This was written and directed by Brewster McWilliams in 1997. You will note that this is his one and only credit. A review was written in 2000, four years before this was finally released directly to video. It's obvious who wrote that review and it saddens me. He meant well with this one attempt. And as I said it was finally released on video under the title The Last Hand in 2004. Apparently one person in 2006 saw it and gave it a kind review. It's now available on Netflix and I rented it because they list it as film noir.
It's not a bad film. It shows thoughtfulness in writing and direction. I had no trouble watching it all the way through in spite of flaws.
Good points in it: The director had Frank Gorshin and Lou Rawls in the cast, and it was good to see these two. The characters were of interest including the bartender.
Difficulties started with the murder sequence and the bizarre disguise of the murderer. Then came the long presentation of two principle characters as prime suspects. That of course leads the viewer to look elsewhere for the murderer.
The climactic scene could have had more emotion than it did.
However, all in all, this is an okay film which indicated that the director/writer had ideas. Unfortunately, it looks like he has disappeared. That's tragic.
