Alibi (1929) CHESTER MORRIS

PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD
Writer/Director: Roland West
Stars: Chester Morris, Regis Toomey, Mae Busch
A gangster is the prime suspect of a murdered policeman, but his Alibi is rock solid... or is it? This early talkie was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Art Direction.

[@WithoutLaughterlifeIsBoring]

Great channel. I love classic films, and you always have something new to enjoy. Thank you for posting these, I am a loyal watcher. :)

[@PizzaFLIX]

Thanks for watching PizzaFLIX. May the Sauce be with you!

[@deeb2021]

I appreciate the old black and white but everytime that nude pops up i cringe. Bad taste.

[@badbag9625]

PIZZAFLIX No cheeky reply ! Do want to say thanks for giving viewers a fantastic opportunity to be a part of a great B&W 1929 work of film art.

[@dsb7925]

Old films are still the best..thanks for posting🤍

[@abbimcnellis8371]

93 yrs old 📽️ I am 66 and hope that I'm still watching movies when I am 93 years old 🙋 love these old movies

[@franzitaduz]

The sets and costume design were really interesting. All the sound effects and silent movie conventions showed they were really enjoying this new era in film production. The camera work showed how well the silent era used photography and lighting. A special moment in time saved forever. Thanx Pizzaflix!

[@keithaltomare]

so well written! Totally agree

[@petercrossley2956]

@@keithaltomare Me too.

[@RayPointerChannel]

This transitional period was anything BUT enjoyable. There was more experimentation and discoveries to work with the confines of making sound films with its limitations in 1929. But it is remarkable seeing how sophisticated production had become by this time, which was only 18 months after the premier of THE JAZZ SINGER.

[@dr.skipkazarian5556]

A great deal of thought went into this production (especially for the time)....the rhythmic beating of the night sticks, the lock step parade of the convicts, even the theatre dancers in their chorus line. Add to this the mystique of cop-killing, prohibition, the rise of gangster activity, and gloom of the depression in every sense of the word, and voila....a great movie with enough social angst to satisfy any common denominator. Thanks again for providing another gem.

[@PizzaFLIX]

This early talkie was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Art Direction.

[@maryknight4109]

​@@PizzaFLIX- Would Art Direction be costumes, sets, etc.?

[@suzieqwonder3089]

1929...WOW! and in great condition. Thank you for all your great ‘ole films!

[@petercrossley2956]

At 78 in 2022 I never fail to be amazed at how fast the movie industry eveloved from 1927 (The Jazz Singee) to this in 1929

[@jimsalinassr]

That time period explains it perfectly

[@carolleenkelmann4751]

A good four minutes dying scene that would be the envy of any Opera production. However, always good to watch these pre-code movies. Thankyou very much. - Keeping an eye on history.

[@theresaholguin699]

A very young Chester Morris. Ge was very handsome. Regis Toomey was great and the beautiful Mae Bysch a wonderful actress. Great movie

[@dariowiter3078]

I ❤️ the early talkies! They are super cool! 🎬🎞️🎥📽️🎦 🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️🎙️ 😁😁😁😁😁

[@1949LA-ARCH]

100% better than any movie put out today. God bless you PF for this historic early talkie almost 100 years old. 😊Chester Morris a first class actor aka the Boston Blackie movie series😊

[@PizzaFLIX]

Thanks, Arch 🍕you’re a man of fine taste🍕

[@claudiov5554]

Excellent quality for a 1929 movie ,mindblowing

[@PizzaFLIX]

Thanks for watching PizzaFLIX

[@claudiov5554]

@PizzaFlix thank you for posting so many gems and thanks for your reply

[@mesofius]

there are older films with even better quality though

[@laurnaleto4622]

Best Picture/Best Actor 1929, Best Art Direction nominee; will watch for more West direction and Menzies sets. Can't get enough art deco. Rockettesque scenes great. Stage backgrounds and German Impressionism a plus.

[@VeraLowdermilk-kj8sn]

Interesting plot and cinematography. Great direction. Amazing quality and acting so early in the film industry. So much talent - I’m glad that it’s available to watch and appreciate. Modern films could learn a lot and I’m sure they do from these early cinema gems.

[@anthonycrnkovich5241]

Roland West's films were quite innovative, although he's often overlooked in that respect.

[@PizzaFLIX]

Hi Anthony, for the Oscars of that year Alibi was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, and for Best Art Direction. 🍕🍕🍕

[@anthonycrnkovich5241]

@@PizzaFLIX It certainly stood out from most films of 1929. I always enjoy Chester Morris.

[@Ripplin]

Thanks! :) Morris is one of my favorites and I haven't seen this one yet.

[@PizzaFLIX]

Thanks for watching! May the the Sauce be with you.

