The biggest loophole in "Phone Murder" is the key

Estefania 2022-03-22 09:01:34

The biggest loophole in "Telephone Murder" is the most important part of the plot - "putting back the key".

When the male protagonist lays out the murder details of his own design to Shi Wang, it is a live demonstration - this is the key. In the film, the first thing the male protagonist does when he goes home to deal with the scene is to "search the corpse to find the key", which shows that he knows the importance of "retrieving the key". Then, a person who is standing by the door of his house and laying out the details, when he demonstrates to "take the key to open the door", his experience and instinct will tell him to tell Shi Wang to "open the door and put the key back under the stairs".

However, we saw that the male protagonist, like a nerd imagining out of thin air, told Shi Wang, "Remember to put the key back when you are done": this is obviously counterintuitive.

Hitchcock asked the male protagonist and Shi Wang to repeatedly emphasize "put the key after you are done" in their lines, just to lure the audience. I mean, Hitchcock himself knew the absurdity of this passage, so he was using his rich film experience to induce the audience to forget common sense.

View more about Dial M for Murder reviews

Extended Reading

Dial M for Murder quotes

  • [first lines]

    Margot Mary Wendice: let me get you another drink. Mark, before Tony comes I ought to explain something.

    Mark Halliday: Yes, I've been waiting for that.

    Margot Mary Wendice: I haven't told him anything about us.

  • Margot Mary Wendice: Oh, there you are. We thought you were never coming. What have you been up to?

    Tony Wendice: I'm sorry darling, but the boss came in just as I was leaving.

    Margot Mary Wendice: Tony, this is Mark Halliday.

    Tony Wendice: Hello Mark.

    Mark Halliday: Hello.