A young Shirley Temple appears briefly in "Scared to Death" director Christy Cabanne's bland but inoffensive potboiler about a homicide and a desperate dame on the dodge. This trim, 68-minute crime saga concerns a perfume counter girl, Lynn Monith (Merna Kennedy), in a Columbus, Ohio, hotel. She experiences a close encounter with a notorious mobster. This elegantly-attired but crafty mobster, Trent Travers (Theodore von Eltz of "The Divorcée"), needs somebody to substantiate his whereabouts after he has committed a crime. He wants a woman who knows how to keep her mouth shut. Our naive heroine doesn't realize the enormity of her situation until Travers slips her a smoking revolver and orders her to dispose of it. Moments earlier Travers had slipped out of his car and gunned down another gangster.
If only the Savoy Hotel where she once worked had not gone out of business, Lynn probably wouldn't have moved to New York City to act as a companion to Travers. Poor Lynn finds herself in a predicament that goes from bad to sour fast. After she has arrived in the Big Apple, Traver installs Lynn in a plush apartment, provided her with a clothing allowance, and her a $100 a month. Guilty and terrified by the implications of what she has done to ensure that the criminal boss goes free, Lynn vanishes off the face of the earth, but she doesn't stay gone long enough. Lynn tries her best to elude Travers, but it is only a matter of time before he finds her again.
Earlier, after Lynn arrived in New York City, our heroine crossed paths with wealthy Bob Shelton (Grant Withers) when he comes searching from his top hat. Bob finds Lynn sitting on it on a couch. Bob has troubles of his own. Shelton's wife seems to have abandoned not only him but also their cute daughter Gloria. Bob wants Lynn to marry him and help him raise his four-year old daughter. Nevertheless, Travers gets in touch with her again and demands that she fork over $10-thousand dollars so he can hide out. She meets him on a rainy night at a restaurant and brandishes the same gun that he had killed a gangster rival. The police show up and clear Lynn of Travers' murder because the bullet that the coroner dug out of Travers didn't match the gun that Lynn had.
Merna Kennedy generates more than enough sympathy as a twenty-three year old woman who is duped by a cunning criminal. Shirley Temple spends most of her time being cuddled. She is never in direct jeopardy. Theodore von Eltz is good as the sinister crime boss who prefers to handle his problems in person. He has a low opinion of women, The quality of this print is abysmal, but the dialogue survives intact. Imagine "Pretty Woman" with an amoral heroine who protects her own, and you've got the gist of "Red Haired Alibi." Unfortunately, nothing in the Altogether, this tolerable crime thriller doesn't wear out its welcome.
If only the Savoy Hotel where she once worked had not gone out of business, Lynn probably wouldn't have moved to New York City to act as a companion to Travers. Poor Lynn finds herself in a predicament that goes from bad to sour fast. After she has arrived in the Big Apple, Traver installs Lynn in a plush apartment, provided her with a clothing allowance, and her a $100 a month. Guilty and terrified by the implications of what she has done to ensure that the criminal boss goes free, Lynn vanishes off the face of the earth, but she doesn't stay gone long enough. Lynn tries her best to elude Travers, but it is only a matter of time before he finds her again.
Earlier, after Lynn arrived in New York City, our heroine crossed paths with wealthy Bob Shelton (Grant Withers) when he comes searching from his top hat. Bob finds Lynn sitting on it on a couch. Bob has troubles of his own. Shelton's wife seems to have abandoned not only him but also their cute daughter Gloria. Bob wants Lynn to marry him and help him raise his four-year old daughter. Nevertheless, Travers gets in touch with her again and demands that she fork over $10-thousand dollars so he can hide out. She meets him on a rainy night at a restaurant and brandishes the same gun that he had killed a gangster rival. The police show up and clear Lynn of Travers' murder because the bullet that the coroner dug out of Travers didn't match the gun that Lynn had.
Merna Kennedy generates more than enough sympathy as a twenty-three year old woman who is duped by a cunning criminal. Shirley Temple spends most of her time being cuddled. She is never in direct jeopardy. Theodore von Eltz is good as the sinister crime boss who prefers to handle his problems in person. He has a low opinion of women, The quality of this print is abysmal, but the dialogue survives intact. Imagine "Pretty Woman" with an amoral heroine who protects her own, and you've got the gist of "Red Haired Alibi." Unfortunately, nothing in the Altogether, this tolerable crime thriller doesn't wear out its welcome.