Red-Haired Alibi

This movie is often mentioned as the debut of Shirley Temple. Note that it's a very very minor part.

This film about a young woman from a small town (yet that curiously is getting a 20 story commercial building) that meets a man that brings her to a big city with the promise of a job. This takes place during the depression so jobs are not easy to get.

The main character, Lynn Monith (played by Merna Kennedy, soon to be wife of Director & choreographer Busby Berkeley) is very interesting as we follow her as she becomes more aware & suspicious.

This is considered a pre-code film although it actually would have been approved by the code. Made in 1932 it plays well in 2025.

Just an enjoyable little drama.

Very fine performances denote this crisp romantic drama, tightly directed by B movie specialist Christy Cabanne. It has some beautiful touches at just the right moments to make it a memorable little movie.

1932 is my personal favorite year for movies, from some classics to solid sleepers like the great, unsung comedy "This Is the Night". "Red Haired Alibi" is the sort of film that sneaks up on you -it seems to be conventional and even ordinary, but cumulatively, brick by brick, builds up to pack an emotional wallop.

The story of a naive girl who fate has a few key twists to throw at her is rather simple, but the snappy dialogue, utterly sincere characterizations and careful manipulation of genre cliches works wonders to both grab the viewer and then create an emotional investment in the archetypal roles. Merna Kennedy is no superstar, but instead convincingly represents a "smart" young woman, who rolls with the punches and maintains her poise throughout both luck and hardship, just what is needed for a depression-era heroine. Theodore Von Eltz is near-perfect as the transparently immoral, smoothie of an antihero, upfront with his misogyny yet likable in a sleazy Ricardo Cortez way. It helps to create interest in watching his behavior while creating enough distance to make his fate acceptable to the viewer.

I loved the climax where Merna takes charge, and with the irresistible Third Act presence of Shirley Temple as her stepdaughter the heart-warming finale is simply terrific.

This pre-Code drama is nasty! When Theodore Van Eltz hits on a common salesgirl, Merna Kennedy, he's very clear he has dishonorable intentions. He buys her a bottle of perfume to get her to go out with him in the first place, and over dinner, he suggests she work for him without telling her anything about the job. He merely wants her to look nice, dress well, be at his beck and call day or night, and know how to keep her mouth shut. For this, he'll pay her rent on a nice apartment, a wardrobe budget, and a healthy weekly stipend. She gives a little smirk and agrees.

We all know what she's going to be paid for, right? Wrong! It turns out, she's being hired to be his alibi, so he can be seen at nightclubs, etc., and then commit crimes. When the cops ask Merna, she'll agree that Theodore was with her all night. This is probably one of those films that created the Production Code, since it completely glorifies crime and sin. Merna is not a good girl. She's sly and looks after herself, and she doesn't mind that she's tied up with a criminal.

Some of you might be wondering where Shirley Temple fits in, since the only reason anyone even knows about this movie is because it features an early (and brief) performance. Later in the film, Merna gets a new job as a nanny to Shirley, and she's so cute and little! However, she doesn't have her trademark "sparkle". She doesn't once smile, and in between her lines, she looks unsurely off camera at her mother (undoubtedly). She doesn't want to be there! But she's a very, very beautiful child. Still, I feel sorry that her mother pushed her into show business when she clearly didn't enjoy it.

"Lynn" (Merna Kennedy) is fed up with her mundane life and looking for a job in New York. Luckily, she alights on the dodgy "Travers" (Theodore von Eltz) who offers her an opportunity. All she has to do is be seen with him. She looks great, is well paid and housed and for a moment or two, there is even the threat of a romance on the horizon. Gradually, though, she begins to realise that he is an out-and-out wrong 'un and when another mobster is gunned down and he goes into hiding, she flees. Good fortune is again on her side when she re-encounters "Shelton" (Grant Withers) who is in need of a nanny for his daughter "Gloria" (Shirley Temple). This romance does blossom but has she seen the last of her erstwhile boss? The stories - there are essentially two, here - are nothing much to write home about, but I did rather like the ending and Kennedy has a certain chemistry with the camera that easily enables her to out-act her male counterparts. Temple is also a natural in front of the lens, and though she doesn't really feature very often, she does bring a little charm to this otherwise watchable, but rather by-the-numbers, romantic thriller.

This movie was okay, but nothing special, except that it was the film debut for that soon-to-be child star, the adorable Shirley Temple! Not every actress gets to make her screen debut at age 4, and for those reviewers who seem to think her acting wasn't up to par, I'll repeat: AGE 4!!! Enough said!

As for the movie, I like the way the heroine's hair color plays such a role in the story, as she's used as an alibi for her gangster boss to busy himself with his "career", while his "wife" provides his excuse for his dastardly deeds. Until she doesn't.

I guess you can't blame her too much; it was the depression, this charismatic strange offers her money and an apartment and all she has to do is pretend to be his wife (no mistress duties necessary).

When she realizes the truth about him, she leaves for a better life (nanny for a divorced man with an adorable little daughter, both abandoned by the immoral wife/mother), and soon becomes a happy wife/stepmother. Then Mr. Gangster returns!

If this movie had been made to years later, it would have had a different, not-so-happy ending (despite the mysterious man outside the window to absolve the guilt), as crime (whether attempted or actual) has to have punishment. Lucky this was Pre Code days.