And, of course, "Dial 'M'for Murder" was the direct inspiration for Levinson and Link's "Prescription: Murder." Man plots to kill his wife in an elaborate and clever manner. The plan goes awry and wife survives. The would-be killer must think on his feet to outwit the police detective. L & L brought many variations to this premise, the obvious onebeing the creation of the seemingly simple-minded Columbo. Williams' inspector in Dial M is much more formidable.

Two other L & L scripts take inspiration from earlier mysteries. "Murder By Natural Causes" utilizes the cat-and-mouse who's-fooling-who format from "Sleuth." I find MBNC to be superior to Sleuth. It holds up better under repeated viewings. And I've discussed the similarities between "The Last of Sheila" and "Rehearsal for Murder" in that thread a few weeks ago.

Mark

very interesting! i just watched "dial M for murder" for the first time and LOVED seeing ray milland in the role--i had never really seen his earlier work. i also thought the detective seemed so familiar but wasn't able to place him! thank you for posting this!

i will have to watch it again this weekend and look for martin milner.