Alibi Bye Bye
Encyclopedia
Alibi Bye Bye is a 1935 comedy
short directed by Ben Holmes and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is notable as the final film appearance of the comedy team of Bobby Clark
and Paul McCullough
.
. The pair cater to a clientele who require fraudulent tourist photographs using fake backdrops, which can later be used as evidence that the person in the photograph was at any location in the country. One day, a married couple (Bud Jamison
and Constance Bergen) turn up separately in need of alibi photographs: the man wants evidence of being on a Maine
moose
hunt while the woman needs photographic proof of being in Washington, D.C.
The photographers, unaware that the man and woman are married, decide to play matchmaker with the pair. By coincidence, the man and woman have rooms opposite each other in the same hotel. The hotel’s manager and the staff detective become suspicious of what is transpiring when the photographers and the couple zigzag between the rooms. Eventually, the husband and wife discover the truth of their activities and leave the hotel together. The photographers, however, attempt to leave the hotel disguised as a moose, only to be chased amidst gunfire from the hotel manager.
Alibi Bye Bye, with its suggestive humor regarding adultery, ran afoul with the Kansas Board of Review, the state's motion picture censorship board. "Eliminate all indecent reactions of Clark after seeing a woman," wrote the board after screening the film, noting Bobby Clark's lascivious reactions to a pretty chambermaid in the film. "These are tom cat growls and pawing of earth. They occur several times in both reels."
for a shave. At the barber shop, he grabbed the razor and slashed his throat and wrists. He was taken to a hospital in Boston
, where he died two days later.
Clark continued as a solo performer following his partner’s death, concentrating almost exclusively on the stage. He only made one film without McCullough, the 1938 extravaganza The Goldwyn Follies
.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
short directed by Ben Holmes and released by RKO Radio Pictures. It is notable as the final film appearance of the comedy team of Bobby Clark
Bobby Clark (comedian)
Robert Edwin Clark , known as Bobby Clark, was a minstrel, vaudevillian, performer on stage, film, television and the circus....
and Paul McCullough
Paul McCullough
Paul Johnston McCullough was an American actor who performed in a comedy team with Bobby Clark.Born in Springfield, Ohio, McCullough met Clark at a local YMCA when they were boys...
.
Plot
Clark and McCullough are Flash and Blodgett, a pair of "alibi photographers" operating a studio in Atlantic City, New JerseyAtlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
. The pair cater to a clientele who require fraudulent tourist photographs using fake backdrops, which can later be used as evidence that the person in the photograph was at any location in the country. One day, a married couple (Bud Jamison
Bud Jamison
Bud Jamison was an American film actor. He appeared in 450 films between 1915 and 1944.-Career:...
and Constance Bergen) turn up separately in need of alibi photographs: the man wants evidence of being on a Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
moose
Moose
The moose or Eurasian elk is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic configuration...
hunt while the woman needs photographic proof of being in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The photographers, unaware that the man and woman are married, decide to play matchmaker with the pair. By coincidence, the man and woman have rooms opposite each other in the same hotel. The hotel’s manager and the staff detective become suspicious of what is transpiring when the photographers and the couple zigzag between the rooms. Eventually, the husband and wife discover the truth of their activities and leave the hotel together. The photographers, however, attempt to leave the hotel disguised as a moose, only to be chased amidst gunfire from the hotel manager.
Cast
- Bobby Clark ... Flash
- Paul McCulloughPaul McCulloughPaul Johnston McCullough was an American actor who performed in a comedy team with Bobby Clark.Born in Springfield, Ohio, McCullough met Clark at a local YMCA when they were boys...
... Blodgett - Bud JamisonBud JamisonBud Jamison was an American film actor. He appeared in 450 films between 1915 and 1944.-Career:...
... Bud Nimrod - Constance Bergen ... Connie Nimrod
- Dorothy GrangerDorothy GrangerDorothy Granger was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood.-Career:...
... Dolly - Tom KennedyTom Kennedy (American actor)Tom Kennedy was an American actor best known for his roles in Hollywood comedies from the silent days, with such producers as Mack Sennett and Hal Roach, mainly supporting lead comedians such as the four Marx Brothers, WC Fields, Mabel Normand, Shemp Howard and Laurel and Hardy.-Career:For over 50...
... Snoops, the house dick - Harrison GreeneHarrison GreeneHarrison Greene was an American film actor. He appeared in over 230 films between 1931 and 1946. He was born in Portland, Oregon, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:...
... J.N. Martin, hotel manager - Doris MacMahon ... The Maid
- Jack RiceJack RiceJack Rice was an American actor best known for appearing as the scrounging, freeloading brother-in-law in Edgar Kennedy's series of short domestic comedy films at the RKO studios, and also as "Ollie" in around a dozen of Columbia film studio's series of the Blondie comic strip, which starred Penny...
... Desk Clerk
Production history
Bobby Clark and Paul McCullough worked in circuses, vaudeville and on Broadway for two decades before they came to Hollywood to star in a series of short films. They first worked for Fox Pictures from 1929 to 1930 and then at RKO Radio Pictures from 1931 to 1935. The duo made 21 films at RKO.Alibi Bye Bye, with its suggestive humor regarding adultery, ran afoul with the Kansas Board of Review, the state's motion picture censorship board. "Eliminate all indecent reactions of Clark after seeing a woman," wrote the board after screening the film, noting Bobby Clark's lascivious reactions to a pretty chambermaid in the film. "These are tom cat growls and pawing of earth. They occur several times in both reels."
Paul McCullough's death
Following the completion of Alibi Bye Bye, Clark and McCullough returned to the stage for national tour of the revue Thumbs Up! The team was expected to return to Hollywood, but McCullough was in poor health. In early 1936, McCullough checked into a sanitarium in Massachusetts for undisclosed medical reasons. On March 23, 1936, McCullough was checked out of the sanitarium and stopped by a barber shop in Medford, MassachusettsMedford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
for a shave. At the barber shop, he grabbed the razor and slashed his throat and wrists. He was taken to a hospital in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where he died two days later.
Clark continued as a solo performer following his partner’s death, concentrating almost exclusively on the stage. He only made one film without McCullough, the 1938 extravaganza The Goldwyn Follies
The Goldwyn Follies
The Goldwyn Follies is a 1938 Technicolor film written by Ben Hecht, Sid Kuller, Sam Perrin and Arthur Phillips, with music by George Gershwin, Vernon Duke, and Ray Golden, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Some sources credit Kurt Weill as one of the composers, but this is apparently incorrect...
.