Ray Milland
Ray Milland plays the suave anti-hero Tony Wendice, a retired tennis star with a taste for luxury. He is married to Margot; a wealthy socialite who he discovers later on is having an affair with a mystery novelist. He conspires to murder his wife with an old associate of his, fearing that his wife would eventually divorce him leaving him unable to sustain his lavish lifestyle. It interesting to note the complete absence of any emotion while he orchestrates his reprehensible plot, leaving the audience to conclude that Tony from the get-go is a cold-blooded sociopath; he is also exceedingly manipulative, managing to convince an old acquaintance to commit murder for him.
Grace Kelly
Margot, the unlikely protagonist of the film, is a walking set of contradictions. She is completely oblivious to the fact that her husband is plotting to murder her despite her wit and intelligence. Margo reveals herself to be a compassionate, trusting, and genuinely polished individual despite being unfaithful to her murderous husband. Her innate resilience and ingenuity shines through when she is assaulted by Swann, dispatching her aggressor with a pair of scissors. She maintains her unique innocence in the face of all the sinister plotting that goes on around her continuously through the film that generates sympathy and endears her to the audience.
Robert Cummings
Mystery novelist, Margo’s lover, and unsuspecting impetus of the attempts against her life, he starts out in the film completely clueless of all clandestine manipulations being orchestrated against his ladylove. It is his resolute confidence and genuine regard for Margo prevents him from abandoning her and eventually clues him in on Tony’s murderous plot. His background as a mystery writer pays off, as he is able to piece together events and draw connections to them allowing the Inspector to not just build a case against Tony but also entrap him as he tries to carry out his dastardly scheme.
Anthony Dawson
A dyed-in-the-wool felon and fraud, he is precisely the kind of lowlife Tony needs to carry out his dirty work for him. Swann possesses a base cunning that comes with leading the life of a criminal, but he is clearly outclassed in criminality by the sheer cold, calculating, self-centeredness of Tony’s manipulations. Despite his experience in carrying out crimes a quick-witted Margot quickly dispatches him.
John Williams
Inspector Hubbard is expertly played by John Williams who depicts him as the typical self-effacing English detective who is actually much more astute and perceptive than he allows the other characters to see. Despite the proverbial stiff upper lip though and the unwillingness to deviate from standard police procedures he does reveal his softer, more human side to show. In keeping true to the self-effacing characterization he allows Tony to continue with his pretense of blamelessness despite seeing through his inconsistencies and already formulating possible motives for plotting foul play.
