Frederick Knott and Dial M for Murder: The Creation and Evolution of an Iconic Thriller

Husband gets X to kill his wife.

She kills X.

Husband fixes things to make it appear that she had murdered X.

Wife arrested for murder.

or

Wife convicted and about to be hanged.

So wrote Frederick Knott--an idea for a half-hour television drama he might sell to a British production company. But the company went bankrupt, leaving Knott at a low, almost hopeless moment in his career. In an act of sheer desperation, Knott turned his idea, Dial M for Murder, into a play. It took 18 grueling months to write and faced near-fatal obstacles on two continents en route to the stage. At several pivotal moments along the way, Knott nearly gave up, once coming close to tearing up his manuscript. Instead, he persevered, embarking on a long and arduous journey that would ultimately change his life. This book tells the entire story of Knott's life and works, with a focus on his greatest work for the stage, Dial M for Murder.

Richard Weill is a playwright and author living in suburban New York.