Naked Alibi

Last updated
Naked Alibi
Naked Alibi movie poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jerry Hopper
Screenplay byLawrence Roman
Based on"Cry Copper"
1951 story
by Gladys Atwater
J. Robert Bren [1]
Produced by Ross Hunter
Starring Sterling Hayden
Gloria Grahame
Gene Barry
Cinematography Russell Metty
Edited by Al Clark
Color process Black and white
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • October 1, 1954 (1954-10-01)
Running time
86 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Naked Alibi is a 1954 American film noir crime film directed by Jerry Hopper and starring Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame and Gene Barry. It was released on October 1, 1954 by Universal-International. Portions of the film were shot in Tijuana. [2]

Contents

Plot

In a California city, Lt. Fred Parks (Max Showalter) interrogates drunken local baker Albert Willis (Gene Barry) about his possible connection to recent eastside robberies. After repeatedly stating that he is innocent, Willis erupts in anger and punches Parks, who retaliates. Chief Joseph E. Conroy (Sterling Hayden) enters just in time to hear Willis threaten revenge but is compelled to release him because he has read that councilman Edgar Goodwin (Frank Wilcox) is calling for an investigation of police brutality. Willis returns to his wife Helen (Marcia Henderson) but slips out again that night and hours later, Parks is shot.

Joe takes on the case and immediately suspects Willis; however, he has only the fatal bullets as evidence. When the police try to arrest Willis again, he runs away, falling on his head during the chase. He once again swears he is innocent, and after his lawyer, wife, and Goodwin hear about Willis's injuries, pressure is put on Joe to let Willis go. That evening two more officers are killed and Joe goes to arrest Willis himself. When Willis provokes another fight, the altercation is witnessed by a reporter, and Joe is soon fired for brutality. Undaunted, he asks his friend, private detective Matt Matthews (Don Haggerty), to help tail Willis.

Over the next few days, Willis grows disturbed by the shadows following him and tells Helen that he must leave town to clear his head. He heads to Border City with Joe following close behind. There Willis meets his girlfriend Marianna (Gloria Grahame) who sings at a bar. Marianna knows nothing of Willis's other life and accepts his rough treatment. That night, Joe shows Willis's photo around town and is duped by a street hustler who, with two of his friends, stabs, robs, and leaves Joe for dead.

A young local boy named Petey (Billy Chapin) finds Joe in the alley the next morning and, along with his uncle Charlie, minister to him in their apartment. When Marianna, who lives upstairs from Petey, comes by to help them, she pockets Joe's photo of Willis, which is captioned: "Killer or family man?" Later at a party hosted by Willis, she asks him to marry her, but he refuses. Marianna is then horrified to witness Willis throwing a waiter over an indoor balcony. She heads for home, followed by Willis, and while Joe watches from the window, Willis grabs her roughly and threatens her. Marianna runs inside where she attempts to extract information about Willis from Joe by flirting with him.

The next morning, Joe readies to go, stopping only to say goodbye to Marianna who quietly talks to him about the big mistakes she has made. Meanwhile, Willis has come to believe Marianna has a lover and jealously storms into her dressing room. When she admits she knows he is married, Willis realizes that she has spoken to Joe and beats her. She runs to Joe's hotel room to warn him and, after seeing her bruises, Joe explains that he must prove Willis guilty in order to clear his own reputation. He shows her a telegram that reveals Willis's participation in a hijacking ring in the States. When Joe and Marianna step outside to deliver the telegram to the police, Willis and his goons ambush them and take them to the bar.

Willis plans with his goons to create a ruckus and kill them incidentally. Meanwhile, Joe learns from Marianna that Willis never attends church and deduces that Willis must have entered church only to hide the gun. Just then, the goons start a fight and the bar erupts in confusion, allowing Joe and Marianna to race out the back door. Willis follows them and, in the back alley, Joe knocks him out and drags him into his car. The goons see the car leaving and report the "kidnapping" to the police.