[@lorrainem8234]

I am also a Chester Morris fan 😀

[@jwanali1005]

l love old films so much . Thanks.

[@josephfinnegan1805]

Good old movie from 90 years ago!! 1929 to now 2019. Where does the time go?? Can't remember seeing this movie in Bonney Wee Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿!!!!!

[@dariowiter3078]

😁😁😁😁😁 👍👍👍👍👍

[@zeldasmith6154]

I am so glad you posted this. I'm barely into it and it's fascinating. 😊

[@kathylynch2086]

Love the old movie and great character actors 👏

[@nedludd7622]

This was also Chester Morris's first talky.

[@lanacampbell-moore4549]

I love classic movies 😊

[@gonebamboo4116]

Remarkable movie & great quality

[@sirharrypotter24]

Thank you so much! Another Best Picture nominee to scratch off my list. Great flick!

[@Themanwhocameback2]

Thanks for posting!

[@christopherward5065]

A really interesting transitional piece between the era of purely silent film making and sound era film making. It has German expressionist style. Long shots of almost purely action almost mimed, punctuated by close-ups of faces enunciating lines into the camera. The fur robbery was all movement and repetitive rhythm. The prison sequence was all about visual story telling and spectacle. It was still powerful and able to pack a punch. It had live recording of a band and a staged dance performance, it had odd under-cranked action sequences. We didn’t get much character depth as much as powerful simple motivations. Once I got into the story and let it run it was a really good piece. We got the duality of the characters and the actors’ performances carried the story well. Lots of great montage and extreme closeup shots. It could have run with caption cards in a silent cinema. Enjoyable historical gangster film. Brilliant!

[@jimsalinassr]

You explain it perfectly. I had trouble bridging the silent era technique to more vibrant script and dialogue. Thank you

[@jeffreyfunk3514]

Not a bad gangster flick I hadn't seen before. Thanks for making this video!

[@LaptopLarry330]

It was fascinating to see and hear how police officers communicated with one another prior to getting field radios, or having access to police box phones. They used their night sticks, banging on the cement curbs, communicating with knocking patterns to state what was going on around the corner, or a block away. Yes, they had whistles, but they were used for communicating for subjects to stop, or to tell a fellow police officer to come quickly, because it was an emergency.

[@msmltvcktl]

**Morse code

[@KHayes666]

This was considered the best gangster movie of 1929, let's find out.

[@latasri494]

A good movie.....thanks for the upload

[@LaptopLarry330]

The impression that I get, is that this film was made with both talking and silent versions of the film, since most movie theaters did not have projectors that could read an audio track on the film. That would change in a year or so.

[@jimsalinassr]

Something else I had not considered

[@Ourladyrules]

great movie. and as always Mae Busch is awesome ❤. i enjoyed the musical numbers too, those chorus girls were pretty risque for 1929. definitely pre code movie. thanks PizzaFlix, a real gem. 🎥🎥🎥🍕

[@RetiredSchoolCook]

THANK YOU FOR THIS GREAT MOVIE HAPPY TO WATCH IT AGAIN CHESTER MORRIS ALWAYS A GREAT GOOD GUY OR BAD GUY REGIS TOOMEY PLAYS HIS PART SO WELL I ENJOY WATCHING HIS MOVIES BEST WISHES PIZZAFLIX FOR A NICE WEEKEND

[@kpflo123]

Ya … Toomey was fine in his part, though a bit creepy, with the exception of his 6 minute dying scene. That definitely was too much.

[@virg0_lem0nade]

thank you SO MUCH FOR POSTING THESE ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@sspade1]

BIG CHESTER MORRIS FAN!!

[@f.w.2054]

Lot of nice directorial touches by Roland West, who was considered one of the best around the transition stage from silent to talkies. Today he is known more for his being a suspect in his mistress Thelma Todds death. His career stalled, partly due to the negative publicity and he died prematurely from the strain.

[@gaslitworldf.melissab2897]

Thanks for the upload. That was enjoyable. I feel like US folk tend to forget that after WWI, lots of crime and violence occured and lots of people lived in poverty, despite the proliferation of factories (which still didn't suffice to fill the need), so crime was a huge temptation. Even young women found themselves drawn to men with crime-based wealth and connections. It'd make an interesting dissertation to track crime through US history and its correspondence to poverty. This would make a nice date movie.

[@Twinzma]

GaslitWorld f. Melissa B unless we're talking kids, because the rest of us know our history.

[@ronaldasilverberg9251]

GaslitWorld f. Melissa B I think that would be a very relevant study, the correlation between crime and poverty , statistically analyzed.

[@christopherward5065]

I guess WW1 hardened people to violence and helped create the gangster culture.

