Dial M for Murder is a 1954 American detective fiction film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings and John Williams. It was filmed in 3-D with the technology that was available at the time, and is often considered one of the greatest 3D films ever made. The screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was based were written by English playwright Frederick Knott. The play premiered in 1952 on BBC television, before being performed on stage in the same year in London's West End in June, and then New York's Broadway in October. The movie was released by Warner Bros., though due to the then waning popularity of 3D films, it was converted to 2D, and only showed in its native 3D format in a small handful of cinemas.