User Reviews

A smooth young man Alec Albion plots the murder of his uncle by setting up a watertight alibi. He carries out the murder and Scotland Yard can not work out how he did it. They take him to court but he is found not guilty. ('Alec Albion Acquitted' says the alliterative newspaper headline.) But his acquittal is not the end of the story. Only 58 minutes long this is a fast moving and entertaining film with lots of humour. It occasionally descends into farce when it need not but on the whole is a fine low budget film.

Peter Reynolds is excellent as Alec Albion, brimming with humour and charm he makes the fact that he is a murderer almost like a game to the annoyance of the Yard. Leslie Dwyer as the porter Gossage is also memorable. John Guillermin went on to direct vastly bigger films but this one is a little gem. The fast Old Bailey scene was well filmed and most amusing.

The murder method was also used in the Lord Dunsany story 'The Murder of Constable Slugger' but who borrowed from who, who knows?

This was one of the many low budget movies made after the war. Most of them were obviously "cheapies", poor acting ,lousy dialogue and terrible plots (what else). This was a low budget film which did not fall into that category. Peter Reynolds played the role of Alec Albion a most unscrupulous arrogant bounder. He becomes the heir to a large fortune which is to be paid when his uncle (the benefactor) dies. Albion cannot wait and decides to precipitate the demise of the uncle. He hatches a foolproof plan which is guaranteed to make his future very very comfortable. So ingenious is his plan to end the uncles life it succeeds beyond his wildest dreams. Albion is the prime suspect and is brought to trial. However his alibi is so perfect and he is acquitted. Being such a braggart and knowing that once you have been acquitted you cannot be tried again, he decides to reveal the brilliant plan. He arranges a press meeting and with contemptuous glances at one and all he tells them of his perfect crime. The police arrest him immediately and charge him with the murder. He protests that they are violating the law ,informing them that you cannot be tried again for the same crime.

To continue with any further comments will spoil the end of this film. If it is ever released again do not miss it, it is a first rate "B" movie.

This film is so off beat and wacky it almost seems as if it might have come out of The Goon Show.It is actually rather funny at times,although this is spoiled by actors shouting and going wildly over the top.The budget must have been minute as evidenced by the shot of the jury considering their verdict where only five are present.The idea of an ice bullet is a new one on me.

THE SMART ALECK is a very odd little British crime film, told in a semi-humorous way, and one which looks at that old standby of the legal drama, the 'double jeopardy' rule. The film features the exceedingly slimy Peter Reynolds as a man who plans the perfect murder in a story similar to those featured in the COLUMBO TV series. What follows has plenty of twists and turns, but is spoiled somewhat by the descent into farcical overacting in the second half, with various actors continually shouting at each other which quickly becomes tiring. One of the most interesting things about this cheapie is the supporting cast, featuring Kynaston Reeves as an interfering old-timer, Leslie Dwyer as a porter, and a youthful Charles Hawtrey in a very funny slapstick-themed performance.

Alec Albion (Peter Reynolds) hatches an ingenious method of murdering his wealthy uncle, Edward Hale (Frederick Morant), in such a way that he will not get tried for it. He takes an apartment directly opposite his uncle's who is in the habit of sitting on his terrace all day sunbathing. Albion invites his neighbour, Sir Randolph Towle (Kynaston Reeves), the Chief Commissioner of Scotland Yard over for coffee and tells him about his premonition in which he sees himself killing his uncle - of course, this is all about establishing his alibi. Next, he makes an excuse to leave the room, picks up a poker, puts the radiogram on full blast, and dashes off into the bathroom. A few minutes later, a maid discovers Hale's body. Inspector Ashley (Edward Lexy) and Farr (Charles Hawtery) believe that Albion killed his uncle and their initial theory is he shot him from the bathroom window using the radiogram to disguise the sound of the shot being fired. They find a rifle hidden under the floorboards and they can tell that the weapon had recently been fired, but the autopsy finds no trace of a bullet. Their next theory is that Albion timed the music until the needle on the player stopped and in that time ran across to his uncle's flat and battered him to death with the poker. Yet, that theory falls flat too. Albion is tried and acquitted and, afterwards, he invites the interested parties around to the flat to explain how he did indeed murder his uncle who was about to disinherit him and he believes that under the country's double jeopardy laws he cannot be tried again for the same crime once acquitted. But, Albion is about to learn that even the cleverest murder plot can go horribly wrong...

A b-pic murder mystery with an ingenious plot and a denouement that is well worth waiting for. It is not easy to work out how Albion (Reynolds) committed the murder and the final twist comes as completely unexpected. But, the film is undermined somewhat by its attempts at being a comedy thriller - I would have preferred it as a straight thriller - with way over the top performances by Reeves, Lexy and a young Charles Hawtery who would soon become a household name in the long running and popular Carry On comedies. An early film for John Guillermin who would go on to become a major 'A' film director with such films as Town On Trial, Never Let Go (featuring Peter Sellers in a straight part), Death On The Nile and the 1970's remake of King Kong.

In SMART ALEC, a man named Alec Albion (Peter Reynolds) and his wife, move into a new, top floor, luxury apartment. Alec has moved in to be close to his rich uncle. It's clear from the beginning that he's up to something.

When the uncle is found dead, Alec seems to have concocted the perfect alibi. Officers from Scotland Yard arrive, believing it's an open-and-shut case with Albion as their only suspect.

However, though motive is certainly obvious, the method by which the crime was committed proves to be... elusive.

Packed with oddball characters, dry to wacky British humor, and a novel homicide, SMART ALEC, though preposterous, is a lot of fun to watch!

At less than an hour in length, it zips right along...