Naked Alibi (1954)
Questioned as a murder suspect, solid (but drunk) citizen Al Willis attacks his police questioners, is beaten, and swears vengeance against them. Next night, Lieut. Parks is murdered; Willis is the only suspect in the eyes of tough Chief Conroy, who pursues him doggedly despite lack of evidence. The obsessed Conroy is dismissed from the force, but continues to harass Willis, who flees to a sleazy town on the Mexican border. Of course, Conroy follows. But which is crazy, Conroy or Willis?
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Really Surprised!
Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.
This is top-notch noir. The queen of the femme fatales, Gloria Grahame is perfectly cast in this sleazefest. Even the miscast Gene Barry (Bat Masterson, War of the Worlds) as a really bad guy is very good in the film as well. It was amusing to see Chuck Conners (The Rifleman, The Big Country) as a cop; a role he was well-suited for. He was a much better actor than baseball player. The story is pretty good with one exception; why would you hold on to a gun that killed a cop if you were wealthy? The escalation of violence and the gruff Sterling Hayden (perfectly cast) harassing the suspect from the beginning of the film without let-up is perfectly logical, although not legally sound. The film is in the top echelon of this genre; don't miss it.
This is a film for Gloria Grahame fans (of which I am one). GG looks great and she does give us a very convincing performance here, even though director Jerry Hopper doesn't seem to be trying very hard with the other players. Sterling Hayden walks through his role in an unnecessarily sullen manner. Admittedly, the script is somewhat implausible. Even though it has some promising plot ideas, it lets other opportunities go by, and there are inconsistencies and even errors in the telling -- most of which could have been avoided had more care been exercised in the writing. All the same, Jerry Hopper's direction is more classy than usual. No doubt he was inspired by Russell Metty's superb film noir lighting.
The movie could be subtitled:"things are not what they seem".When we meet the two principals,we do feel for Al.We do think the cop is a psychotic,or someone trying to find a scapegoat .How could a man so nice ,so honest,who works in a bakery,who's got a wife and kids,who is a believer and who goes to church ,be a cops killer?During the first part,we side with him and we think that Conroy is going off the rails (he might be the killer himself).With the appearance of Gloria Grahame ,we see things differently.What?An honest faithful man still in love with a shady singer singing a tune called "ace in the hole" ?It's really a U-turn.The depiction of the characters is nothing but derivative and the three leads are excellent ,with a firm directing ,an atmosphere where they exude hatred from every pore ,and an impressive finale on the roofs.
I saw this film many years ago in England and remember being shocked by it. Saw it once in France under the title "Alibi Meurtrier". It's a good film but I could not tolerate Hayden's "manipulation" of Gloria Grahame. Since that time, every time I see Sterling Hayden's face in a film I am filled with hate for this man !! But decors and music are good and the whole thing is a good example of a pessismistic film or 'film noir".