Paul Blow takes on Dial M for Murder at Bottleneck Gallery, and it’s a fitting subject for him: Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller is a masterclass in restraint, and Blow’s flat color and pared-down shapes are a natural match for a film that wrings its suspense out of one London flat. Adapted from Frederick Knott’s stage play, it was the first of Grace Kelly’s three straight collaborations with Hitchcock (Rear Window and To Catch a Thief followed within two years), and while critics at the time filed it away as minor Hitchcock, a stagey warm-up for the run that followed, its reputation has climbed steadily since. There’s also a great bit of trivia baked into it: the film was shot in 3D at the tail end of the early-50s fad, but by release the craze had cooled and most audiences saw it flat. Blow’s piece freezes the moment the whole plot hinges on, Margot alone at the desk as the telephone rings, which is about as pure a distillation of the film as a single image can be.
Dial M for Murder by Paul Blow
24” x 36” Screen Print / Acrylic Panel
- Screen Print: $60 – edition of 100
- Acrylic Panel Variant: $125 – edition of 35
Dial M for Murder by Paul Blow
Dial M for Murder - Acrylic Panel Variant by Paul Blow