Tony Wendice is the villainous protagonist of the 1954 Alfred Hitchcock film Dial M for Murder. He is a former tennis star who has discovered his wife Margot is cheating on him, and plots to murder her while leaving himself with an alibi.
He was played by Ray Milland.
What Makes Him Magnificent?[]
- He's a very affable and strategic man who has genuine respect for those he's plotting against.
- He's very skilled at analyzing Swann and finding his weaknesses, and smoothly entraps him, inviting him to his house to discuss business, then slowly revealing what he knows about Swann's criminal past, dissuades him from going to the police by tricking him into getting his fingerprints on the blackmail note he sent Margot, and outlines a complex plan to have Swann enter the apartment and kill Margot.
- When Swann is killed and the plan fails, Tony is quickly able to improvise an even better plan, tampering with the crime scene to make it seem Margot killed him in cold blood. He is able to manipulate Inspector Hubbard and trick him into falling for the ruse, while maintaining the facade of being a loyal husband.
- When his plan is in danger of being discovered, Tony is able to spin things to his advantage and frustrate Mark and Hubbard's efforts to expose him.
- Upon being defeated in the end, he accepts his defeat and congratulates those who exposed him, even pouring them wine, with the exception of Hubbard who would be reprimanded for drinking on duty.
What Makes Him a Baddie?[]
- He plans to murder Margot and get her money.
- He manipulates Swann into attempting to kill Margot, which gets him killed.
- He frames Margot for killing Swann, nearly getting her sentenced to death.