Dual Alibi (1947)

Sadly Over-hyped

best movie i've ever seen.

A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Herbert Lom recounts his tale in flashback as to how he has ended up scraping a living by sandwich boarding. He was once part of a headlining trapeze act in a circus owned by Ronald Frankau (Barney) performing in sunny Blackpool. His partner was his twin and his tale is one of tragedy. What happened to the twin? This film ends on a downbeat note but it is still entertaining thanks to the cast of villains and the central aspect of distinguishing the twins from one another. It is crucial to the plot and keeps you watching. Lom is very good in this dual role and the twins use their similarity to their advantage in a novel twist to a murder charge. I think justice was done.Phyllis Dexter (Penny) as the bad girl doesn't do any stripping. She should have, though, given that was her real-life business!

This is a very fine and interesting film noir — among the better films of post-war British cinema. The story with twin trapeze artists might be a bit far-fetched in some aspects, but the opening of the film is brilliant, as is the ending. The photography is in beautiful dark tones and the music accompanying the trapeze acts is excellent. Herbert Lom is convincing in the role of both twins. I think the merit of his subtle performance lies above all in not exaggerating too much the difference in character between the two twins. Extreme characterization is normally a much easier option for an actor or actress when one thinks of other famous stars playing twins, such as Bettie Davis, who did this twice in "Stolen Life" and "Dead Ringer", or Olivia de Havilland in "The Dark Mirror". This is an excellent British film noir which deserves to be much better-known. Apart from this, I have not seen any more films by Alfred Travers, who seems to be a totally forgotten director. Astonishingly, hardly anything seems to be known about his life and career (apart from the titles of the films he directed), not even the date of his death. This must surely have happened, as the only scant detail available about this director is that he was born in 1906, in Constantinople.

"Dual Alibi" is a good crime story with a twist; the protagonist(s) are identical twins. It appears to be a British attempt at the noir genre and the mood is dark and humorless, reminiscent of the 'Twilight Zone' TV show.As I said, the story is good and is somewhat predictable throughout. Herbert Lom stars in the dual role, a high-wire circus act from the continent. One of the twins gets snookered by a con-man agent and his girlfriend and there is a falling-out, with predictable results. I was not as enthralled with the picture as most other reviewers but I appreciated the irony of the plot and the acting of Lom, who carries the picture.Nice work turned in by the two chiselers, Terence De Marney and Phyllis Dixey, who has only 2 films to her credit. This movie is so old I was unable to readily spot Sebastian Cabot, who in hindsight looked very young and slimmer than I remembered. He had a speaking part which lasted a few minutes, plenty of time to recognize him. If you are interested in "Dual Alibi" you should know that it is hard to come by nowadays - and it's good, but not great, in my estimation.

The film is a wonderful portrayal of a dark triangle involving identical twins who form an elegant acrobatic circus act and eventually seek revenge on an unfaithful women. They plan a "perfect crime" on which the film turns. I have not seen the film in about 50 years. It used to show up on local TV quite frequently in the 50's but seems to have disappeared and unjustly so. I only hope it still exists? If it is available I do urge it's viewing.Lom plays the dual role of the twin brothers and this , in itself , is cleverly handled. The O'Henry like ending is affecting and again gives the film a further degree of individuality.