The Third Alibi

The Third Alibi is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Laurence Payne, Patricia Dainton, Jane Griffiths and Edward Underdown.[1][2] Cleo Laine (billed as a guest star) is seen singing a musical number during a brief sequence set in a theatre; her piano accompanist is an uncredited (and unspeaking, though clearly visible) Dudley Moore, in his first film role.

The Third Alibi
Directed byMontgomery Tully
Screenplay by
  • Maurice J. Wilson
  • Montgomery Tully
Based onplay A Moment of Blindness by Pip Baker
Jane Baker
Produced byMaurice J. Wilson
Starring
CinematographyWalter J. Harvey (as James Harvey)
Edited byJim Connock
Music byDon Banks
Production
company
Eternal Films Limited
Distributed byGrand National Pictures (UK)
Release date
  • September 1961 (1961-09) (UK)
Running time
68 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Musicals composer Norman Martell (Laurence Payne) is having an affair with his wife Helen's (Patricia Dainton) divorced half sister, Peggy (Jane Griffiths). Peggy repeatedly asks him to obtain a divorce and marry her; he finally agrees when she becomes pregnant. His wife refuses his request out of sibling rivalry, saying that their parents had always made her give way to Peggy's demands, but she would not give in to her this time. She suggests that the child's father may be someone else. Martell cannot just leave his wife, as she manages his royalty income. Instead, he plots her murder with Peggy, intending to use the tape recorder he uses in his composing to establish an alibi. Helen, however, has decided to allow the divorce, and goes to tell her sister, but when she goes to Peggy's house, she overhears their plans, and uses them to devise a murder plan herself.

Cast

Critical reception

TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, calling it a "tight little thriller";[3] and BFI Screenonline wrote, "The Third Alibi benefits distinctly from the assured economy of his (Tully's) direction. Compact, low-key, but exciting...this later work is, characteristically, constructed with precision; and moves smoothly and swiftly towards an effective and ingenious denouement."[4]

References
  1. "The Third Alibi (1961)". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  2. "The Third Alibi (1961) - Montgomery Tully - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. "The Third Alibi". TVGuide.com.
  4. "BFI Screenonline: Third Alibi, The (1961)". www.screenonline.org.uk.


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