The Cinematheque

“Alibi​’s twisty, suspenseful story and striking funhouse imagery still make it look like a lost classic.”

Scott Tobias, A.V. Club

A gangster tale told with aural and visual flourish, the first talkie released by United Artists was nominated for a trio of Oscars: for best picture, best actor (Chester Morris), and the Expressionist/​Deco art direction of legendary production designer William Cameron Menzies (The Thief of Bagdad, Gone with the Wind, Invaders from Mars). Square-jawed leading man Morris (star of 14 Boston Blackie films in the 1940s) plays a hardened crook who convinces his sweetheart, a policeman’s daughter, that he’s gone straight. Events prove otherwise. The film made innovative use of sonic effects, including whistles, birdsong, footfalls, and clanging nightsticks. Film historian David Shipman called it ​“the first film to use sound imaginatively.”