In a seedy New Jersey nightclub, gossip turns to murder when the owner Pete hires exotic dancer Danny Lee, who starts up an affair with barfly Ralph, much to the chagrin of his bedridden wife, Luane.
Acting
Loretta Gross's bedridden Luane—venomous, pathetic, unforgettable.
Direction
Greenwald's first feature finds poetry in strip-mall squalor.
Writing
Jim Thompson adaptation that actually gets his rotted soul.
Director
Maggie Greenwald
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was Jorja Fox's film debut—yes, CSI's Sara Sidle started in Maggie Greenwald's grimy Jersey noir.
Greenwald made this for $500K after studios passed; it premiered at Toronto but barely saw release. Thompson's rotted Americana was too bleak even for 1989.
US
