In all of my years watching and enjoying movies, I never would have guessed that the Johnny Cash-Ronnie Howard team-up was just the pairing I needed to make my day. On August 27th, Film Masters will release a double dose of neo-noir cult classics, Door-to-Door Maniac (which features both previously mentioned performers) and the ultra-rare bonus film, Right Hand of the Devil, in a special, two-disc collector’s edition on Blu-ray and DVD.

The residents of Camelia Gardens never knew what hit them when Johnny Cabot (played by Cash) moves into town. Hiding from the law while his girlfriend takes care of him, once Cabot gets wind of a potential payday, the thug seizes the day. In joining a crew that focuses so much attention to detail in a daily routine vs. a split-second timing kind of way, this suburban bank robbery-gone-wrong scenario soon falls off the rails.

The whole heist hinges upon kidnapping the wife of a bank president and cashing out with the ransom note that seems a little too easy. That proves to be true once Cabot captures Nancy Wilson (Cay Forrester), whose veneer of being the perfect housewife within a perfect marriage quickly dissolves. That danger only escalates when her young son, Bobby (credited as Ronnie Howard), unexpectedly returns home from school.

Cash, in his very first film role, is absolutely unglued. He’s psychotic — and a thrill to enjoy on-screen — and his acting is balanced with a brief musical performance (he also assisted in financing the low-budget film). He even looked to be having a little fun playing the heavy who majorly misjudged this overall scenario.

“I never saw so much of nothing in all my life…”

Small town life (and love) is questioned in this horror story for anyone seeking the “perfect” relationship, which truly does not exist. There’s a brief Stockholm syndrome scenario and a pretty good meta moment involving the takedown of a cold-blooded criminal. Originally released as Five Minutes to Live in 1961, this crime drama was re-released in 1966 as Door-to-Door Maniac. Did I mention that little Ron Howard holds his own in a small role?

Right Hand of the Devil opens by focusing on a mysterious man with a blurry background. Decidedly discreet and sporting a strange accent, Pepe Lusara (played by Aram Katcher) seduces an older woman in hopes of robbing the Sports Arena box office (where she works). After hosting a heavyweight championship fight, its vault is definitely full of cash.

Lusara’s master plan proves to be a profitable endeavor for everyone involved, and then one by one, his henchmen disappear, leaving no evidence behind. But the moment he starts believing his own hype, that’s when you should be most self-aware!

“A little blood never hurt nobody…”

Apparently, Katcher’s a jack of all trades, as he’s credited as the cowriter, director, star, producer, editor, title designer, makeup supervisor and costume designer in this vanity project. At some point, he apparently destroyed all the known 35mm elements, so this new 4K scan comes from a very rare 16mm reduction print from the collection of noted film historian-producer Samuel M. Sherman, who attempted to work with Katcher to re-release the film.

Together, these two cult classics pair perfectly: Money may actually be the root of everything evil, as both prove. Liner notes by Don Stradley and C. Courtney Joyner in a full-color booklet provide a deep dive for these little-known films, feature-length commentary is included for both movies and “Player Piano: The Passion of Aram Katcher” is a great video essay by Someone’s Favorite Productions that goes behind the scenes of Devil. Trailers are provided for both releases (the original for Right Hand and a newly recreated one for Maniac).

Both films are scanned in 4K (Maniac comes from 35mm original archival elements and Devil is from 16mm archival elements). Each film is presented with two aspect ratios (Door-to-Door Maniac in 1.85:1 and 1.37:1 and Right Hand of the Devil in 1.66:1 and 1.37:1) and both discs are region free that include English SDH. All audio is DTS-HD/Dolby AC3s.

The suggested retail price for this new release is $29.95 (for Blu-ray) and $19.95 (for DVD). For more information about the Door-to-Door Maniac Special Edition, please visit Film Masters’ webpage.