The Third Alibi is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Montgomery Tully and starring Laurence Payne, Patricia Dainton, Jane Griffiths and Edward Underdown. Plot Musicals composer Norman Martell (Laurence Payne) is having an affair with his wife Helen's (Patricia Dainton) divorced half sister, Peggy (Jane Griffiths). Peggy repeatedly asks him to obtain a divorce and marry her; he finally agrees when she becomes pregnant. His wife refuses his request out of sibling rivalry, saying that their parents had always made her give way to Peggy's demands, but she would not give in to her this time. She suggests that the child's father may be someone else. Martell cannot just leave his wife, as she manages his royalty income. Instead, he plots her murder with Peggy, intending to use the tape recorder he uses in his composing to establish an alibi. Helen, however, has decided to allow the divorce, and goes to tell her sister, but when she goes to Peggy's house, she overhears their plans, and uses them to devise a murder plan herself. Cast Laurence Payne as Norman Martell Patricia Dainton as Helen Martell Jane Griffiths as Peggy Hill Edward Underdown as Doctor Murdoch John Arnatt as Superintendent Ross Humphrey Lestocq as Producer Lucy Griffiths as Miss Potter Cleo Laine as Singer Arthur Hewlett as Marshall Annette Kerr as Cinema cashier Dudley Moore as Piano accompanist (uncredited) Critical reception TV Guide gave the film two out of four stars, calling it a "tight little thriller"; and BFI Screenonline wrote, "The Third Alibi benefits distinctly from the assured economy of his (Tully's) direction. Compact, low-key, but exciting...this later work is, characteristically, constructed with precision; and moves smoothly and swiftly towards an effective and ingenious denouement." References External links 1961 films Adultery in films British thriller films Films about composers Films directed by Montgomery Tully 1960s thriller films Uxoricide in fiction Films with screenplays by Pip and Jane Baker 1960s English-language films 1960s British films