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over 1 year ago

Naked Alibi

a review by CinemaSerf

This is a pretty mediocre film noir that is really only notable for a superior level of pouting from Gloria Grahame. Gene Barry ("Willis") is the victim of a false arrest and some police brutality so when he is eventually released from custody he declares his intention on having his revenge. When, next evening, a police officer is murdered Detective Chief Sterling Hayden ("Conway") becomes obsessed with bringing Barry to justice - an obsession that costs him his job and leads him to a confrontation with his foe in a rundown village on the Mexican border. The plot is all pretty much ABC, Hayden is pretty dry and and, to be honest, Graham isn't so hot either as "Marianna" but she does have something about her that holds the attention (certainly not her rather curious dance/shimmy routine which is pretty silly). The dialogue is a bit weedy, and maybe if it had lost 20 minutes or so it might have tightened up the rather rambling story a bit but as it is, it's really nothing special.