Recommendations
Senior Film Conservator

If you found yourself captivated by the artistic bravery of Alibi (1929), the quest for comparable cinema becomes a journey through the fringes of film history. Below, we've gathered a list of films that every fan of Roland West's work should explore.
Alibi remains a monumental achievement to create a hauntingly beautiful cinematic landscape.
Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, he falls under suspicion. The gangster took Joan, a policeman's daughter, to the theater, sneaked out during the intermission to commit the crime, then used her to support his alibi. The detective squad employs its most sophisticated and barbaric techniques, including planting an undercover agent in the gang, to bring him to justice.
Based on the unique artistic bravery of Alibi, our vault has identified these titles as the most compelling follow-up experiences for fans of Crime cinema:
Dir: George B. Seitz
The adventures of a gentlemanly crook of astonishing resourcefulness.
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Dir: Charles Swickard
A young Egyptian goes to the rescue of his employers, a wealthy European family, when they are menaced by a local strongman and his gang.
Dir: Arthur Rosson
The Hopkinses are a family of squatters struggling against the wealthy landowners or "hilltoppers." When Jerry Hopkins is unjustly imprisoned, his young wife and baby die as a result of the shock, but his sister Polly maintains the faith that has been instilled in her by her grandmother. Later, Polly meets hilltopper Robert Robertson and the two fall in love. Their courtship is disrupted when Robert's sister Evelyn is blackmailed by Oscar Bennett, the man to whom she is secretly wed. In her efforts to help Evelyn, Polly falls under unjust suspicion. Meanwhile, MacKenzie, one of the vindictive landowners, arrests Polly's father and sends her brother to an orphanage. Devastated by these events, Polly's grandmother dies of grief and Polly swears revenge. She has Evelyn kidnapped and brought to her cabin, but the memory of her grandmother prevents Polly from harming her tormentor. Polly's nobility inspires Evelyn, who exonerates Polly, thus clearing the path for her marriage to Robert.
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Dir: Roland West
Annie is a victim of amnesia. In this state, having forgotten her husband and friends, she becomes a master criminal. But an operation on her brain restores her memory, leaving her to face the consequences of her actions.
Dir: F. Martin Thornton
In Paris an orphan cartoonist loves a man with a mad wife, who dies in time to prevent her marriage to a jilted Comte.
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Dir: Colin Campbell
Although separated at birth, Siamese twins Fabien and Louis de Franchi remain united emotionally. One day, Parisian Emilie de Lesparre arrives in their Corsican village with her father, and both brothers fall in love with her. Louis goes to Paris to study law and sees Emilie often, but Emilie loves Fabien who has remained in Corsica with their mother. While attending a dinner given by another admirer of Emilie's, M. Chateau Renaud, Louis is drawn into a duel with Renaud and killed. Back home, Fabien senses what has happened and journeys to Paris to avenge his brother's death. After he kills Renaud in a duel, Emilie finally confesses her love to Fabien.
Dir: Victor Heerman
In the gold fields of the Canadian Northwest, a man is falsely accused of a crime and determines that a lookalike is responsible.
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Dir: Jacques Jaccard
Douglas MacLeod of the Royal North West Mounted Police is in love with Suzanne Foucharde, who has adopted an abandoned Indian baby, the illegitimate child of Louis La Rocque and Na Fa Kowa. When La Rocque insinuates that the baby is Suzanne's, her brother Henry defends his sister's honor and kills the villain. In spite of his love for Suzanne, it is Douglas' duty to arrest Henry. He does so, but later allows him to escape, taking the bullet himself that was fired after Henry by Constable Burke. Meanwhile, the dead body of Na Fa Kowa is found, accompanied by a note proving that the Indian was the baby's mother. In the spring, when Douglas recovers from his wounds, he and Suzanne are married.
Dir: Herbert Blaché
French dancer Sigrid, diagnosed with a weak heart, is ordered by her doctor never to dance again. But when her dancing skills are needed by her lover's father to help quell a native uprising on the East Indian frontier, she determines to dance whatever the cost.
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Dir: Ewald André Dupont
Fred Hopkins, a jeweler's assistant, replaces the pearl necklace Lord Reading bought as a wedding present with a worthless imitation. A hunt begins, which the flower seller Rahel and the jumping jack dealer David are able to end by finding the jewelry. Hopkins, who is convicted, then commits suicide for fear of being punished with poison.
View DetailsAnalysis relative to Alibi
| Film Title | Atmosphere | Complexity | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Velvet Fingers | Gritty | High | 89% Match |
| An Arabian Knight | Gritty | Abstract | 94% Match |
| Polly of the Storm Country | Gritty | Abstract | 97% Match |
| De Luxe Annie | Surreal | Dense | 88% Match |
| The Flame | Surreal | High | 97% Match |
This guide was algorithmically generated using the cinematic metadata of Roland West's archive. Last updated: 8/16/2026.
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