Catastrophic plot hole please explain.spollers. - Dial M for Murder (1954) Discussion

[–] Vinnytt 9 years ago

Because he assumes that Swann wouldn't have left the key until after the job was done.

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[–] milesgiles1-198-356339 9 years ago

but the job wasn't done, he never left the apartment, so the key couldn't be under the stairs..

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[–] Altho73 9 years ago

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So the husband goes through the dead mans pockets..

WHY?

He knows the key has been left under the stair carpet, as per the plan.. Why would he be expecting to find a key on him?
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Quite simple.

Tony goes thru the dead man's (Swann) pockets to find the key to the apartment. Tony had left the key under the stair carpet for Swann to pick up and use to enter the apartment. Swann had taken the key from under the stair carpet and used it to enter the apartment but the wife had killed Swann before he could leave the apartment so the key would still be in his pocket. Tony had to get the key back before the police came.

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[–] FilmKoala 9 years ago

Exactly. But Tony didn't realize that Swann already had put the key back under the carpet and that ended up being his downfall.

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[–] Altho73 9 years ago

Exactly, that's what I was trying to say.

And when Tony found A KEY on Swann's body (which turned out to be the key to Swann's apartment) he naturally assumed that it was the key to his (Tony's) apartment so he took it from the body.

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[–] MsELLERYqueen2 9 years ago

Correct. It couldn't be under the stairs, so a pocket would be a likely place.

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💕 JimHutton (1934-79) and ElleryQueen 👍

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[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] OllieSuave-007 9 years ago

Swan took the key from the stairs, unlocked the door, returned the key to the stairs, and then entered the flat.

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[–] tseybert 9 years ago

Not catastrophic.

Not even a plot hole, really.

Janet! Donkeys!

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[–] AviNoir 9 years ago

The entire thing was explained very well in the end if you paid a bit more attention.

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[–] snelling 9 years ago

It's the opposite of a plot-hole. It's the twist at the end that frames Tony.

"I will not go down in history as the greatest mass-murderer since Adolf Hitler!" - Merkin Muffley

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[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nomad472002 9 years ago

One thing that did catch my notice, though, was that no one seemed to be using a key ring or key chain for their 'latch key'. It's hard to imagine several people walking about with just a single key in their pocket/handbag.

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[–] congo_bongo 9 years ago

The other thing is everyone walking around with seemingly identical-looking keys. When Wendice fishes the key out of Swann's pocket, surely he would notice that the keys were different? Or does Swann's girlfriend very coincidentally have the same lock as Wendice, and both have keys with no distinguishing marks?

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[–] mdonln 8 years ago

nomad472002 says > One thing that did catch my notice, though, was that no one seemed to be using a key ring or key chain for their 'latch key'. It's hard to imagine several people walking about with just a single key in their pocket/handbag.

I laughed about this too. Maybe keychains hadn't been invented. Seriously, maybe that is how some people carried and still carry their one key. It's possible back then people didn't have as many keys as some of us seem to need today.

In the movie they dealt with it really well. Many times they mentioned the fact the building entry door was always left open. If it were locked it would require another key. I think it's unlikely they would live in a building that had a front door left open to the public. Margot was a wealthy woman but we have to play along. We also have to assume that same front door issue would be the same where at the inspector's apartment and Swann's girlfriend's apartment.

The similarity of the keys is not a big issue. Most keys are cut from the same form; only the teeth patterns are different. Most people wouldn't be able to recognize one cut pattern from the next. The keys to my home and my parents' home are identical in appearance and we each have multiple doors so I often use the wrong key. I ended up getting little key jackets so I could color code them.

Woman, man! That's the way it should be Tarzan. [Tarzan and his mate]

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[–] spookyrat1 8 years ago

It's the opposite of a plot-hole.

Agreed.

Catastrophic plot hole ...

Another example of an over-excited OP, who just hasn't paid attention.🐭

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[–] statuskuo 8 years ago

It's a good question. But one that can be explained by...just behavior. You've hired a man to murder your wife, naturally you'd be interested in seeing what evidence he may be been stowing away. It was done in a panic, and seeing the key, he just quickly assumed he'd forgotten to replace it.

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[–] yurenchu 8 years ago

It's rather simple. During the night, Margot would have locked down the doorlock (two half-twists of the knob on the lock) from the inside. Tony had instructed Swann to use the key hidden under the stair carpet to unlock and open the door, then enter the apartment, kill Margot, exit through the same door and then put the key back under the stair carpet. This is a logical course of events, because Swann would have to lock the door with the key again from the outside on his way out.

Since Swann never got to leaving the apartment and locking the door again, Tony assumed that Swann still had the key somewhere on his body. However, it turns out that for some reason*, Swann didn't want to keep the key on himself and instead kept it under the stair carpet when he wasn't using it.

That's hardly a plot hole.

[*] One possible reason might be that in case something goes completely wrong and Swann would have to abandon the plan and immediately run away from the crime scene, then Swann could easily do so without having to worry about any incriminating evidence that is still in his pockets.

______
Joe Satriani - "Always With Me, Always With You"
http://youtu.be/VI57QHL6ge0

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[–] jquirk-1 8 years ago

Tony clearly told Swann to place the key back under the stair carpet AFTER the murder. That's what Tony assumed the key was still in Swann's pocket. Swann, however, placed the key back under the stair carpet right after opening the door. There is no plot hole.

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[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] yurenchu 7 years ago

However, for some reason, the audience makes the same assumption as Tony,

The audience makes the same assumption as Tony because a few scenes earlier the audience saw Tony giving strict and clear instructions to Swann how to perform the murder; and putting the key back under the stair carpet before entering the apartment was not among the instructions.

On the contrary: Tony's instructions were that, upon leaving the apartment (after the murder), Swann should lock the door again with the key and then place the key back under the stair carpet. But Swann deviated slightly from those instructions because he was apparently experienced enough to know that it's smarter to keep the key back in its hiding place while he's inside the apartment, in case something might go wrong and he might end up being in a rush.

So in short, the audience (who, just like Tony, aren't experienced burglars) was conditioned to presume that Swann had acted in the exact way that Tony had explained to him before. (Or more precisely: the audience had no direct reason to presume that Swann had slightly deviated from Tony's instructions.)

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Keiko Matsui & Carl Anderson - "A Drop of Water"
http://youtu.be/kPUENUUuqSk

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