Third Man Out

Chad Allen made his debut as Donald Strachey, openly gay detective based in Albany, New York in Third Man Out. Allen is hired by Jack Weatherell noted gay blogger whose specialty is outing closeted gays, especially those in conservative clothing. But now one of those who Weatherell is gathering research on is maybe looking to kill him. The usual death threats have been made and there have been incidents.

The subject of outing is still a controversial one, but becoming less and less because as the forces of fundamentalist religion and the homophobia they engender denies our access to equality in the USA and other places in the world. There is more and more agreement that the Larry Craigs of the world need to be outed. But in 2005 Allen as Strachey is still coming to grips with his feelings on the subject as is his partner Sebastian Spence.

Later on murder does occur and Allen zeroes in on three really good suspects, a Republican Congressman, a closeted gay children's show host and none other than Roman Catholic Bishop of the Albany diocese. They all are real good candidates.

I do like Allen in this role very much and I wish I had seen this film first as it sets up characters and situations in the two succeeding Strachey films I saw before Third Man Out. Allen is completely in the pulp fiction tradition of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. A young man who loses his job in this film because of what Allen does in his former boss's office in his search for the truth is later hired and becomes his secretary/receptionist. The seedy office Strachey operates from is straight out of Mickey Spillane.

However as is the times Strachey is completely devoted to his partner Spence and probably were among the first to be married this year when New York got same gender marriage. The love is strong because he takes a pass on Matthew Rush, gay male porn star who plays one in this film and in which we get to see exactly what Strachey passes on. Married or unmarried fidelity as the case may be is NOT in the Spillane, Chandler or Hammett tradition.

Third Man Out is a well made film, shot in Toronto and Vancouver, which don't look a bit like Albany and has a real novel twist at the end.

I'm used to seeing under-achieving gay movies, with laughable acting, unbelievable writing and downright bad directing. But not "Third Man Out"! The plot is excellent. The actors are believable - and really good. The directing is second to none.

The only disappointment is that too many gay stereotypes were used - not stereotypes imposed on gays but stereotypes created by gays. That is, evil cigar-smoking Republicans hiding their hypocritical deeds, and evil church officials ruining the lives of others. But, the movie was so good, I can forgive the writer for injecting his own bias. Good job overall!

I also get tired of seeing gay lovers always fighting. For once it was refreshing to see two characters really love each other - portraying what we all seek. In addition to that, the two characters really had different lives and different tastes, yet they made the relationship work. It was a good match.

Thank you and congratulations to Chad Alan, Sebastian Spence, Ron Oliver, and Mark Saltzman.

Which would be worse if you're a gay detective based in Albany, New York...slugged in the kisser by an irate blonde who doesn't care for the photos you took of her husband or being called "Nancy-boy Drew" by the corrupt and catty manager of a hotel who secretly films the doings of some of the guests? Donald Strachey (Chad Allen) doesn't much care for either, but this is nothing compared to what he is about to get involved in. Fortunately, Strachey is a happily married man, or as close to it as a gay man can be. His partner, Timmy Callaghan (Sebastian Spence), is a smart, affectionate political assistant to an elected New York state assemblywoman. Strachey's latest case brings him a client that both he and Timmy are repulsed by.

