Alibi *** (1942, Margaret Lockwood, Hugh Sinclair, James Mason, Raymond Lovell) – Classic Movie Review 13,424

The 1942 romantic crime thriller film Alibi stars Margaret Lockwood as a bar hostess used by a killer to obtain an alibi, and James Mason as a police detective out to trap her.

‘A Woman’s Conscience – the only flaw in this perfect crime!’ ‘The Crime That Rocked a Nation’.

Director Brian Desmond Hurst’s 1942 crime thriller film Alibi is based on a novel by Marcel Achard, and stars Margaret Lockwood, Hugh Sinclair, James Mason, and Raymond Lovell.

Good acting credits are the main recommendation for this British remake of a 1937 French romantic thriller called L’Alibi with Erich von Stroheim in a very period plot about a murderous nightclub clairvoyant (satisfyingly sinister Raymond Lovell) who bribes his cash-strapped nightclub hostess colleague (a pleasing and attractive if rather below-best Margaret Lockwood) to provide him with the fake alibi of the title to evade the law. Scandalously, she has to say she has been with him all night long.

Professor Winkler (Raymond Lovell) has shot and killed an American criminal associate in pre-war Paris (it’s 1937), and the police are hunting for the killer. The Inspector (Hugh Sinclair) gets one of his detectives (James Mason) to go undercover and pretend to fall for Helene Ardouin (Lockwood) to trap her into confessing the alibi is a lie.

The presence of The Wicked Lady – The Man in Grey dynamic duo Lockwood and Mason promises more than the film delivers but, with the four star performances and the old story holding up quite well, the movie is very watchable and entertaining all the same. Unfortunately, James Mason appears belatedly, nearly 30 minutes into the fairly short film, and does overact, especially doing the drunk act, but then his character is meant to be acting a part, as instructed by the Inspector (a brisk and capable Hugh Sinclair, with a lot to do). Is James Mason convincing? Is he sexy? Well Margaret Lockwood thinks so, and that should be enough.

Elsewhere in the cast, Edana Romney is an asset as Winkler’s glamorous assistant, Rodney Ackland makes a nice creepy impression as Winker’s loyal assistant, and it is sweet to see and hear the young Elisabeth Welch as the club’s singer in a couple of short numbers.

There are some obvious flaws in the plot and script that it is best to be kind and ignore. Production values are fairly low, though the main cabaret set is good, and the noirish black and white cinematography makes the most of what the humble show can afford. The occasional attempts at ‘French’ accents are a mistake, and they come and go just enough to make you realise it. There is an amusingly saucy atmosphere at the club, with a lot of sex talk and young women for sale. All quite surprising for a UK film in 1942, but it’s set in Paris, so that’s okay.

It is the first pairing of Lockwood and Mason.

Lockwood recalled that the film ‘was anything but a success’ but Mason ‘was a wonderful artist and extremely easy to work with. He was one of the people who helped me to enjoy making that rather bad film.’

Mason may have featured third billing here, and his name below the title on the poster, but he became the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945. His British films include The Man in Grey (1943), considered the first Gainsborough melodrama, The Seventh Veil (1945) and The Wicked Lady (1945).

The screen credits were re-designed for the film’s 1945 re-release so that Mason is listed above the title before and alongside Lockwood, with Hugh Sinclair demoted to third billing. This seems the version of the film that has survived and is in urgent need of restoration.

The cast

The cast are Margaret Lockwood as Helene Ardouin, Hugh Sinclair as Inspector Calas, James Mason as Andre Laurent, Raymond Lovell as Professor Winkler, Enid Stamp-Taylor as Dany, Hartley Power as Gordon, Jane Carr as Delia, Edana Romney as Winkler’s Assistant, Rodney Ackland as Winker’s Assistant, Elisabeth Welch as Singer, Olga Lindo as Mlle Loureau, Muriel George as Mme Bretonnet, George Merritt as Bourdille, Judy Gray as Josette, Philip Leaver as Dodo, Derek Blomfield as Gerard, James Donald as Barman, and Vi Kaley as Flower Seller.

It is the final and only other film of Judy Gray, who first appeared uncredited as the attractive girl dancer in A Girl Must Live (1939). also with Margaret Lockwood.

Alibi is directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, runs 82 minutes, is made by Corona Productions and Gainsborough Studios, is distributed by British Lion Film Corporation (UK), Republic Pictures (US) and Renown Pictures Corporation (UK 1945 re-release), is written by Roy Carter, Jacques Companéez, Herbert Juttke, Brian Desmond Hurst (shooting script), and Lesley Storm (additional dialogue), based on L’Alibi by Marcel Achard, is shot in black and white by Otto Heller and William McLeod, is produced by Josef Somlo and Herbert Smith (associate producer), and is scored by Jack Beaver.

It is shot in the studio at Gainsborough Studios, Islington, London.

London premiere: May 19, 1942.

Release dates: 10 August 1942 (UK) and March 24, 1943 (US).

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,424

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