Third Man Out (TV 2005)

A gay detective is hired to find who has been been threatening a notorious member of the gay community noted for outing people.

Director:

Ron Oliver

Writers:

Mark Saltzman, Richard Stevenson (book)

Stars:

Chad Allen, Sebastian Spence, Jack Wetherall

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chad Allen	...	Donald Strachey
Sebastian Spence	...	Timmy Callahan
Jack Wetherall	...	John Rutka
Woody Jeffreys	...	Eddie
Sean Young	...	Ann Rutka
April Telek	...	Alice Savage (as April Amber Telek)
John Moore	...	Bishop McFee
Alf Humphreys	...	Father Morgan (as Alf Humphries)
P. Lynn Johnson	...	Senator Dianne Glassman
Guy Fauchon	...	Newspaper Photographer
James Michalopolous	...	Dark Glasses (as James Michalopoulos)
Moneca Delain	...	Nurse
Kirsten Williamson	...	Meredith
David Palffy	...	Bruno Slinger
Colin Lawrence	...	Cole

Storyline

A gay detective is hired to find who has been been threatening a notorious member of the gay community noted for outing people.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | detective | gay detective | restaurant | gay marriage | 

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Taglines:

A gay detective who always gets his man.

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Genres:

Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Official Sites:

Here TV

Country:

Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2005 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Meleg helyzetben

Filming Locations:

Langley, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Insight Film Studios, Insight Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

In the love scene between Strachey and Timmy, Strachey's tattoo is on his right arm. When he wakes up the next morning and climbs out of bed, his tattoo is on his left arm. Other scenes in the movie show inconsistent arm placement as well.

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Quotes

Timmy Callahan: You have no appreciation for my integrity at all, do you?
Donald Strachey: I *love* your integrity. You want to take it to an empty room, we can try it with the rubber gloves?
Timmy Callahan: You're disgusting.
Donald Strachey: That's why you love me.

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Connections

References Free to Be... You & Me (1974)

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Soundtracks

"In Heat, In Love"
music by Peter Allen
lyrics by David Hudgins
sung by Sibel Thrasher
sung by Sibel Thrasher

User Reviews

Hail Queer-Noir

The gay private eye thriller Third Man Out is, hopefully, the first of a new film genre that I'll dub "Queer-Noir". Third Man's plot may be a bit serpentine and it's dialogue stretched at the corners to cover maximum political ground, but Chad Allen's nuanced and sexily hard-boiled performance easily compensates for these shortcomings. As Private Eye Donald Strachey, Allen comes off as Spenser crossed with Columbo with a dash of Brian Kinney tossed into this enticing mix.

Though Ron Oliver's direction isn't flashy, it's very appropriate for a noir flick set in Albany. Like Richard Stevenson's books--on the pages of which Donald Strachey was conceived--this film is about character and concept and the tension between these two dramatic elements. Stevenson was one of the first writers to infuse the pragmatic, ultra-masculine private eye genre with an unabashedly gay aesthetic. A perfect synthesis of these two influences, Third Man Out gives us a detective who shares waltzes and moonlight martinis with his hubby, drives a banged up Toyota Tercel and can lay bad guys flat with an unsparing right hook.

Third Man's production values are outstanding for a cable film. Keeping Richard Stevenson's Albany setting was a smart move by Here! network, as so many well intentioned films go astray when they aim for glitzy settings and end up with cheap Canadian photocopies.

The only flaws worth citing were: a couple of actor Sebastian Spence's scenes (during which he portrays Donald Strachey's husband as a cross between C3PO and Uncle Arthur from Bewitched) and a heavy-handed score (with good feature songs that are sandbagged by some very obtrusive "tension and suspense" instrumentals).

What most delighted me about Third Man was the thrill of watching a genuine and polished noir flick which was, in every respect, thoroughly but naturally queer. While Third Man isn't Brokeback Mountain, it is a milestone in its own right. It's a well executed, enjoyable film about a hard-boiled detective who wears bad ties and breaks out in a blushing grin when his boyfriend kisses him on the cheek.