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Alibi
Alibi
	U.S. poster
Directed by	Brian Desmond Hurst
Written by	Roy Carter; Jacques Companéez; Brian Desmond Hurst (shooting script); Herbert Juttke; Lesley Storm (additional dialogue)
Based on	L'Alibi; by Marcel Achard
Produced by	Josef Somlo; Herbert Smith (associate producer)
Starring	Margaret Lockwood; Hugh Sinclair; James Mason; Raymond Lovell
Cinematography	Otto Heller; William McLeod
Edited by	Alan Jaggs; Charles Saunders (as Supervising Editor);
Music by	Jack Beaver
Production; companies	Corona Films; Renown Pictures Corporation; Gainsborough Studios
Distributed by	British Lion Film Corporation (UK)
Release date	10 August 1942 (UK);
Running time	82 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Alibi is a 1942 British mystery film directed by Brian Desmond Hurst and starring Margaret Lockwood, James Mason and Hugh Sinclair.^[1] It was based on the novel L'Alibi by Marcel Achard.^[2]

Premise

Police hunt for the killer of a nightclub hostess in pre-war Paris.

Cast

Margaret Lockwood as Helene Ardouin
Hugh Sinclair as Inspector Calas
James Mason as Andre Laurent
Raymond Lovell as Prof. 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

Production

Lockwood had just given birth to her daughter. It was the first time Lockwood worked with James Mason. She said Mason wanted star billing and was unhappy at being given feature billing. She said the film "was anything but a success" but enjoyed working with him saying he "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 and to enjoy getting back into the routine of my work again."^[3] Lockwood and James Mason would shortly become huge stars with The Man in Grey.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "here is a bright film with a bit of everything in it...The film is well directed, and Margaret Lockwood makes an appealing Helene, with James Mason playing opposite to her. Raymond Lovell is first-class as the sinister Winkler, and Rodney Ackland as his assistant and Principal Villain No. 2, plays up to him well, introducing an element of melodrama. The other members of the cast team up to make the whole a creditable production."^[4]

References

^ "Alibi (1942)". Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
^ Goble, Alan (1 January 1999). The Complete Index to Literary Sources in Film. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110951943 – via Google Books.
^ Lockwood, Margaret (1955). Lucky Star: The Autobiography of Margaret Lockwood. Odhams Press Limited. p. 196.
^ "Alibi (1942)".