Alibi

Released Apr 8, 1929

1h 30m

Crime

Drama

List

56%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

35%

Audience Score

100+ Ratings

Shortly after mobster Chick Williams (Chester Morris) rejoins his gang once released from jail, a policeman is murdered during a warehouse robbery. Chick becomes a main suspect in the case. Determined to bring down the suspected cop killer, Detective Sergeant Tommy Glennon (Pat O'Malley) and Danny McGann (Regis Toomey) resort to heavy-handed tactics to prove that Williams committed the crime even though Chick has a fairly solid alibi: attending the theater with a policeman's daughter.

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TIME Staff

TIME Magazine

More credible than most crook pictures.

Dec 24, 2019

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Lots of reliable excitement, de luxe production values and general audience satisfaction.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Fernando F. Croce

Slant Magazine

Alibi is awkwardly suspended between the gliding camera of silent cinema and the stagnant medium-shot of early talkies.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 31, 2007

Full Review

Pare Lorentz

Judge

Alibi is the best directed talking movie to date, and excellent entertainment.

Oct 30, 2023

Full Review

TV Guide

Gritty, exciting low-budget crime melodrama.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 31, 2012

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

The story pales when viewed in modern times and the acting that was thought so wonderful at the time, is simply atrocious by modern standards.

Rated: C

Feb 9, 2007

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StephenPaul C

The greatest 1.5 hours ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/19/23

Full Review

Louisa E

This could have been brilliant but just missed the mark. It had a lot of novelty sound but in some places, though, the dialogue was almost inaudible. The editing was poor. There were some great cinematography concepts, like the pressure on the admission and the drive through the city, but it didn't quite work. Chester Morris was the best actor in this movie and did a great job. Most of the others were forgettable or hammy. There was some terrible dancing in this movie, but the smile song was cute. The fight scenes were laughable. There was some good character development and plot twists, and the story was interesting. This would have been rated much higher if all the attempted elements had worked. Bravo for trying, though. Chester deserved his nomination but the others didn't.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

05/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What the ****, no color?!!! Boo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is a crime melodrama adapted from a stage play called Nightstick.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A boring film with some bad acting that does, however, end on a somewhat strong note. This film revolves around the character Chick Williams and his friends looking for an alibi so they are not linked to a policeman's murder. Chester Morris does an okay job in his role as Chick Williams, at least for the time, and received a Best Actor Oscar nomination. He was definitely better than George Bancroft, another nominee, but that's not saying much. I can't say if he was better than Stone in The Patriot as the film is pretty much lost. The worst performance in this film and one that slows the film significantly is Regis Toomey's performance. Toomey plays a mole in Williams' gang and the performance he puts on to fit in with the gang is not even laughable, just very stupid and boring. I don't know if this character was portraying someone who was drunk or disabled. I also did not care for the love triangle between Williams, his oblivious girlfriend and this police officer. The only impressive aspects of the film were the shootouts, especially the final shootout, and Williams fate at the end of the film. The film was also nominated for Best Picture but (except for the trailer of The Patriot) I have not seen the other nominees to say if it was better or worse than the other nominees. Overall, a boring and disappointing film with some bad acting and only some impressive action scenes.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

Full Review

steve d

It struggles to make sound work for it.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Roland West

Director

Chester Morris

Chick Williams

Harry Stubbs

Buck Bachman

Mae Busch

Daisy Thomas

Irma Harrison

Toots

Regis Toomey

Danny McGann

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Synopsis

Shortly after mobster Chick Williams (Chester Morris) rejoins his gang once released from jail, a policeman is murdered during a warehouse robbery. Chick becomes a main suspect in the case. Determined to bring down the suspected cop killer, Detective Sergeant Tommy Glennon (Pat O'Malley) and Danny McGann (Regis Toomey) resort to heavy-handed tactics to prove that Williams committed the crime even though Chick has a fairly solid alibi: attending the theater with a policeman's daughter.

Director: Roland West
Screenwriter: Roland West, C. Gardner Sullivan
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: Feature Productions
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 8, 1929, Original
Release Date (DVD): Sep 4, 2007
Runtime: 1h 30m