Joe and Marianna abandon the car and force Willis into the back of a truck. As soon as they arrive in their home town Willis escapes. Knowing he will run to the church, Joe and Marianna follow him but police arrest Joe. Marianna goes to the church where Willis has retrieved his gun and subsequently takes Marianna hostage. When Joe then bursts in with the policemen, Willis drags Marianna onto the rooftop. A chase ensues, during which Willis shoots Marianna and is himself shot by the police and falls to the ground. Joe carries Marianna to the waiting ambulance and then walks away alone into the dark city.

Cast

Home media

On November 5, 2019, Naked Alibi was released on both DVD and Blu-ray formats for the first time by Kino International under its Kino Lorber Studio Classics line with licensing by Universal Pictures. Both formats present the film in its theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 (the film was originally shot in the academy ratio at 1.37:1). [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Crossfire</i> (film) 1947 noir drama film directed by Edward Dmytryk

Crossfire is a 1947 American film noir drama film starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan which deals with the theme of antisemitism, as did that year's Academy Award for Best Picture winner, Gentleman's Agreement. The film was directed by Edward Dmytryk and the screenplay was written by John Paxton, based on the 1945 novel The Brick Foxhole by screenwriter and director Richard Brooks. The film's supporting cast features Gloria Grahame and Sam Levene. The picture received five Oscar nominations, including Ryan for Best Supporting Actor and Gloria Grahame for Best Supporting Actress. It was the first B movie to receive a Best Picture nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Grahame</span> American actress (1923–1981)

Gloria Grahame was an American actress. She began her acting career in theater, and in 1944 made her first film for MGM. Many biographies indicated she was born Gloria Grahame Hallward but she adopted the surname Grahame, her mother's acting name, as her professional name. She was raised a Methodist.

<i>In a Lonely Place</i> 1950 film by Nicholas Ray

In a Lonely Place is a 1950 American film noir directed by Nicholas Ray and starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame, produced for Bogart's Santana Productions. The script was written by Andrew P. Solt from Edmund H. North's adaptation of Dorothy B. Hughes' 1947 novel of the same name.

<i>The Asphalt Jungle</i> 1950 film by John Huston

The Asphalt Jungle is a 1950 American heist film noir directed and co-written by John Huston, and starring Sterling Hayden and Louis Calhern, with Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles. Based on the 1949 novel by W. R. Burnett, it tells the story of a jewel robbery in a Midwestern city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sterling Hayden</span> American actor (1916–1986)

Sterling Walter Hayden was an American actor, author, sailor, model and Marine. A leading man for most of his career, he specialized in Westerns and film noir throughout the 1950s, in films such as John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Nicholas Ray's Johnny Guitar (1954), and Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956). He became noted for supporting roles in the 1960s, perhaps most memorably as General Jack D. Ripper in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).

<i>The Man Who Never Was</i> 1956 film by Ronald Neame

The Man Who Never Was is a 1956 British espionage thriller film produced by André Hakim and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Clifton Webb and Gloria Grahame and features Robert Flemyng, Josephine Griffin and Stephen Boyd. It is based on the book of the same name by Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu and chronicles Operation Mincemeat, a 1943 British intelligence plan to deceive the Axis powers into thinking the Allied invasion of Sicily would take place elsewhere in the Mediterranean.

<i>The Glass Wall</i> 1953 film by Maxwell Shane

The Glass Wall is a 1953 American drama film noir directed by Maxwell Shane and starring Vittorio Gassman and Gloria Grahame. The black-and-white film was produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The title refers to a design feature of the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

<i>Keeping Mum</i> 2005 British comedy film by Niall Johnson

Keeping Mum is a 2005 British black comedy film co written and directed by Niall Johnson and starring Rowan Atkinson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Maggie Smith and Patrick Swayze. It was produced by Isle of Man Film, Azure Films and Tusk Productions, and was released in the United Kingdom on 2 December 2005, by Summit Entertainment.

