Dual Alibi

In "Dual Alibi", the British actor, Herbert Lom, plays dual roles--the identical French twins, Georges and Jules. And, he's excellent in both parts and the movie is quite the thriller.

When the story begins, one of the de Lisle twins (Lom) has fallen on hard times and is notices by his old boss at the circus. Now this part is a bit muddled...and based on the story that follows there is no way the boss wouldn't have remembered the man immediately....but somehow it was written as if the old boss could barely remember him. In the story, there is ample reason to believe he's remember the de Lisles until the day he died!

The story that follows is a long flashback, showing what led from the de Lisles being among the best trapeze acts in the world to this. It begins with them signing a huge contract with the owner of the circus. Georges is all business but Jules is a bit less so. So, after a crook in the circus learns that Jules has won 1,000,000 fr in a lottery, instead of telling Jules, he has his slimy girlfriend cozy up to Jules...with the hope that they can steal the ticket and cash it in themselves. What's next? Well, it would spoil the film to say more!

The bottom line is that this is a very well written dark suspense film...one that makes you cheer for a killer and wish him the best! Yes, that IS unusual! Combine this with excellent acting and direction, and you have one of the better British suspense films of the era.

Herbert Lom plays twins in this movie. Also acrobats. Also a murderer.

Hired by Ronald Frankau to perform their two-act at Blackpool, the twin-acrobat act is a sensation. When publicist Terence de Marney discovers they have won the grand prize of a million francs in the French national lottery, he sets his girlfriend, Phyllis Dixey, to make up to one of the twins and steals the lottery ticket. When they discover this, they track him down and one of them murders the thief, while the other is performing solo, providing an alibi for the other. But which is it?

It's a gimmick mystery, with a strong noir element: sleazy setting, sleazy characters and some clever camera, provided by split-screen camerawork, and enough character differentiation to offer some good acting. The acrobatic work is offered in long shots, so that the Cromwell Brothers could do the work. This was their only movie appearance.

Herbert Lom, best remembered now for his appearances as Commissioner Dreyfus in the Pink Panther franchise, was born in 1917 and christened Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchacevich ze Schluderpacheru. He made his first movie in 1937 in Czechoslovakie. By 1942 he was in Great Britain, where he played Napoleon, villains in crime dramas, and his favorite role, in THE LADYKILLERS. He appeared in almost a hundred movies, and his last performance was in 2007 on TV's AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MARPLE series. He died a couple of weeks after his 95th birthday.

This was a fine example of a British film, well acted and directed, an excellent storyline and no slip ups or confusion as sometimes arises in plots like this. Herbert Lom gives a spellbinding performance as the twins, and the rest of the cast are marvellous too. Everyone gives 100% and we enjoyed it very much. It should have got some awards. Please do watch it, if you get the chance. you wont be disappointed. A fine cast of actors doing a brilliant job with a first class director. Superb. I had not been aware of this director before and as he wrote the script too, (oh yes, I forgot to say excellent script) he has excelled himself. Why no proper recognition ? I had not even heard of this film before. It was shown at a quarter to three in the morning! The photography was well done and the matching was excellent too. This film should be acknowledged as a classic British film.

I remember seeing this film some forty years ago. I was still at school and found it curiously absorbing. In fact I could'not stop telling everybody about it for days afterwards. I recall the film creating an atmosphere at once dark and foreboding. There was an understated menace in the air much as in the opening pages of a story by H.P. Lovecraft. The plot was relatively straight forward but with a delicious twist at the end that has been likened to a tale by O. Henry. What carries the film is the sublime performance of Herbert Lom. Now there was an actor who played the archetypal smooth villain of his day. In fact I cannot think of any other actor who so consummately conveyed villainy with such effective "European" sophistication and grace. A role portrayed to perfection in "The Ringer" with Donald Wolfit, "the Golden Salamander" and later, "Northwest Passage" with Kenny More and Lauren Bacall. Shades of Conrad Veidt of an earlier generation. Herbert Lom was a busy actor who appeared in numerous film and theatre productions during the fifties and sixties. Few will remember that he took the lead role when "The King and I" first came to London at Drury Lane (I think) and that he was the natural choice for the Harry Lime role in the radio version of "The Third Man" (circa, 1951). His brooding "European" looks and deep and accented speech were instantly recognised by the audiences of his day and although never a major top-of-the-bill star, was a respected member of any cast (e.g. "and with Herbert Lom as Napoleon") and by todays standards would be considered an A-list celebrity.

The film is a wonderful portrayal of a dark triangle involving identical twins who form an elegant acrobatic circus act and eventually seek revenge on an unfaithful women. They plan a "perfect crime" on which the film turns. I have not seen the film in about 50 years. It used to show up on local TV quite frequently in the 50's but seems to have disappeared and unjustly so. I only hope it still exists? If it is available I do urge it's viewing.

Lom plays the dual role of the twin brothers and this , in itself , is cleverly handled. The O'Henry like ending is affecting and again gives the film a further degree of individuality.