I have enjoyed watching the openly gay actor Chad Allen playing the role of gay detective Donald Strachey in “Third Man Out” (2006) and “Shock to the System” (2007).

Even though this is a mystery, before I watched the movie, I opened a box buried deep in my closet and found an old yellowed paperback of Richard Stevenson’s book “On The Other Hand, Death“, circa 1984 – back then it was only three dollars and fifty cents. It was pleasure re-reading and I looked forward to watching how the story would be presented on film.

The writers of the film version have taken Richard Stevenson’s book and used it as the foundation, or perhaps better said, as a basic framework, adding their own twists and sub-themes, updating for today’s audience.

When the residents of a neighborhood are offered huge sums of money to sell their homes to a developer, the only ones to refuse are an elderly longtime lesbian couple, Dorothy and Edith, played by Margot Kidder and Gabrielle Rose. Soon after the couple’s home is vandalized with hate messages spray-painted around the home.



As Donald Strachey investigates, he digs up old secrets, old wounds, evil intentions, and as in any good mystery, there is a fair amount of credible misdirection.



I would fully consider that the book and the film are two totally different stories, both deserving of attention.

For example, in the film Don Strachey and his partner, Timmy Callahan (Sebastian Spence), portray a healthy and monogamous gay relationship, whereas in the book the attractive Don Strachey many times uses sex to get his answers, to the dismay of the usually ever-loyal Timmy Callahan.

Like the previous two movies, “On the Other Hand, Death” uses tongue-in-cheek references to the 1940’s noir-like style of filming, from the stereotypical opening scene of a woman walking alone down a dark alley, to a score appropriate to the genre, namely jazz. The movie is filmed in muted, washed-out colors, mostly in scenes of browns and yellows or dark grays and blues, with a heavy emphasis on shadows.

The ending of the movie “On The Other Hand, Death” genuinely surprised me and I know that you will enjoy it.

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