[@StanZ-i6w]

​@@Twinzma I am not so sure you Americans really know your history as well as you think! I will test you right now! Without looking it up, who was the American president who had children with his black slave girl? Who was the American president who authorized the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki near the end of World War Two? What was Paul Revere's occupation at the time he galloped about on a horse warning people that the British were coming? If you even answered one of these questions, you are doing better than the majority of fellow Americans! Last question! Why is your White House White? I will bet you did not know that my Canadian ancestors kicked your American ancestors in the War of 1812, and then to add insult to injury, partially burned your White House, which was then painted over with whitewash to hide the burn marks!!!

[@kpflo123]

Man! Imagine … 1929, and it's probably better than 90% of any movie made today.

[@nancyrobles1005]

man ! are you right😉😎

[@kevinvalentinocasanova8416]

Totally agree

[@sauliniinisto9416]

Nah I don’t think so. They made some really good movies in the old days but some of them are just horrible

[@keithharvey7230]

@@sauliniinisto9416 Like today.

[@anthonycrnkovich5241]

I find that transitional period from silent to sound films fascinating. A few directors like Roland West were challenging conventional filmmaking techniques in unique and creative ways.

[@autodidact537]

Good early talkie with awesome set design.

[@carmelbrain7399]

nearly a century old and still going strong

[@manuelmaldonadojr2526]

thanks for the old movie I am a fan.

[@vin.handle]

Regis Toomey certainly knew how to die. He was probably killed in films more than anyone else. And he did it with style in this film. He was an artist who made his living dying.

[@StanZ-i6w]

Absolutely hilarious comment!!!😂

[@StanZ-i6w]

Absolutely hilarious comment!!!😂

[@Robbi496]

Second post: The dance band is AWESOME!

[@almeggs3247]

Longest death scene ever!

[@brendaproffitt4807]

For a great classic movie pretty cool. Don't see these to much any more excellent job thank you so much

[@sylviarichardson5169]

Old movies r like so advanced n they were classy n opulent .....they were ahead of time...thank u

[@willyD200]

Wow, this is a oldie. Just imagine the changes taking place here , from silent era to the beginning of the talkies...lots of great comparisons to witness for those interested in the development of the film industry. The lack of a proper musical score is most evident in these early films. Just the scene at the nightclub with background music shows one the importance of a musical score. With the lack of a score the silence becomes very obvious between dialogue and then especially at the opening and closing of scenes. Must have been a grand time for those actors who made it through this learning process. In my opinion, nothing beats black and white film in the hands of a true artist / director. The art of contrast...and ...modeling. pure art.

[@steplumpkin5432]

LOVE IT, THANKS 6MILL UPLOADER!!!!!!!

[@jamesricker3997]

They used live ammunition on movie sets in 1929 Later on after a couple of close calls they switched to blanks

[@keithharvey7230]

Lovely Mae Busch is in a lot of the early Laurel and Laurel short comedies.

[@moorek1967]

Despite a few scenes that could be better, this was actually before its time.

[@susandoughty1132]

Great stuff. THANKS

[@lanacampbell-moore4549]

Thank You 😊

[@REALcatmom]

Loved this!

[@AlexMartinez-me2yc]

I guess he wanted the chair because it would have taken time which would have given him a chance to escape prison. I was really hoping he was on the level & the cops were wrong about him.

[@galeschool]

The opening dance number at 1:58 is Irving Berlin's "How About Me?" The cop's tommy gun at 1:14:08 appears to have a scope mounted over the barrel; I have never seen that before.

[@bradmiller2329]

The absolute corruption of the police in this movie is credible for the period.

[@leelarson107]

Does it remind you of Biden & Harris today?

[@DavidRice111]

I never saw a more pathetic, comical ''drunk'' portrayal than Regis' here. Had to edit to proclaim that Regis' death scene was the most painfully extended I've seen in film! How his career survived this movie, I'll never figure, although I have always liked him in most later movies.

[@umbujunu293]

good 👍👍👍👍👍💚💚💚

[@suzysuzy4799]

💚Thank You💚

[@Robbi496]

Interesting photography, it has a German surrealistic feel to it

[@alessandrabenz8109]

tanx nice get to know chester morris 💕💕💕💋

[@nancyrobles1005]

They don't make them like this anymore folks☺

[@reverendsaltine6852]

90 years ago....

[@Contact_Info]

Art deco

[@jimsalinassr]

There were no Hollywood writers as yet. So the dialogue was pretty much lacking. Apparently the directors felt that highly dramatic and prolonged facial expressions carried the scene better than verbal expressions. In 1929 Hollywood was still very much in its infancy. Possibly it was just separating from silent films and so the transition was still one foot in past techniques

[@retroarchive.]

It's a shame that the audio quality is unclear, especially for those who don't know the language perfectly. English subtitles would have been nice

[@dannyc.jewell8788]

At 5:13 the guy on the left is smoking pot , in 1929 it was still legal.

