The strangest Thanksgiving I experienced in the ’80s had nothing to do with my parents or any of those relatives coming over for turkey. At the start of the week, I received a call from Johnny Cash’s publicist that the Man In Black would call me on Thanksgiving Day for a phone interview. He was playing a show at nearby Duke University. It was weird to think that Johnny would give up part of his post dinner nap to call a college reporter. Unlike other interviews, they didn’t have a precise time that Johnny would be calling. This was not good since I was going to be at my parents’ house. This was at a time before Bell South offered Caller ID and Call Waiting as part of the service. Anyone who called the house that afternoon with holiday greetings were told that we had to be quick because Johnny Cash might be calling. At the end of the evening after all the leftovers were shoved into the fridge, the phone didn’t ring with Johnny Cash on the other end. Monday morning, the publicist called up and apologized. They did promise I could meet Johnny Cash at the upcoming concert. Before he took the stage with June Carter, we exchanged a handshake. He did say, “Hello, I’m Johnny Cash” to me and I replied, “I’m Joe Corey.” It felt good and made up for Thanksgiving. I had met one of my childhood heroes. Although I probably would have been quite frightened if I met Johnny Cash after seeing him in Door-To-Door Maniac.
Door-To-Door Maniac (1961 – 75 minutes) is a bank heist movie with a slight twist for the time on how they’d get the money. It’s just another ideal morning for the Wilson family in the happy suburbs. Nancy (D.O.A.’s Cay Forrester) gets breakfast ready for her husband Ken (13 Ghosts‘ Donald Woods) and son Bobby (Happy Days‘ Ron Howard). Things are going like clockwork when her husband heads off to the bank and kid heads off to school. Before she has time for herself, a door-to-door salesman shows up with an offer of guitar lessons. Except she finds herself getting played. The salesman is really notorious bad guy Johnny Cabot (Johnny Cash). Turns out his partner in crime Fred Dorella (Alice‘s Vic Tayback) has been watching the family for a while. He’s got a plan to rob Ken’s bank without bringing a gun into the joint. He’ll go inside and get Ken to sign off on a bogus withdrawal while back at the Wilson house, Johnny holds a gun to his precious wife’s head. What could go wrong? Turns out that Fred has been timing Ken, but not keeping a stopwatch on the banker’s two-timing ways. This is supposed to be the day Ken splits with his mistress. Instead of a messy divorce, Ken has a chance at being a weeping widower. Instead of paying alimony, Ken and his side piece can be living good on Nancy’s life insurance policy. Back at the Wilson’s house, things get nasty when Johnny wants to do more than keep a pistol pointed at Nancy.
The star of the movie is Johnny Cash. This is from a time when Cash was hooked on various pills. While being drugged on camera is normally not a good idea, Cash looks even more threatening when he aims at his hostage. He’s got that hopped up on goofballs look that makes you think he will pull that trigger. He sang about shooting a man in Reno just to watch him die, I believe he really did it from watching this film. Cay Forrester does great on the screen and the script. The breakfast scene with the Wilsons feels like this movie is from a really obscure early ’60s family sitcom. Things seem cute and then all hell breaks out when Johnny Cash follows her into the house and pulls out his gun with a silencer attached. It’s like the Donna Reed Show gets interrupted by The Untouchables. During the hostage scene, Johnny takes her up to the bedroom wants her to get prettied up for him. Cay wrote what had to be the basis for a moment in Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs. I’m shocked at how much Cay does during this scene in a pre-ratings era. The film has never been popular even as Johnny Cash’s career soared. It’s a side of Johnny Cash that fans might get scared watching. He’s a totally committed to playing the villain and doesn’t make him misunderstood. He sits in the Wilson home and serenades Nancy with a ditty called “Five Minutes To Live.” Not quite a seductive number. If you’re a fan of Johnny Cash (including his appearance on Columbo), Door-To-Door Maniac shows he could be on death row for a lot of crimes.
Right Hand of the Devil (1963 – 67 minutes) is a Hollywood landmark as a hairdresser to the stars stepped up to be a complete filmmaker. Aram Katcher ran a successful hairdressing salon and landed occasional small parts in low budget films. He followed the path of Orson Welles, John Cassavetes and Ed Wood by making his own movie. He did all the major roles as lead actor, director, story writer, editor, make up effects, hair and producer. This is Aram’s movie. He’s masterminding a huge heist at a sports arena. A motorcycle cop (The Lawless Years‘ Brad Trumbull) recruits a crew from his favorite hoodlums. What these guys don’t know if Aram has a lot more plans worked out than he’s sharing with them. The highlight of the film is a visit to Dino’s Lodge that named after Dean Martin. The film looks good which is a credit to director of photography Fouad Said who would go on to shoot all the I Spy episodes on locations around the world and Woody Allen’s Take The Money And Run. Even cooler is Said was a producer on Across 110th Street. He makes Right Hand of the Devil look sharp as Aram stylish wardrobe. The twist in the third act makes the film so worth watching.
Door-To-Door Maniac with Right Hand of the Devil is a double feature that allows Johnny Cash to show how evil he can get and Aram Katcher to be a leading man.
The Video is 1.85:1 widescreen on both films. The restoration work here makes this film look so clear you can see the slight jitters that Cash has now and then. The Audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono. There’s also a Dolby Digital 2.0 mix. The levels are fine for a film where they recorded in rather echoey rooms. The movie is subtitled.
TV Version has both films presented in the 1.33:1 full frame version that would have played on a UHF’s night owl theater.
Audio Commentary by Rob Kelly and Daniel Budnik has them excited by the teaming of Vic Tayback and Johnny Cash. They give background on the various actors who had been doing small parts over the years. They debate how the husband has time to get drunk with his mistress on a work night. They also explain the issue with putting a silencer on a revolver.
Recreated 2024 Door-To-Door Maniac Trailer (1:33) has Johnny Cash being menacing. They must have used the new transfer with the original audio for the trailer.
Player Piano: The Passion of Aram Katcher (10:52) is a video essay from Some’s Favorite Production goes into the strange and dark film. Turns out that like Jon Peters, Aram Katcher got noticed in Hollywood from his hair dressing salon. He was in small movies with small roles. He played Napoleon in I Dream of Jeannie. We learn about what happened to Aram’s missing role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Topaz. His final film moment was in Russ Meyer’s Beyond the Valley of the Ultravixens. He kept up his hair dressing salon.
Original 1963 Right Hand of the Devil trailer (1:36) is the story of a strange man with a deadly orbit. Aram Katcher declares himself the new Orson Welles.
Audio Commentary by Monster Party has the trio marvel that Aram got a helicopter for the production. They have the original press books and point out how the film was shot over a series of weekends. The budget was $20,000 which is about $200,000 today. The give the history of Dino’s Lodge.
Booklet has essays by Don Stradley on Door-to-Door Maniac and C. Courtney Joyner explains Ralph Brooke’s role in the film and other indie movies. There’s also an ad for Aram Katcher’s beauty saloon.
Film Masters presents Door-To-Door Maniac with Right Hand of The Devil (Special Edition). Directed by Bill Karn & Aram Katcher. Screenplays by Cay Forrester & Ralph Brooke. Starring Johnny Cash, Vic Tayback, Cay Forrester, Ron Howard, Aram Katcher, Lisa McDonald, Brad Trumbull & James V. Christy. Boxset Contents: 2 movies on 2 Blu-ray discs. Release Date: August 27, 2024.