Red, White and Tuna is the third in a series of comedic plays, each set in the fictional town of Tuna, Texas, the "third-smallest" town in the state. The plays were written by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, and Ed Howard. The plays are at once an affectionate comment on small-town, Southern life and attitudes but also a withering satire of same. The plays are notable in that two men play the entire cast of nearly twenty eccentric characters of both genders and various ages. The first play, Greater Tuna, debuted in 1981 in Austin; Red, White and Tuna debuted in 1998.

<i>The Ten</i> (film) 2007 American film

The Ten is a 2007 anthology comedy film directed by David Wain, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Ken Marino. It was released through ThinkFilm. The film was released on August 3, 2007. The DVD was released on January 15, 2008. It is an international co-production between the United States and Mexico. It received mixed reviews.

<i>A Womans Secret</i> 1949 film by Nicholas Ray

A Woman's Secret is a 1949 American film noir/mystery starring Maureen O'Hara, Gloria Grahame and Melvyn Douglas. Directed by Nicholas Ray, it was written and produced by Herman J. Mankiewicz based on the novel Mortgage on Life by Vicki Baum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Billy Chapin</span> American actor

William McClellan Chapin was an American child actor, known for a considerable number of screen and TV performances from 1943 to 1959 and best remembered for both his roles as the "diaper manager" Christie Cooper in the 1953 family feature The Kid from Left Field and little John Harper in Charles Laughton's 1955 film noir movie The Night of the Hunter.

<i>Night People</i> (1954 film) 1954 film by Nunnally Johnson

Night People is a 1954 American thriller film directed, produced and co-written by Nunnally Johnson and starring Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Björk and Buddy Ebsen. The story was co-written by Jed Harris, the theatrical producer.

<i>Waterfront Lady</i> 1935 film by Joseph Santley

Waterfront Lady is a 1935 American film directed by Joseph Santley and starring Ann Rutherford, in her feature film debut, and Frank Albertson.

<i>Roughshod</i> (1949 film) 1949 Western film by Mark Robson

Roughshod is a 1949 black-and-white Western film starring Gloria Grahame and Robert Sterling and directed by Mark Robson.

Woman in the Dark is a 1934 American crime drama film directed by Phil Rosen and based on a 1933 short story by Dashiell Hammett. It was filmed at Biograph Studios by Select Pictures and released by RKO Radio Pictures.

The Red-Haired Alibi is an American pre-Code feature-length film produced by Tower Productions. The film was produced by Sigmund Neufeld. The title is often written as Red-Haired Alibi.

J. Robert Bren was a Mexican-American screenwriter and producer who was active from the mid-1930s through the mid-1950s. He wrote either the story or screenplay for thirty feature films, as well as producing at least two of those films.

<i>Batman: Hush</i> (film) 2019 animated film directed by Justin Copeland

Batman: Hush is a 2019 American animated superhero film featuring the DC Comics superhero Batman and loosely based on the 2002 comic book story arc of the same name. It is the thirteenth installment of the DC Animated Movie Universe and the 37th overall film of the DC Universe Animated Original Movies. In the film, Batman forms an alliance with Catwoman to defeat a new villain named Hush, who knows all of Batman's secrets and targets key figures in his life.

<i>Breaking News in Yuba County</i> 2021 American film

Breaking News in Yuba County is a 2021 American black comedy film directed and co-produced by Tate Taylor, from a screenplay written by Amanda Idoko. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Allison Janney, Mila Kunis, Awkwafina, Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, Juliette Lewis, Samira Wiley, Jimmi Simpson, Clifton Collins Jr., Bridget Everett, Dominic Burgess, Keong Sim, Chris Lowell, Matthew Modine and Ellen Barkin.

References

  1. https://s-lib019.lib.uiowa.edu/repositories/2/archival_objects/21340
  2. Naked Alibi at IMDb.
  3. "Naked Alibi". Amazon. 5 November 2019.