If there is one thing that distinguishes (somewhat) this particular Charlie Chan outing from the others, is that it has a higher-than-usual number of laugh-out-loud lines. An example:Birmingham: "Is this the shortest way to prison?" Chan: "No, shortest way is commit crime!" No. 3 son: "We'll have to try that sometime...what am I saying?" Chan: "You surprise yourself, eh? Usually you surprise me!"There is the customary padding (the sequence where Chan's assistants are bumbling about in a dark warehouse), and the customary last-minute surprise killer. This entry has so many bad guys, that you're bound to be surprised by at least one of them! ** out of 4.

Usually films with this much activity are cluttered and over- plotted, but it all works reasonably well in "Dark Alibi". It needed padding but rather than slow it down, the producers wisely just kept adding filler bits, so there is a lot going on. The film's basic frame-up concept is good. The police, warden, prosecutor are blended and balanced expertly by the director to advance the plot.Teala Loring is attractive and a good actress, well suited for this b-movie. The old gent who portrays her father does a good job, too. I can live without the Birmingham and Benjamin corny old vaudeville bit but it was popular in the 1940's era and it is a better filler for padding purposes than most routines (filler was probably necessary due to Toler's health). Benson Fong is inconsequential, he just moves along and tries to keep up with the pace. Janet Shaw delivers one of her insouciant tough girl performances that always keep her watchable in films.Sidney Toler gets the job done but he really looks ill at times. He manages valiantly to stay active enough to stride across a room now and then, but he is sitting down in some scenes, obviously for health reasons.Good work by the director, good red herrings, and lots of somewhat overloaded activity provide us with an OK low budget b-movie in "Dark Alibi".

While the quality of this Charlie Chan film isn't quite up to the exceptional quality of most of the Twentieth-Century Fox Chan films, it does rank among the better films of the series produced by Monogram Pictures. Most of this is because the mystery itself is more interesting--more of a real mystery than you find in most of the films.As usual, one of the Chan clan is on hand to provide help for their father. Tommy Chan (Benson Fong) actually is a bit more helpful and resourceful than usual. However, the acerbic tongue of Sidney Toler (as Charlie) is as cutting as ever as he makes many amusing comments about the "help" usually provided by Tommy and their driver, Birmingham.This film begins with a man being convicted of robbery and murder. However, the man swears he didn't do it. Charlie is called in my the family to try to sort out how the man's finger prints could be at the crime scene and yet he be an innocent man. While the technology to fake prints isn't apparently possible, how Chan is able to piece it all together is pretty interesting and makes for an excellent plot.By the way, Mantan Moreland and his old stage partner Ben Carter do a couple old comedy routines together throughout the film. They also did a similar scene in another Chan film, SCARLET CLUE. Many might find this and the antics of Moreland throughout the film an offensive Black stereotype in film, though they are pretty entertaining despite their political incorrectness.

Three former convicts have served time in States Prison together. At one time or another, each has been convicted of bank robbery based on fingerprints found at the crime scene. Charlie Chan's hunch is that the fingerprints were forgeries, and the victims were all set up by the real thief. Only one of the three is still alive, and he's just been arrested for the latest bank heist. If you're keeping score, "Dark Alibi" is the eighth installment in the Monogram Studios series of Sidney Toler Charlie Chan films. Benson Fong is Number #3 Son Tommy; and after a one film hiatus (Red Dragon), Mantan Moreland is back, this time sharing equal billing with Ben Carter. The two reprise their "Pidgin" English escapades from "The Scarlet Clue" with three different conversations that are the comedic highlights of the film.As usual, there is a lot of misdirection with the introduction of the suspects, but one good clue comes with the identity of States Prison inmate #8251 - Jimmy Slade, a fingerprint file clerk. But rather than being the master criminal, he winds up being a victim, as does his wife, known to us as Miss Petrie. It's interesting how many times the same gimmicks are repeated in the Chan movies. Back in the 1940 film "Charlie Chan's Murder Cruise", Chan throws a coin to test the response of a man who claims he's hard of hearing. He does it here as well, and again uncovers the subterfuge.As we've seen before, the mastermind behind the bank robberies and the murders is revealed at the end with no fanfare or buildup, only the convincing explanation by Charlie Chan himself. The film almost had me though, I thought the warden was in on it!For a Monogram, this is a fast paced fun film, made even more enjoyable by the Moreland/Carter dialog. It's a good enough reason by itself to watch "Dark Alibi".