Naked Alibi

Director: Jerry Hopper Jerry Hopper

Overview

In this taut crime meller, chief of detectives Joseph E. Conroy is busted after failing to prove that "solid citizen" Al Willis is a maniacal cop-killer. When Willis and his girlfriend skip town, Conroy follows the fugitives to a border town, then slowly and methodically maps out the villain's doom.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/05/2019
UPC:	0738329234027
Original Release:	1954
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W, Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:26:00
Sales rank:	19,666

Special Features

Audio commentary by film historian Kat Ellinger; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Sterling Hayden	Chief Joe Conroy
Gloria Grahame	Marianna
Gene Barry	Al Willis
Marcia Henderson	Helen Willis
Max Showalter	Detective Lt. Parks
Billy Chapin	Petey
Chuck Connors	Capt. Owen Kincaide
Don Haggerty	Matt Matthews,Matt Matthews
Stuart Randall	Chief A.S. Babcock
Don Garrett	Tony
Richard Beach	Felix
Tol Avery	Irish
Paul Leavitt	Gerald Frazier
Fay Roope	Commissioner F.J. O'Day
Joseph Mell	Otto Stoltz
Bud Wolfe	Lt. Fitzpatrick
John Day	Sgt. Jenkins
Frank Wilcox	Goodwin
Paul Levitt	Gerald Frazier
H.J. Salter	Composer
Herman Stein	Composer

Technical Credits

Lawrence Roman

Jerry Hopper	Director
Ross Hunter	Producer
Lawrence Roman	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

A lesser entry in the film noir world, Naked Alibi could have been a much better film. The basic set-up -- cop killer goes free due to lack of evidence and obsessed detective is determined he be brought to justice -- is solid, but it's presented in an unconvincing, pedestrian manner. There's the potential for some classic noir psychological underpinnings about the good and bad in every man, as the suspect is initially quite likeable and the detective not so; but again, this idea isn't carried out in an interesting way. Lacking any true psychological depth, the result of this is to make the viewer care for the villain and become impatient with the hero. When their personalities reverse later, it therefore doesn't ring true. Plot twists are also quite unconvincing, and characters act in an uncharacteristic manner at the drop of a hat. Jerry Hopper's direction is fairly mundane, although Russell Metty provides him with some solid cinematography that bumps up the atmosphere substantially. Alibi has a very good cast in Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame and Gene Barry, but the flaws in the screenplay keep them from doing their best work. The actors make Alibi worth a glance, but on the whole it's only so-so.