Alibi

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Director Roland West was a moody and mysterious Hollywood character, who insisted upon making his pictures in utter secrecy and filming only at night. This may explain the overall foreboding atmosphere of Alibi, West's first talking picture. Chester Morris portrays a ruthless gangster who must establish an alibi after pulling off a warehouse robbery. Regis Toomey and Pat O'Malley are the detectives assigned to get the goods on Morris. Full of vicious bravado when he's on top of a situation, Morris turns into a craven coward when he's trapped--but not before coldbloodedly gunning down true-blue policeman Toomey, who then launches into one the longest and most lachrymose death scenes in the history of movies. Alibi was based on the play Nightstick, written by John Wray, J.C. Nugent and Elaine Sterne. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Screen: Black and White
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Actor - 1928- (Chester Morris)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1928-

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Chester Morris - Chick Williams (No. 1065)
       Harry Stubbs - Buck Bachman
       Mae Busch - Daisy Manning
       Eleanor Griffith - Joan Manning
       Irma Harrison - Toots
       Regis Toomey - Danny McGann
       Al Hill - Brown
       Elmer Ballard - Soft Malone
       Kernan Cripps - Trask
       Purnell Pratt - Pete Manning
       Pat O'Malley - Tommy Glennon
       DeWitt Jennings - O'Brien
       Virginia Flohri - Singer
       Edward Jardon - Singer
       Diana Beaumont

• Director:

  Roland West

• Producer:

  Roland West

• Play Author:

  J.C. Nugent

• Screenwriter:

  C. Gardner Sullivan, Roland West

• Play Author:

  John Griffith Wray, Elaine Sterne Carrington, Eugene S. Carrington

• Cinematographer:

  Ray June

• Composer (Music Score):

  Hugo Riesenfeld

• Editor:

  Hal Kem, Hal Kern

• Art Director:

  William Cameron Menzies

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Howard Campbell

• Makeup:

  Robert Stephanoff

• Special Effects:

  Ned Mann, Harry Zech

• Choreography:

  Fanchon

REVIEW:

• A "transition" film as the movies tried to adapt to the new medium of sound, Alibi was critically hailed when first released but is less impressive when seen today. Like many films of the period, Alibi was trying to find a way of reconciling the cinematic freedom that had developed in the silent films with the demands of filming in sound, which at the time largely precluded much camera movement. Thus, there are several impressive segments with no dialogue (sound effects being added in later) which demonstrate director Roland West and cinematographer Ray June's considerable talents; there are also many more (and much longer) dialogue-heavy scenes that are largely of the point-and-shoot variety. These latter scenes weigh the movie for modern viewers, especially as they seem so cliched and trite. At the time of the film's release, however, they were striking some new chords, both in the manner in which the characters were presented as essentially all lacking in morals (e.g., the cops are not really a whole lot better than the robbers) and in which conventions of the gangster film were being set that would become important in later, more lasting films. When allowed to run free with the camera, West is impressive, creating expressionistic angles that, with June's careful, evocative lighting and William Cameron Menzies' striking sets, make quite an impact. But too much of the film is static, and the over-the-top performances, especially from Regis Toomey, are a distraction. ~ Craig Butler, Rovi