Dial M for Murder

N.p. N.p., Circa 1954. Archive of five vintage borderless oversize photographs of director Alfred Hitchcock with various cast and crew members on the set of the 1954 film noir. Manuscript ink and pencil annotations to the verso, including cropping annotations, "FILE" stamps, and the stamp of photographer Sanford H. Roth. Four photographs with printed mimeo snipes affixed to the verso, and four photographs with manuscript annotations noting their appearance in the May 24, 1954 issue of Life magazine.

Brooklyn-born photojournalist Sanford Roth was best known for his portrait photography, capturing intimate and now iconic images of artists and actors throughout his decades-long career, including Marc Chagall, Joan Crawford, Albert Einstein, Henri Matisse, and Elizabeth Taylor, among many others.

Based on the 1952 play by Frederick Knott, who also wrote the screenplay, about a tennis player who arranges to have his wife framed for murder after discovering her infidelity. The only Hitchcock film to be shot in 3D (although the format would ultimately be discarded for theatrical release) and the first of three Hitchcock films to feature actress Grace Kelly, followed by "Rear Window" (1954) and "To Catch a Thief" (1955).

One photograph features Hitchcock leaning over a giant rotary dial, a prop made as a result of Warner Brothers' proprietary 3D camera rig. Hitchcock wanted the first shot of the film to feature a finger pressing the letter M on a rotary dial telephone, but the specialized 3D camera was unable to focus the close-up correctly, leading the director to order a giant finger made from wood and a proportionally large dial in order to achieve the effect.

Four photographs 10 x 13.5 inches, one photograph 9.5 x 13.5 inches. Lightly edgeworn, else generally Near Fine.

Grant US. Selby US. Spicer US.

[Book #153634]