John Rutka (Jack Wetherall), an aging, self-righteous gay demagogue, publishes a cable expose program called The Rutka Report. In it he outs closet gays, especially well-known married public homophobes who promote family values and sponsor anti-gay legislation while secretly making nighttime visits to highway rest stops and wearing their leathers at, ah, small, intimate parties. After someone breaks into his home and shoots him in the leg, Rutka goes to Strachey for protection. Strachey turns him down. Outing people, Strachey and Timmy agree, is one of the lowest forms of human activity. But the need for Strachey to earn an income changes their minds. Even though Strachey has to hold his nose, he takes on the job. It's not long before a charred corpse turns up and is identified through dental records and that gunshot wound by the cops as Rutka. Strachey took the man's money; now he's determined to find the man's murderer. There are three prime candidates, one of whom Rutka was going to pick as the cover-boy for his next broadcast. From Rutka's files, Strachey identifies Ronnie Linklater, the host and star of a hugely popular children's television show who enjoys using his hand-puppets in unusual ways; Bruno Slinger, a powerful, anti-gay Congressman who thinks B&D without a little pain for his partner is for sissies; and a person Rutka identified only as "the ultimate hypocrite." From there, Strachey doggedly goes through piles of Rutka's documents, financial records and computer files. Along the way he visits sleazy motels, a Catholic church, a hospital and a funeral; he encounters Rutka's body- building partner, Rutka's foul-mouthed sister, an exercising granny who puts moves on him, and various tough guys who push him around and pistol whip him. He leaves one of them limping, after Timmy gets beaten up, by using a power nailer to plow a nail into the guy's foot. Strachey also visits a porn call-in site where the owner, Dik Steele, for a fee will talk to heavy breathing call-in chumps. Even Strachey looks put off a bit at the operators posing as Steele...balding, chubby males and grannies with deep voices, all pretending to be Dik Steele in the throes of ultimate passion. Kind of like internet sites. The conclusion carries a powerful and unexpected twist which some may like and some may not.

Third Man Out is the first of what may be a series of Canadian cable movies featuring Chad Allen as Donald Strachey. The second, Shock to the System, was broadcast in 2006. It seemed to me that with Third Man Out, director and writer Ron Oliver was still in the process of finding the right balance between message and mystery. Oliver and Allen deal with a lot of issues here, some head on, some in passing, everything from hypocrisy, AIDs and the costs of AIDs medicine, the ethics of outing, gay relationships and on and on. For me, all these messages began getting in the way of the mystery, which I thought was well-constructed with clever false leads, good characters and a disturbing conclusion. With Shock to the System, I think Oliver found the formula that works...make sure you put the mystery first and keep the messages low-key. For readers, the Donald Strachey mysteries by Richard Stevenson, all eight of them, are worth buying. The plots are strong and Strachey makes for a believable, sometimes cocky private eye. They are solid mysteries that happen to feature a gay private detective; they're not simply gay mysteries.

This is one of the most satisfying "gay" films I've seen since "Beautiful Thing," and one of the best mystery-married pairings since John and Sherlock, or should I say Nick and Nora. It's the story of Donald Strachey, tough guy P.I. with a shady past and a sweet tooth for guy pal Sebastian Spence. It's a good story, not a great one, with a sultry jazz score and topical references to such controversial subjects as celebrity outing and pedophiliac priests. What makes it work is the unconventional casting of Chad Allen (who is gay himself, but doesn't look it--although one character dubs him "Nancy-boy Drew") as Strachey, who just happens to be very happily married to Timothy (played by Sebastian Spence, who is apparently straight, and maybe that's why his character overdoes the nelly a bit). Allen, as Strachey, is developing very nicely as an actor, and he's more interesting looking now than he ever was as a child. In "Third Man Out," he gets solid support from QAF's Jack Wetherall and Sean Young. Apparently, this is the first in a series, based on the novels by Richard Stevenson and set, contrarily, in Albany, rather than in New York City or San Francisco. Hopefully, it will prove popular enough with its intended audience that other books in the series will also be filmed. Apart from the rather pedestrian direction (by Ron Oliver) and a couple of too obvious twists in the plot, "Third Man" is entertaining throughout.

The story seemed somewhat hackneyed and predictable, filled with the staples of the genre, but that struck me as more intentional than accidental. The dialogue was awkward at times, but I enjoyed the performances. The production values are good, and the music helps carry the story during its weaker moments. Overall it seemed like a reasonably good pilot for a series. I'd enjoy seeing where they could take this, once the actors and writers had a chance to settle into their roles.

The biggest weakness I found was determining how seriously to take it. It seemed to ricochet between overly-earnest and tongue-in-cheek. But overall I enjoyed it and would look forward to seeing more.

(Keep your eyes open for interesting gas prices.)