Film Masters’ fans can once again celebrate as another pair of low-budget sleazy late-night movies have been paired together for their latest incredible Blu-ray release, Door-to Door Maniac (AKA 5 Minutes to Live) and Right Hand of the Devil. Both are obscure films from the sixties that pack a huge punch!

Bill Karn’s Door-to-Door Maniac is a1961 low budget neo-noir crime thriller which stars the one and only music icon Johnny Cash, who also sang the theme song. The movie also features a pair of screen legends in iconic actor/director Ron Howard (Happy Days, Village of the Giants) and Vic Tayback (Alice, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Blood and Lace) along with some veteran actors that make this a superior trash classic.

Fred Dorella (Vic Tayback) hires Johnny Cabot (Johnny Cash), a fruity hit man and robber to a job which involves holding a bank executive’s wife hostage. Ken Wilson (Donald Woods, Fog Over Frisco, True Grit) and Nancy Wilson (Cay Forrester, Strange Impersonation, D.O.A) are the couple who are the suffering couple, with Cabot making some sleazy moves on Nancy Wilson while her husband is at work( or is he?). Mr. Wilson is also just as icky, as he is up to his neck in an affair with a woman that I thought wasn’t nearly as lovely as his wife, but to each one’s own. Cash’s role is truly something else, playing what you would think is a heartless criminal, but he has as issue with hurting children, showing some compassion in his twisted soul. I thought Ron Howard nearly stole the show from Cash with his great performance as Ken and Nancy’s son.

Right Hand of the Devil was produced, directed, edited, designed and starred Aram Katcher (The Girl in the Kremlin, Scaramouche) in this rarely seen film. He did it all as if he was Bert I. Gordon, and the results were no different than any other do-it-all B-movie producer.

In this movie Pepe Lusara (Katcher) is a mysterious criminal mastermind who disguises himself to commit various crimes and murders (which is not unlike narrative later used in The Stepfather). He has hired some gangsters to rob a sports area and has seduced and used his charms on an unattractive older woman, all for his carefully thought-out crime scheme. Pepe does away with everyone that was part of his plan, but his past comes back to seek revenge.

I thought Right Hand of the Devil was a grade-Z sleazy classic, with some rather insane, hammy, and schlocky moments that included scenes with acid and body parts (sort of) being thrown into the mix and some shocking gore for its time. It could even be considered a poor man’s version of The Killing or even The Asphalt Jungle due to the similarities in the story. Even so, Right Hand of the Devil stands on its own merits with some of the over-the-top scenes and other outrageous moments in the movie to make this compelling.  Katcher is completely mesmerizing as Lusara with his outlandish behavior and various disguises.

One of the tidbits I found interesting is that Aram Katcher apparently destroyed all the 35mm prints of Right Hand of the Devil. He must’ve really liked his finished product!

Door-to-Door Maniac and Right Hand of the Devil are presented by Film Masters, who have given these classics a 4K scan from their respective elements, 35mm and 16mm. Both films are also presented in both widescreen and full screen to double your pleasure.

The image for Door-Door-Maniac looks tremendous with an outstanding widescreen release, with dark black levels, rich whites and a balanced grey scale all the way through. The image has a lot of details throughout the video presentation. The close-ups of maniacal Johnny Cabot look fantastic and are scary! Exterior shots around The Wilson’s house also look sharp. The 4K scan has done wonders for this release and to me can be considered a revelation for just how good this rarity looks. You can view this picture in either 1:37:1 or the 1:85:1 aspect ratio as it just depends on your preference, both of them look great and identical as far as I could tell.

Right Hand of the Devil can also be viewed in 1:37:1 or 1:16:1. For a rare film, just like Door-to-Door Maniac, I felt the picture quality was remarkable, with a crisp, smooth image throughout. The black levels, whites and grey scale also are just as balanced as Door-to-Door Maniac with excellent details to both indoor and outdoor scenes and close-up shots of the actors faces.

No DNR appears to have been applied, and there is film grain shown throughout in the two films. Neither film had much in the way of print damages from what I saw,  and it looks like they were given a thorough cleaning and restoration.  I feel like viewers will certainly enjoy the video presentation of the two films, and if I had to pick one that looked better, I would say Door-to-Door Maniac, but not by much!  

English DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 and Dolby Digital 2.0 are the usual audio options for both films, and the clarity for both options is loud and clear with dialog, music and other action sounds coming in perfectly fine without any crackling, popping or other issues detected.  You can’t go wrong either way with whatever audio option you decide to go with. Optional English subtitles are available for both films.

Film Masters has provided some supplements for this release. First, there is a booklet, with one part of it being written by Don Stradley who wrote the linear notes for Door-to-Door Maniac, with C. Courtney Joyner writing the liner notes for the Right Hand of the Devil.

Both films have commentary tracks as well with Door-to-Door Maniac having an audio commentary track with author/podcaster Daniel Budnik and Film Historian Rob Kelly, while James Gonis, Shawn Sheridan, Larry Strothe and Matt Weinhold of the Monstery Party Podcast provide a commentary track for Right Hand of the Devil. As is the case with all the movies with commentary tracks, contain vast amounts of information about the movies, cast and crew. If you are commentary track aficionado, then these are more than worth your time.

Another extra with Ryan Verrill and Will Dodson from Someone’s Favorite Productions present a visual essay, titled Player Piano: Passion of Aram Katcher. It runs around ten minutes and has more information about the infamous actor and director.

There is a recut trailer for Door-to-Door Maniac and a restored original trailer for Right Hand of the Devil which round out the bonus materials.

Film Masters has hit another grand slam with these two features, that load and sound terrific to go with some extras to make this yet another highly recommended release.

Door-to-Door Maniac / Right Hand of the Devil

Director – Bill Karn / Aram Katcher

Cast- Johnny Cash, Donald Woods / Aram Katcher, Lisa McDonald

Country of Origin-USA

Distributor – Film Masters

Number of Discs –2

Reviewed by – David Steigman

Date – 8/18/2024