[@ChrisCarlin-is8wv]

That was a cigar on a toothpick.

[@graemesmith6721]

A lot of interesting black and white photography in this one. The influence of German Expressionism is clearly evident, and the way the actors are shot, with the emphasis on faces, is an obvious holdover from the silent era. And OMG, the overacting! The cops in this are such thugs that I was actually rooting for the crooks. But that's historically accurate. In the 1920s, police brutality was standard procedure. Suspects essentially had no rights, especially if they weren't white and of Northern European descent. One can only imagine how many innocent men died in prison due to confessions obtained illegally through physical and mental torture. And lest anyone think this movie is guilty of anti-police bias, note that it's very much on their side. Joan, who criticizes the police and is so sympathetic toward Chick that she actually marries him, changes sides at the end when she realizes she's been duped, and poor Danny gets a four-minute long death scene!

[@danielx7609]

Did this movie not have on-screen credits originally? The credits look like they’ve been added recently with a computer.

[@PizzaFLIX]

Search for other versions of Alibi on YT and can see for yourself. 🍕

[@danielx7609]

@@PizzaFLIX I guess it didn’t, I never heard of such a thing, how would you know you entered the correct auditorium?

[@PizzaFLIX]

@@danielx7609 it had titles originally, but for some reason, the surviving print is missing them.

[@danielx7609]

Oh yeah, that makes sense, the 1920s and 30s was not a good period for preserving media.

[@nedludd7622]

"Of course you don't, you are a policeman, and you will never understand." -- Can't argue with that.

[@nancyrobles1005]

WHOA😎

[@stutzbearcat5624]

Wow!!!

[@sherry5136]

Good Movie 🎬 🎞 📽

[@johnlaws9810]

Caverly westerns us caverly John Wayne

[@maucastillo3940]

The ending is kinda hilarious XD

[@maucastillo3940]

But... no so much as my broken english :P

[@Jhangchangbong]

고전찬미 감사합니다

[@raymondcaylor6292]

31:07 he wants a what? If I heard what I think I heard....he came to the right place.

[@davidisny]

A mouthpiece (A lawyer)

[@raymondcaylor6292]

​@@davidisnyyou heard him say the word " mouthpiece " ?

[@thomashernandez8700]

What was the name of 1929 Hitchcock talkie?

[@PizzaFLIX]

Blackmail (1929) was Hitchcock's first talkie.

[@robertwalker5521]

Young and Innocent??

[@johnlaws9810]

Caverly us westerns John Ford

[@robertwalker5521]

CAVALRY

[@MiqueCapel]

interesting graphics already nouvelle vague flavor

[@warricktyler6759]

Poor Chester . It was self defence when he shot the other guy , okay not the poor copper .

[@amgrumm]

Great flick . . except for the singing part . . 1920s era . . Cop-ers daughter marries a gangster

[@jettrink7510]

The only talking movies I watch are made in 1929 and 1930...

[@butterflyladeda1080]

Great images of apartheid US from the late 1920s.

[@raymondziminski8568]

Chester morris shot himself in new hope pa. in 1969. He was very sick at the time.

[@waderaney7]

👍☺

[@stevenlester2606]

Doesn't anybody ever believe in search warrants in old movies like this? GOODBYE. NOW HURRY UP AND DIE!!! WELL, FINALLY!!! Nice fall effect, by the way.

[@kimdelk1181]

Movies have come along way!! This isnt a classic i care to remember except its so bad its kinda good like mae west movies. U copper!

[@johnmolinari2384]

This is more authentic than the phony movies made today.

[@1949LA-ARCH]

@@johnmolinari2384I agree with you 100%. movies made today are wimpy 😂

[@ellie1981]

Funniest elongated death scene at 59:20

[@marcosalvesdossantos1455]

ARTILEE ABBA

[@denisejohnson2960]

15:37 The guy that plays Danny McGann plays a detective Les Hart in the 1960s series Burke's Law w/ Gene Barry.

[@scotnick59]

Mr. Regis Toomey

[@poopypants814]

The worst drunk act ever put on celluloid

[@larrygalbreath]

That melodrama was so mellow that it was rotten.😀

[@hankrogers8431]

Who are the 9 Satans Minions disliked this movie?

[@claudiov5554]

Lol

[@zzhectorgd7175]

LOL

[@gailfisher1350]

Those hair styles were awful.

[@ChrisCarlin-is8wv]

Compared to today’s hair? Woman looked more natural at least. No neon hair dyes or swollen Botox faces.

[@reverendsaltine6852]

while this is immensely interesting being some 90 years old, it’s too embarrassing and horrible to watch. Also the sound track is nearly gone. I quit at 20:31

[@deeb2021]

I wish you'd remove the nude picture. Its offensive.