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Wow! Such a good movie.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Chad Allen made his debut as Donald Strachey, openly gay detective based in Albany, New York in Third Man Out. Allen is hired by Jack Weatherell noted gay blogger whose specialty is outing closeted gays, especially those in conservative clothing. But now one of those who Weatherell is gathering research on is maybe looking to kill him. The usual death threats have been made and there have been incidents.The subject of outing is still a controversial one, but becoming less and less because as the forces of fundamentalist religion and the homophobia they engender denies our access to equality in the USA and other places in the world. There is more and more agreement that the Larry Craigs of the world need to be outed. But in 2005 Allen as Strachey is still coming to grips with his feelings on the subject as is his partner Sebastian Spence.Later on murder does occur and Allen zeroes in on three really good suspects, a Republican Congressman, a closeted gay children's show host and none other than Roman Catholic Bishop of the Albany diocese. They all are real good candidates. I do like Allen in this role very much and I wish I had seen this film first as it sets up characters and situations in the two succeeding Strachey films I saw before Third Man Out. Allen is completely in the pulp fiction tradition of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. A young man who loses his job in this film because of what Allen does in his former boss's office in his search for the truth is later hired and becomes his secretary/receptionist. The seedy office Strachey operates from is straight out of Mickey Spillane.However as is the times Strachey is completely devoted to his partner Spence and probably were among the first to be married this year when New York got same gender marriage. The love is strong because he takes a pass on Matthew Rush, gay male porn star who plays one in this film and in which we get to see exactly what Strachey passes on. Married or unmarried fidelity as the case may be is NOT in the Spillane, Chandler or Hammett tradition.Third Man Out is a well made film, shot in Toronto and Vancouver, which don't look a bit like Albany and has a real novel twist at the end.

What better and more normal casting than to have an openly gay man play an openly gay character. Brilliant, Ron Oliver, also an openly gay director. With a terrific actor like Chad Allen, the story and direction has a natural flow to it. For once gay people aren't treated with kid gloves and hushed silence. They are represented as normal everyday people who happen to be gay. This I tribute to not only a wonderful scenario by Mark Saltzman, adapted from the gay detective series written by Richard Stevenson, but an excellent supporting cast backing up Allen's natural and genuine performance.Sebastian Spence plays his other half. Although he is straight (ugh I hate that word) he seems to easily work well with Allen. You can see the trust and enjoyment they have in their working relationship. Spence brings charm and humor to his Myrna Loy type role. In supporting roles there is Jack Wetherall, from QAF, playing a ruthless gay outer in the political fields. A good actor, and I hear also an acting teacher as well. Handsome well built Woody Jeffreys plays his lover and worth watching; the delightful Sean Young in a very small role; David Palffy as a not so nice guy, out to settle the score with Allen; Daryl Shuttleworth, as a cop who works with Allen eventually in finding the answers to a murder; Nelson Wong in a small role as a hotel clerk who eventually becomes part of the Starchey team in latter films; Rob deLeeuw in a small role as a puppeteer with a dark past and finally the one and only porn star, Matthew Rush, playing, guess what? A porn star. Go figure. He was funny to watch him play himself with tongue in cheek. Yes, he gets frontal views. Isn't that his business?Get this movie. You'll get hooked. I intend to make a collection of all the Donald Starchey series.

Ron Oliver is to be commended for bringing this first story from the Donald Strachey Mysteries by Richard Stevenson (screenplay by Mark Saltzman) to the screen. This first story is so well written, directed, acted and filmed that it can only give us hope that the other novels in the Donald Strachey series will be forthcoming.The story is a modern detective story that takes place in Albany, New York and is complete with realistic characters, a fine plot well paced, and a number of twists and turns that keep the audience not only entertained but glued to the screen. The difference, here, is that the detective Strachey (Chad Allen in an impressive performance) happens to be a gay man, well adjusted, living with his wholesome and tender partner Timmy (Sebastian Spence). The action involves a gay activist John Rutka (Jack Wetherall) with a penchant for outing political figures whose agenda is not friendly to the community. He likewise lives with a healthy life partner Eddie (Woody Jeffreys) and the two seem targeted for death by apparent candidates for Rutka's next outing computer magazine. Strachey is engaged to protect Rutka despite initial, partner-supported feelings that Rutka disrupts closeted men's lives too ruthlessly. But take the case on he does and he proves to be not only smart but wise while remaining a lovable detective. The plots thickens and surprises are everywhere just as good detective mysteries should have. But along the way the film takes the time to make some cogent statements about the clergy and politicians and other significant matters that raises this movie to a fine level of social consciousness.The cast is excellent and the love scenes are beautifully presented. There is even some beefcake (Matthew Rush as the 'Dik Steele' porn star in the buff) and club scenes to lighten the action. The film includes a superb featurette with Ron Oliver discussing how the film made it to the screen and includes for once some healthy conversation from openly gay actors who are enlightened about their roles. Though obviously a 'gay film', the story and production are so strong that any audience will find this a fine mystery! Highly recommended.

This is one of the most satisfying "gay" films I've seen since "Beautiful Thing," and one of the best mystery-married pairings since John and Sherlock, or should I say Nick and Nora. It's the story of Donald Strachey, tough guy P.I. with a shady past and a sweet tooth for guy pal Sebastian Spence. It's a good story, not a great one, with a sultry jazz score and topical references to such controversial subjects as celebrity outing and pedophiliac priests. What makes it work is the unconventional casting of Chad Allen (who is gay himself, but doesn't look it--although one character dubs him "Nancy-boy Drew") as Strachey, who just happens to be very happily married to Timothy (played by Sebastian Spence, who is apparently straight, and maybe that's why his character overdoes the nelly a bit). Allen, as Strachey, is developing very nicely as an actor, and he's more interesting looking now than he ever was as a child. In "Third Man Out," he gets solid support from QAF's Jack Wetherall and Sean Young. Apparently, this is the first in a series, based on the novels by Richard Stevenson and set, contrarily, in Albany, rather than in New York City or San Francisco. Hopefully, it will prove popular enough with its intended audience that other books in the series will also be filmed. Apart from the rather pedestrian direction (by Ron Oliver) and a couple of too obvious twists in the plot, "Third Man" is entertaining throughout.