“Nobody leave the theater. Someone here is a murderer!”

Joker's Wild (1984)

Directed by Matthew Mallinson

Kelly surprises Nancy late one night when he returns unexpectedly to the cold dark stage of an empty theater where they are currently in rehearsals for a stage play, a murder mystery. Kelly and Nancy have a lurid and salacious history as actors and lovers. He's come back to pick up a script. She's there to meet her husband the playwright. They're surprised to discover new props litter the stage; a real dagger, a loaded revolver and a blood-stained playing card, a Joker. As certain events begin to unfold, the reality of this “play-within-a-play” leads to a deadly finale where they find themselves caught up in a web of lies and deceit. And someone may pay the ultimate price in a deadly finale! Joker's Wild pays homage to film-noir, an 'Agatha Christie like' one act, a murder mystery that also has some fun referencing the post war classics. And was a festival favorite seen at various film festivals, broadcast on HBO and others, and won various awards such as a CINE Golden Eagle.