Also known as A Travesty, this adaptation of Donald E Westlake's novel was partly undertaken by William H Macy, who also stars as a film critic seeking to conceal his involvement in the accidental death of his lover. Having tailored the tale to his own strengths, Macy turns in a splendidly astute performace. Shifting from speeches to camera to lectures on the conventions of film noir, he manipulates everyone around him, including blackmailing private eye James Cromwell and cop Adam Arkin, whose screenwriting ambitions cloud his judgement. Occasionally glib and self-satisfied, this TV movie is never anything less than intriguing and entertaining.

In the midst of a spat, film critic Terry Thorpe accidentally kills his lover. Though Thorpe covers his tracks, he raises the suspicions of a private investigator, who then tries to blackmail him. Thorpe also falls under the watchful eye of Detective Fred Stapelli, a cop who is intent on becoming a screenwriter. Before long, Thorpe's girlfriend, Kit, and Stapelli's wife, Patricia, are roped into the case.