John Williams won the 1953 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for "Dial M for Murder" as Inspector Hubbard. He re-created the role in this movie.
Alfred Hitchcock had chosen a very expensive robe for Grace Kelly to wear when she answered the phone. Kelly balked and said that no woman would put on such a robe just to answer the ringing telephone while she was asleep alone; she would answer it in her nightgown. Hitchcock agreed to do it her way and liked the way the rushes turned out, and he allowed Kelly to make all costume decisions for herself in their subsequent movies together.
Alfred Hitchcock made a special effort to shoot scenes indoors, almost exclusively. Only a few brief shots, usually involving Chief Inspector Hubbard, take place outside. Hitchcock believed the decision to shoot most scenes indoors would create a sense of claustrophobia.
Alfred Hitchcock wanted Cary Grant to star, but Warner Brothers felt that he would be miscast as a villain.
Warner Bros. insisted on shooting the movie in 3-D, although the craze was fading and Alfred Hitchcock was sure the movie would be released flat. Hitchcock wanted the first shot to be that of a close-up of a finger dialing the letter M on a rotary dial telephone, but the 3-D camera would not be able to focus such a close-up correctly. Hitchcock ordered a giant finger made from wood with a proportionally large dial built in order to achieve the effect.
Alfred Hitchcock: Hitchcock can be seen on the left side of the reunion photograph. As he is only seen in a photo, this is the final Hitchcock movie in which he does not appear in person.