Dial D For 'Deleted Scene'
A Deleted Scene From Alfred Hitchcock's 'Dial M For Murder'
MARGOT: Oh, darling. I found something… unusual today while tidying your desk.
TONY: Unusual, darling?
MARGOT: Yes. In your diary. I couldn’t help but notice an entry that read ‘Dial M For Murder’.
TONY: Oh, that. (resumes smoking his pipe)
MARGOT: (hesitantly) What exactly does ‘Dial M For Murder’ mean?
TONY: Hmmm?
MARGOT: ‘Dial M For Murder’, darling. What does that refer to?
TONY: (removing pipe) It’s just a reminder, darling, for me to give you a telephone call tomorrow night while I’m at the stag do where vast numbers of men can confirm my presence at that exact time. Nothing more.
MARGOT: (smiling) Of course, darling. That makes sense.
TONY: (resumes smoking his pipe)
MARGOT: (frowning) But the ‘Dial M for murder’ bit. What’s all that about?
TONY: Why, that’s simply a way for me to remember the first digit of our phone number, which corresponds to the letter M on the telephone dial. A simple mnemonic device.
MARGOT: Yes, but why ‘murder’, darling? Why not a different word that starts with ‘M’. ‘Mnemonic’, for example?
TONY: Oh, darling. A silent ‘M’? That wouldn’t be very useful, would it? How would you hear the call?
MARGOT: (frowns in confusion)
TONY: Tsch. Just imagine, a telephone that doesn’t ring.
The pair of them turn and stare down the lens in 3D, winking at modern audiences, before resuming their conversation.
MARGOT: Well, why not a different word that starts with ‘M’? Why not, say, ‘Mika’?
TONY: ‘Dial M For Mika’?
MARGOT: Yes, the pop music star. I am being played by Grace Kelly, which was the name of his biggest hit.
TONY: Oh, I see. But, darling, that song won’t come out until 2007. And this movie is set in 1954.
MARGOT: Ah… Yes, you’re right. Still, why not ‘Dial M For Margot’? That is, after all, my name.
TONY: Huh. So it is. I guess that never occurred to me.
MARGOT: But ‘murder’ did? I suppose I’m just curious, darling, as to how ‘murder’ reminds you of me? It sounds... (laughing nervously) well, it sounds almost ominous.
TONY: (also laughing) Oh, darling. I see now what you’re saying. ‘Dial M for Murder’. That could sound somewhat off-putting.
MARGOT: (laughing)
TONY: (laughing)
MARGOT: (laughing)
TONY: No, darling. I simply meant ‘murder’ in the sense of ‘a murder of crows’.
MARGOT: Ahhhhhhhhh. The collective noun.
TONY: Precisely. Like a herd of cattle. Or a pack of wolves.
MARGOT: I see, darling. Like a pride of lions.
TONY: Exactly. And what does pride come before, darling?
MARGOT: Pride comes before a fall.
TONY: Precisely. And what do Americans, such as your secret boyfriend with whom you're having an affair, mean when they say ‘fall’?
MARGOT: (delighted) Autumn!
TONY: Now you’ve got it, darling. And in Autumn, trees lose their…
MARGOT: Leaves?
TONY: Yes, so this is a reminder when I leave to call you later… once I’ve fully established my alibi for the evening, of course.
MARGOT: Ah, that all makes sense, darling. ‘Dial M For Murder’. Yes. I feel so silly having even brought it up.
TONY: No need to feel silly, darling. (resumes smoking his pipe)
MARGOT: Uhhh…
TONY: (removing his pipe) Something else, darling?
MARGOT: I was just wondering… what about the mnemonic I found for the rest of the phone number? ‘Dial A for Adultery. R for Revenge. P for Police. A for Arrest. F for Framing. T for Trial. D for Death Penalty.’?
TONY: Well, darling, that's simply a reminder of my backup plan for escaping this sham of a marriage while still inheriting your vast wealth. (laughs)
MARGOT: (laughs)
If you enjoy the movies of Alfred Hitchcock, or would like to learn more about them, you should listen to HitchPod, the podcast I do with Cat Jones. We’re currently doing a rewatch countdown of Hitchcock’s top twenty movies as voted on by our listeners and are up to… Dial M For Murder.