Blind Alibi

Richard Dix is an artist with a nice little Parisian garret. His sister asks him to retrieve some letters that are being used to blackmail her. He almost succeeds in stealing the letters but the packet slips away, concealed in a shipment of artworks on its way to a California museum. Dix moves west and hatches a plan to get into the museum: He pretends he is blind and hangs out in the museum studying and making copies of its sculptures.

Once in the museum, Dix digs around when he can, hoping to stumble on the packet. Whitney Bourne plays the beautiful museum director who takes an interest in Dix, little knowing his real purpose there. Eduardo Ciannelli and Paul Guilfoyle are a couple of crooks working for the blackmailers--they are also after the letters and Guilfoyle even picks up a job as a museum guard.

Dix and Bourne do their best but the far-fetched plot is never remotely believable. Weak dialog, predictable characters....I hate to say it but there just isn't a lot to recommend about this one.

Ace the Wonder Dog has a featured role as Dix's seeing eye dog. Unfortunately, even Ace's scenes aren't particularly convincing.

The dialogue isn't developed well but this was probably common for that era back then. I tried to look up the details about this movie, in particular where in Los Angeles were these scenes filmed at? I couldn't find any information on IMDb. Does anyone know the locations in L.A. where this movie was filmed? And what is the name of the hotel where the filming takes place?

Even though the dialogue suffers from being too shallow, the camera angles and shots were pretty good. The picture quality is quite good for it being so old. It's also interesting to see the clothing styles of the late 1930s. Double-breasted suits seemed to be very popular for several decades after the 30s. Did most men in the L.A. area wear fedoras, or is this an exaggeration? I know fedoras were common in places like N.Y. and probably most cities in the US, but I don't think they were as common in L.A. or men seldom wore them there.

Ostensibly, a programmer, but I thought a semi-interesting one. How can I say that? Probably, because I am a sucker for Ace, the Wonder Dog. He wasn't just another poochie with a languid kisser, but a trained thespian who could take down a bad guy or gal with consummate aplomb. In all his scenes he made Richard Dix look almost human or at least as spry as a petrified stick.

The story was more than a bit convoluted, but then it was written by three different writers and that barely gave each of them twenty minutes to tell their inclusion. Also, working in an art museum filled with rare antiques is not the kind of thing that can be readily spared a fanciful story. Say what you may, blindness is not easily explained at any story pitch,even if you have a wonder dog to introduce to the world.

Not a common story arc and filled with dread at every corner; these are just a few of the excitements of a mostly forgotten B-movie. Pull your chair closer to the screen lest you become blinder than the stooge Mr. Dix played.

In Paris, American sculptor Richard Dix (as Paul Dover) tries to retrieve some scandalous love letters sent by his beautiful sister Frances Mercer (as Ellen). He fails in the attempt, but Mr. Dix tracks the love letters to a Los Angeles museum. Donning dark glasses, Dix disguises himself as a blind man and buys the seeing-eye dog Ace (as Ace). Fetching museum manager Whitney Bourne (as Julia Fraser) catches Dix' eye. She may lead Dix to his sister's love letters, and write a few of her own. Murderously nasty Eduardo Ciannelli (as Mitch) causes trouble for the duo - or trio, if you count Ace...

The German Shepherd Ace does very well in his first feature film performance. "Ace the Wonder Dog" was RKO's version of Warner Bros.' Rin Tin Tin, then the #1 animal star at the box office. This slow-moving film is most notable for being Ace's debut. He was a good dog, but only the collie Lassie could ever approach the level, and long-term popularity, of Rin Tin Tin. Directed by the prolific Lew Landers, this story is a stretch from beginning to end, the height being Dix posing as a blind man in order to inconspicuously feel around a museum for clues leading to his sister's old love letters.

**** Blind Alibi (1938-05-20) Lew Landers ~ Richard Dix, Whitney Bourne, Ciannelli, Frances Mercer

One night in Paris, artist Paul Dover (Richard Dix) is visited by sis Julia Fraser who is being blackmailed with her letters. Her husband cannot withstand the scandal. Paul tracks the letters to a shipment of art going to LA. He infiltrates the museum as a blind man with his guide dog Ace (Ace the Wonder Dog).

This is the debut of Ace the Wonder Dog in a Richard Dix flick. According to many, he was RKO's answer to Rin Tin Tin. They push through a lot of plot quickly to get to the dog. He is more a companion dog. The story is a bit questionable. I have too many questions. There is a lot of action in the end. I really don't like that one gunshot. I wouldn't mind Paul getting shot instead.