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TUESDAY

Though it’s rarely screened in stereoscopic 3-D, as it was originally filmed, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1954 thriller Dial M for Murder offers its fair share of 2-D nail-biting suspense. The film stars Ray Milland as Tony Wendice, a smooth-talking ex-tennis pro financially dependent on his wealthy wife, Margot (Grace Kelly). Suspecting that she may be leaving him for detective-story novelist Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), Tony hatches the perfect plan to have his wife murdered and cash in. But when his calculated scheme backfires, Tony is forced to improvise—planting evidence, suggesting the outlandish, and somehow managing to maintain his composure while seemingly keeping one step ahead of Chief Inspector Hubbard (John Williams). Shot almost entirely in the Wendices’ living room, Hitchcock’s adaptation of Frederick Knott’s play retains its sense of stagebound claustrophobia through minimalist cinematography, allowing the tension-laden dialogue to direct the action instead. Leave your 3-D glasses at home and keep your house keys in your pocket at 9 p.m. at the American City Diner, 5532 Connecticut Ave. NW. Free. (202) 244-1949. (Matthew Borlik)