Alibi (1929)

Director:

Roland West

Writers:

Roland West (screenplay) and
C. Gardner Sullivan (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

20 April 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Crime

Plot:

Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery...

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Robbery | Theater | Prison | Detective

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars.

Cast

Chester Morris	...	Chick Williams
Harry Stubbs	...	Buck Bachman
Mae Busch	...	Daisy Thomas
Eleanor Griffith	...	Joan Manning Williams
Regis Toomey	...	Danny McGann
Purnell Pratt	...	Police Sgt. Pete Manning (as Purnell B. Pratt)
Irma Harrison	...	Toots
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Elmer Ballard	...	Soft Malone - Cab Driver (uncredited)
Diana Beaumont	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
James Bradbury Jr.	...	Blake - a Crook (uncredited)
Ed Brady	...	George Stanislaus David (uncredited)
Kernan Cripps	...	Trask - Plainclothesman (uncredited)
Virginia Flohri	...	Singer in Theater (uncredited)
Al Hill	...	Brown - a Crook (uncredited)
Edward Jardon	...	Singer in Theater (uncredited)
DeWitt Jennings	...	Officer O'Brien (uncredited)
Pat O'Malley	...	Detective Sgt. Tommy Glennon (uncredited)

Directed by
Roland West

Writing credits
Roland West		(screenplay) and
C. Gardner Sullivan		(screenplay)
John Griffith Wray		(play "Nightstick") &
J.C. Nugent		(play "Nightstick") and
Elaine S. Carrington		(play "Nightstick")
C. Gardner Sullivan		titles for silent version
Roland West		titles for silent version

Produced by
Roland West	....	producer

Cinematography by
Ray June		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Hal C. Kern		(as Hal Kern)

Art Direction by
William Cameron Menzies

Makeup Department
Robert Stephanoff	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Sound Department
Howard Campbell	....	sound (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Ned Mann	....	special effects (uncredited)
Harry Zech	....	special effects (uncredited)

Music Department
Hugo Riesenfeld	....	musical arranger

Other crew
Fanchon	....	choreographer
Joseph M. Schenck	....	presenter (as Joseph Schenck)
John McCaleb	....	police advisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Feature Productions

Distributors

• United Artists (1929) (USA) (theatrical)
• Terra - United Artists (1929) (Germany) (theatrical)
• United Artists (1930) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Kino Video (19??) (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

91 min (copyright length) | 83 min (Kino Print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (MovieTone)

Certification:

USA:TV-PG | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:18 (original rating) (1930)

Company:

Feature Productions

Trivia:

Based on the Broadway play: Nightstick (1927). Melodrama. Written by John Griffith Wray, J.C. Nugent, Elliott Nugent, and Elaine S. Carrington. Directed and produced by Crosby Gaige. Selwyn Theatre: 10 Nov 1927-Jan 1928 (closing date unknown/84 performances). Cast: Velma Forrest, Kathryn Givney, Raymond Hackett, Harry R. Irving, Charles Kennedy (as "Pete Manning"), Victor Kilian, Judith Lowry, Thomas Mitchell, Edgar Nelson, Lee Patrick (as "Joan Manning"), Harry Stubbs, William Tennyson, Edna White, John Wray. Produced on film as Alibi (1929) by United Artists and released in April, 1929 (in both talkie and silent versions).

Movie Connections:

Featured in Indie Sex: Censored (2007) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Then I'll Know Why

Tough going, but you can see why it impressed in 1929

This crime melodrama isn't terribly easy to sit through today, but you can see why it impressed everybody and got a Best Picture Oscar nomination in 1929-- director West is constantly experimenting with the possibilities of sound, dramatically raising and lowering voice volumes and playing with background noise, music (there's a not-bad dance number that foreshadows Busby Berkeley a little), etc.