M Squad (TV Series) The Alibi Witness (1957) User Reviews

Trying To Help Out A Guy Who Gets No Family Loyalty

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 2 February 2010]

"Wally Gardner" has an alibi, a man who lit a cigarette for him miles away from a crime scene, can prove he's innocent by just telling the cops that. Wally is being fingered for a robbery which turned into a homicide. Wally has a rap sheet a mile long since he was a young kid. Edward Binns plays "Wally." Once again, Mr. Binns is an example of an actor you've seen a million times on TV but can't name him. Binn, not just a TV actor, he played roles in "Patton," "The Verdict," "Fail-Safe," "North By Northwest," "Twelve Angry Men" and a bunch of other big-name feature films. This guy did a lot of acting and many of his roles were playing intense characters.

In this episode we find out once again (see the last episode) that our tough M Squad hero, "Det. Lt. Frank Ballinger," (Lee Marvin) is a softie underneath. He admits he's "always sympathetic to the guy who never got a break," so instead of letting Wally or his lawyer worry about finding that "alibi witness," Frank goes searching for him, himself. His boss gives him several days, and that's it.

Frank runs into some real characters, like Wally's mother who is miserable beyond belief, and Wally's ultra-platinum blond bimbo with a deep smoker's voice. She's no help, either.

After visiting his unsympathetic mom and girlfriend, Ballinger says, "I can't help feeling sorry for Wally; even a snake deserves family loyalty."

Anyway, a few interesting developments occur in the case and the ending of a surprise. I won't give any of that away but this was good episode. After a slow start, this Season One has really picked up a little steam. There is not a lot of action in these stories but the suspense is increasing with each story and the narration and dialog by Marvin is superb - true film-noir material.

The Wrong Man

[gordonl56 · 8/10 · 6 October 2013]

M-SQUAD – The Alibi Witness -1957

This is episode eleven of the 1957 to 1960 Crime series, M-SQUAD. The series ran for 117 episodes and features Lee Marvin as the headliner. Marvin is a Lt with the elite M-Squad unit of the Chicago Police.

A man, Edward Binns, is picked up for a robbery and shooting in a small Chicago grocery store. He was identified out of the mug books by a witness. Binns, a con with a lengthy record swears he is innocent. He tells the Police he was across town, looking for a job at the time of the robbery.

He recalls asking a man with a white scar on his hand, for a light. The match-book had a picture of a Jester on the cover. Binns tells Marvin that the man will supply him with an alibi. The M-Squad boys get a laugh out of Binns' "story" and into the cells he goes.

Marvin thinks Binn's claims over and decides to ask a few questions of Binns' family. The mother, Linda Watkins, tells Marvin that Binns has not been able to find employment since his last trip to jail. It would not surprise her if he was guilty. Watkins puts Detective Marvin onto Binns' girl, Jean Carson.

Carson, in a great guest bit, laments that Binns was a loser and could not afford her. She asks Marvin how much the take was in the robbery. $87 Marvin tells Carson, who laughs, then says "that would not have kept me happy for a week."

Marvin then checks out any businesses that might have a Jester on its advertising. He finds a restaurant that uses such an emblem. He stakes out the place and soon finds the man, Robert Simon, with the scar. He takes Simon to the station for a chat. Binns is shown Simon and says that he is the man he spoke with cross town when the robbery was happening.

Simon, however says he has never seen Binns before, and has not been to that area in years. Back in the clink goes Binns while Simon is thanked for his time. Marvin however smells a rat after listening to Simon and decides to look further into the man.

Simon is a well-known designer of buildings. Marvin has a look see for any builders etc in the area where Binns says he spoke with Simon. He finds a small office of a designer who lives on the block. Inside, he finds a stiff and the "smelling like a rat", Robert Simon. Simon has a go at Marvin but is quickly subdued and hauled in to M-Squad.

Simon it turns out had been using the dead man's blueprints for years and taking all the design credit. When the man had demanded said credit, Simon had killed him. Simon had just returned to tidy up the place. Of course the date of the murder was the same day Binns had been collared.

Simon breaks down and admits to having seen Binns on the street. Simon had denied seeing Binns because he was scared his own murder would be discovered. He did not want the Police knowing he had been in the area. Binns is soon released and the charges dropped.

The director of this very noir like episode is veteran big screen man, John Brahm. Brahm is known to film-noir fans as the helmsman on, THE LODGER, GUEST IN THE HOUSE, HANGOVER SQUARE, SINGAPORE, THE LOCKET, BENGAZI and THE BRASHER DOUBLOON. (b/w)

The man without a brake

[kapelusznik18 · 7/10 · 8 June 2014]

***SPOILERS*** Picked after a grocery store robbery and shooting, where the owner later died, career criminal Wally Gardner, Edward Binns, had no alibi to where he, who claimed he was innocent of the crime, was and no one including his mother Mrs. Gardner, Linda Watkins, wanting to come to his aid. Now facing the electric chair if convicted it's non other then Let. Det. Frank Ballinger, Lee Marvin, who arrested him who comes to Gardners aid. Ballinger feels that Wally who's been in and out of jails since he was 14 deserves a brake and senses it by him just expecting to get everything that's coming to him even if he doesn't, in his totally defeatist attitude, deserve it.

With all the evidence pointing at Wally in the grocery store holdup and murder Wally suddenly remembers that he does have an alibi in where he was when the crime was committed. Wally was on the other side of town asking a stranger for a light who, if contacted, can confirm his alibi. He also remembers the the match pack that had the logo of a local restaurant, the Hellquert, where the stranger got it from. As Let. Det. Ballinger checks out the restaurant in question he finds the person matching Wally's description there the famous city architect Robert Simmons, Robert F. Simon. Simmons claims that he never saw Wally in his entire life and never was in that part of town when Wally claims he met him.

***SPOILERS*** As it soon turned out Let. Det. Ballinger was right about Wally's innocence but not only that he solved a murder that up until then the cops never knew was committed. Simmions was in fact covering his a** by claiming he never met and offered light to Wally in by doing that he would have lead the police to a murder that he in fact committed! That of his friend and fellow architect Carl Patterson! With Simmons taking the credit and prestige of Patterson's work it was only a matter of time that was to all to quickly evaporate by feeling taken advantage of Patterson. That in Patterson trying to get that glory and prestige all for himself by him exposing Simmons as the fraud that he was. Which was a good enough of a reason for Simmions to off him in order to keep Patterson's mouth shut as well as his exalted reputation, as the master city architect, in tact.