Alibi on AllMovie

No relation to the 1929 American crime melodrama of the same name, the British Alibi is based on Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, previously dramatized for the stage by Christie and Michael Morton. Austin Trevor stars as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, he of the "little grey cells" who solves the murder of a doctor. The play had starred Charles Laughton as Poirot, who unfortunately was unable to appear in the film. The narrative gimmick in the original novel (to explain it here would be to give away the ending) could not possibly be adequately dramatized--except, perhaps, in a radio version-so Alibi gets along without it. The film represents the screen debut of Elizabeth Allan, an intelligent, attractive British actress best known for her portrayal of Lucy in the 1935 Hollywood version of Tale of Two Cities.