Dial M for Murder vs A Perfect Murder

 

1952

1998

Dial M for Murder came out in 1954 and is based on the 1952 stage play by the same name written by Frederick Knott. It is about a wife who cheats on her husband and then the husband decides to have her killed by an assassin. Unfortunately for the husband but fortunately for the wife she survives the murder attempt and kills the assassin. The husband manipulates the evidence and the wife is arrested and convicted for the murder because it is believed the assassin was blackmailing her and she killed him to cover up her adultery. Just before the wife is to be executed for the murder, a detective lays a trap for the husband and it is revealed that the husband had planted the key that allowed the assassin to gain entry into the house. In the end the husband is arrested for the murder.

In 1998 A Perfect Murder was produced. It is based on Dial M for Murder. In fact there is a line in Dial M for Murder where the characters discuss whether it is possible to commit a perfect murder and to get away with it. A Perfect Murder broadens the universe of Dial M for Murder. A Perfect Murder makes the plot more complex and includes more twists and more characters. Whereas Dial M had two or three locations, A Perfect Murder has the whole of New York City as a stage. A Perfect Murder follows the same story line. A husband tries to have his cheating wife killed but the plot is foiled when the assassin is killed by the wife. The difference in A Perfect Murder is that the assassin is supposed to be the man who the wife is cheating with. But the plot twist is that the assassin is not the man who is sleeping with the wife but another man. Long story short, the husband is blackmailed but then the husband kills the man blackmailing him. In the end the wife finds out the husband tried to kill her then she kills him. 

My thoughts

My thoughts are that A Perfect Murder is a far superior story to Dial M for Murder. In my opinion A Perfect Murder is a perfect movie. However, I am in the minority. Critics and viewers adore Dial M and pour scorn on A Perfect Murder. Why? I dont know. A Perfect Murder is far more thrilling, has more twists and turns and you never know what to expect. Dial M for Murder seems very much like a play because it is based on one. And I could not understand why in Dial M for Murder the husband was carrying around a cane for. In Dial M for Murder the cheating wife's lover does not suffer the consequences of his actions but in A Perfect Murder at least the lover is killed and pays for sleeping with another man's wife. 

Who are the protagonists and antagonists in both movies? I dont think the wives can be the protagonists when they are adulterous. I dont know why but I was secretly rooting for the husbands. The cheating wives are immoral so how can they be the protagonists?

Dial M and A Perfect Murder perpetuate the idea that when a wife cheats it is never her fault. It is the fault of the husband that a wife commits adultery. It is because she was bored or unhappy, as if that is a good excuse. Sadly, the western world is in disarray because the world conforms to the whims of women. Divorce rates are sky high because of bored wives. Divorces leads to broken families which leads to dysfunctional children. The nuclear family is the foundation of civilisation. Without strong families there is no future. In a sane society, adultery would be a punishable offence. Perhaps the Muslims are right to stone adulterers. But I digress.

Lessons

The lesson of the two movies is obviously that adultery is wrong. Sleeping with a married person is wrong and there are sometimes deadly consequences for it. And if you are unhappy in a marriage, the best thing is to leave, cheating just complicates things. There is no excuse for adultery. There is no protagonist in both movies because the cheating wives are just as immoral as the murderous husbands. Hell hath no fury like a husband who has been cheated on. I totally understand why the husband wanted to kill his wife. Even though it is illegal it is completely natural for him to seek vengeance for the betrayal.

The second lesson is that secrets and lies never stay hidden. Whatever is concealed will come to light. What a tangled web we weave when we conspire to deceive. In both movies, the characters thought their sins were hidden but in the end their actions came to light. No matter how hard we try to hide our sins, lies and secrets some how some way the truth will be revealed.

The third lesson is that if you want something done, do it yourself. Perhaps if the husband had tried to kill his wife himself he would have gotten away with it.