Posted by Gordon GatesUser icon on 2/4/2021, 4:16 am
THE RIGHT HAND OF THE DEVIL – 1963

Aram Katcher was a minor hollywood bit player with mostly unbilled parts to his credit. He keeps himself afloat by running a woman's hair salon. In 1963, he decides that he wants to be a big time film star. He scraps together $20,000, writes, produces and directs a heist film with dollops of film noir mixed in. There are bits of THE KILLING, BLAST OF SILENCE and several other noir sprinkled throughout the production.

Katcher plays a criminal who has come up with a plan for the perfect high end robbery. He is going to hit a strong-room of a Los Angeles sports arena after a big boxing match. He uses his underworld contacts to gather a crew together. He hires a wheel-man, Brad Trumbull, and several muscle types, James V Christy, Chris Randall and Monte Lee.

Now the smooth talking rat in a good suit wines and dines the older dame, Lisa McDonald, who is the chief cashier at the arena. A little too much scotch and a couple rounds of clutch and grab, soon has the old bitty hooked. Katcher plans on lifting the dame's cash room keys. Katcher and his crew will then hit the cash room after the next big event.

Miss McDonald though has tumbled to the real reason for Katcher's affections. She spills this to Katcher, who, quick on his feet, promises to take her to Rio after the job, if she plays along. McDonald is all smiles over this idea.

The day of the job comes and the crew burst into the strong-room. They tie up McDonald and several other cashiers as well as the guard. They grab up the cash and start walking calmly to the getaway car. The guard in the cash room however manages to trip the alarm. Now the men need to hotfoot it to said automobile.

One of the men trips up and sprains an ankle. Katcher stops, scoops up the fallen man's cash bag, then, puts two rounds in his head. Katcher joins the others in the getaway vehicle and they speed off. Up the road a bit they have a moving van parked. The getaway car is driven onto the moving van and off they go again. Next, they dump the moving van and grab a waiting great honking big Cadillac rag-top.

Back at the hideout, they all have a drink to celebrate before the cash split. Katcher has other ideas for the loot. For one thing, a much bigger cut for himself. Katcher has drugged the drinks he serves to the crew. He has also prepared an acid bath to dispose of the gang.

The take from the job turns out to be a cool 250 large. Now Katcher only needs to deal with the woman, McDonald. The woman was questioned by the Police and let go. No one believes she was in on the robbery.

Katcher has Miss McDonald pack a bag and they are soon on the road Mexico way. They are going to take a plane from there to Brazil. At least that is what Katcher informs McDonald. He brings along several bottles of booze which McDonald happily partakes of. Once McDonald is out cold, Katcher pulls off the road, grabs his gear, then pushes the car along with McDonald, over a handy seaside cliff.

Katcher is soon living the high life of wine, women and song in Rio. Katcher however is not as smart as he thinks he is. He is soon the victim of a couple of pretty ladies who make sure he is "overserved". They then clean him out of his cash except for a small roll. So it looks like it is back to the U.S.A. to beat up another score.

Back in LA, he hits "Dino's Lounge" for a few drinks. He is soon drawn to a woman sitting in the shadows. More than a few drinks later, the two retire to the "Happy, Happy" hotel. Katcher is in for a rude surprise as the woman removes her wig and scarf. It is Miss McDonald. Though badly mangled, she survived the trip over the cliff. Katcher's eyes go wide as the woman yards a revolver and fires. McDonald then steps up and puts one in his head.

With a production budget of next to nothing, Katcher has put together an interesting little low-rent film. Not really expecting much I had quickly found myself being drawn to continue watching. Even if it was just to see where the story was going.

There are a few neat poster images on the net including one advert for Katcher's hair salon.