Joker's Wild

Joker's Wild

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

1984 · 12 min · Crime, Drama, Mystery

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.

Directed by Matthew Mallinson · Written by David Landau

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Cast

Doug Ballard Kelly
Nancy Lepp Nancy
Ben Carney Eric
Mary Ann Stackpole Telephone Receptionist (voice)

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