Tonight's Movie: Naked Alibi (1954) at the Noir City Film Festival
NAKED ALIBI is a great example of why I love the Noir City Film Festival -- the opportunity to enjoy little-known films in gorgeous 35-millimeter prints. NAKED ALIBI was a fun, actioned-packed noir treat from start to finish.
The second night of the Noir City Festival celebrated actor Sterling Hayden and two of the films he made in 1954, with SUDDENLY following NAKED ALIBI. Judging by the size of the crowd, Hayden is popular with noir fans; as an actor, Hayden might not have always demonstrated the greatest range, but he has tremendous screen presence, a big man with attitude to spare. I've grown to like him a lot.


Hayden and Barry are both good as adversaries fighting an increasingly violent battle. Hayden's very enjoyable to watch, whether he's bemused by Marianna's mixed messages or grimly determined as he tails Al. Barry's Al is a character which isn't completely explained, but what's there on screen is sure fun.


The director of this 86-minute film was Jerry Hopper. The attractive black and white cinematography was by Russell Metty, with location shooting in Tijuana, standing in for "Border City," foreshadowing Metty's later work filming TOUCH OF EVIL (1957).
Here's video of the Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller introducing this movie in Seattle earlier this year; his talk focuses on Gloria Grahame and Sterling Hayden, and it also includes a discussion about some of the problems related to the "digital revolution." (More on that issue coming in my review of SUDDENLY.) Eddie's enthusiasm is contagious, and this video helps to illustrate why it's such fun to attend the films he hosts.

Anyone who has the chance to see this great-looking, entertaining movie at a future film festival should definitely take advantage of the opportunity.
December 2019 Update: NAKED ALIBI is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Kino Lorber. My review of the Blu-ray is here.
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