Frederick Knott, (Frederick Major Paull Knott) was born in Hankow, China on August 28th 1916 and died on December 17th 2002 in New York City. He was an English playwright best known for writing the London-based stage thriller Dial M for Murder which was later filmed in Hollywood by Alfred Hitchcock. Dial M for Murder (1954) is a U.S. film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland as a married couple. ... Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock KBE (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was a British film director and producer, a master of the suspense thriller genre. ...

Frederick Knott was born in China of English parents who were missionaries. He was privately educated at Oundle School from 1929-34 and later earned a law degree from Cambridge University. He served in the British Army 1939-46, rising to the rank of Major, and eventually moved to the United States. Oundle School is a public school, at Oundle in Northamptonshire, England. ...

Although his most successful play Dial M for Murder was a hit on the stage, it was, in fact, originally a BBC television production. As a theatre piece it premiered at the Westminster Theatre in Victoria, London in June 1952. The Director was John Fernald and it starred Alan MacNaughtan and Jane Baxter. This was followed in October by a successful run in New York at the Plymouth Theater where Reginald Denham directed Richard Derr and Gusti Huber. Knott also wrote the screenplay for the 1954 Hollywood movie which Hitchcock filmed for Warner Brothers in 3D. The film starred Ray Milland and Grace Kelly in the leading roles and had Anthony Dawson and John Williams both reprising their characters from the New York stage production where Williams had won a Tony Award for his role as Inspector Hubbard. Dial M for Murder (1954) is a U.S. film directed by Alfred Hitchcock starring Grace Kelly and Ray Milland as a married couple. ... Alan MacNaughtan (March 4, 1920 - August 29, 2002) was born in Bearsden, Dumbartonshire, Scotland. ... Gusti Huber (born July 27, 1914 in Wiener Neustadt, died July 12, 1993 in New York City) was an Austrian theater and film actress. ... Warner Bros. ... Ray Milland in The Lost Weekend Ray Milland (January 3, 1905 – March 10, 1986) was a successful Welsh actor and director who worked primarily in the United States. ... Princess Grace of Monaco, (born Grace Patricia Kelly) (November 12, 1929 – September 14, 1982) was an Academy Award-winning American film actress who, as a result of marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco on April 19, 1956, became Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. ... Anthony Dawson (October 18, 1916 – January 8, 1992) was a Scottish-born actor. ... John Williams (April 15, 1902 – May 5, 1983) was a British stage, film, and television actor. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ...

In 1960, Knott wrote the stage thriller Write Me A Murder which was produced at the Belasco Theater in New York in October, 1961. It was directed by George Schaefer and included Denholm Elliot and Kim Hunter in the cast. Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE (May 31, 1922 – October 6, 1992) was a distinguished British actor, well known for his appearances on stage, film and television. ... Kim Hunter (b. ...

In 1966, Knott's stage play Wait Until Dark was produced on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theater. The Director was Arthur Penn and the play starred Lee Remick who won a Tony Award nomination for her performance. Later the same year, Honor Blackman played the lead in London's West End at the Strand Theatre. However the movie version released in 1967 had Audrey Hepburn in the lead role. Hepburn, Crenna, Arkin and Weston Wait Until Dark is a 1966 film which tells the story of a blind woman terrorized by three criminals searching for drugs in her apartment. ... Arthur Penn (born September 27, 1922 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is a film director of thoughtful films that dont always find an audience. ... Lee Remick Lee Remick (December 14, 1935 - July 2, 1991), was an American actress admired for her versality and her great beauty. ... What is popularly called the Tony Award (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theater, including musical theater, primarily honoring productions on Broadway in New York. ... Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (born in London, England on December 12, 1927, although many sources have listed her date of birth as August 22, 1926) is a British actress. ... Audrey Hepburn (4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was an iconic Academy Award-winning actress, fashion model and humanitarian. ...

Bibliography

• Dial M for Murder (Samuel French, London ISBN 0573011028)
• Dial M for Murder (Random House Plays, New York 1952)
• Write Me a Murder (Dramatists Play Service Inc, New York 1962)
• Wait Until Dark (Samuel French, London ISBN 0573010501)