The Third Alibi

An interesting murder mystery that plays havoc with a conventional narrative, THE THIRD ALIBI is one of those intriguing, long-forgotten British thrillers that's well worth a watch for modern audiences. The plot involves the thorough scoundrel Laurence Payne and his efforts to do away with his lovely but ailing wife, played by the eternal Patricia Dainton, so that he can be with lover Jane Griffiths.

There's a neat preamble to the central murder as the characters go through rehearsals; the COLUMBO writers would be proud of the painstaking attention to detail here. In the second half, things become more confused when they don't go exactly to plan, and the film becomes both unpredictable and appealing. My only real complaint is with the moral code of the time which means that certain plot events are easily guessable and quite contrived.

The film was made by the short-lived Eternal Films, who seemed to routinely employ the workmanlike Montgomery Tully as director. They mostly put out low rent crime films although they also dabbled in horror (THE HOUSE IN MARSH ROAD) and comedies (THE CUCKOO PATROL). Dainton gives a fine, fragile performance in this movie, and Griffiths (TREAD SOFTLY STRANGER) does well as the third party involved. Watch out for cameos from singer Cleo Laine and the one and only Dudley Moore, the latter uncredited, but you can see him playing the piano in one scene.

Laurence Payne is unhappily married to Patricia Danton. He's also carrying on an affair with her half-sister, Jane Griffiths. Jane coyly tells him she's enceinte. So he asks Miss Danton for a divorce. She refuses.

Well, this is a problem. He works out an elaborate murder scheme with Miss Griffiths, involving a tape recorder and exact timetables. It's a perfect scheme, except that Miss Danton is listening behind a door. As a result, when Miss Griffiths is murdered, all the rest of the evidence points to him.... except for one crucial piece.

It's a sick and twisted and very amusing murder mystery, with John Arnatt as one of those stolid, slow-talking and hardworking police inspectors. More like an expanded episode of THE ALFRED HITCHCOCK SHOW than anything else, it's a beautifully constructed, cheap little thriller.

A woman (Patricia Dainton) hears her murder being planned by her husband and sister in "The Third Alibi," a British film from 1961, directed by Montgomery Tully.

Dainton is Helen Martell, a woman with a weak heart, whose composer husband Norman (Laurence Payne) is having an affair with her sister Peggy (Jane Griffiths).

While he's rehearsing his new sure to bomb musical, with wonderful Cleo Laine singing a horrendous song, Peggy drops by the theater to tell him she's pregnant. She insists that he must divorce Helen, who flatly refuses.

Norman plans the murder carefully, including Peggy's alibi. Since Helen overhears the whole thing, she's not home to be murdered. Norman, however, discovers Peggy dead later that evening.

Neat film with a fabulous twist, and it's not what you think.

What a clever little mystery this is, it is incredible how many of these forgotten gems are out there. I would have imagined this was made as a low budget b movie, but it is fully deserving of praise. Very good performances all round, Laurence Payne and Jane Griffiths are both very good, but it's the performance of Patricia Dainton that stole the show in her final on screen performance, a truly natural beauty, she plays a very soft, frail and dutiful wife, who possesses more then is shown on the surface. I love how complex the plot is, it is full of knots, twists and turns, it's a film you watch and have no idea which way it's going to go, you are guessing until the very (shock) end. It features a small cameo for Cleo Laine.

The plot is so good it could quite easily be remade into some cosy modern day mystery. It starts fairly slowly, and you could be forgiven for losing interest, but it's one of those that if you stick with you will totally get caught up in, the ending is so good too. I love a good mystery and this ticks all the boxes.

I'm glad I found it, 8/10

One of the best plotted films I've ever seen although not much actually happens the plot twists are outstanding