotted tale of betrayal, adultery, murder and suspicious telephone calls. If you haven't seen how it all pans out, you can catch Dial M For Murder in UK cinemas, restored and re-released in modern 3D, from July 26.