From beginning to end, the story of Gary Devore, is emotionally charged gripping investigative journalism. Brilliant music and production that had me on the edge of my seat, while remaining grounded in the reality of the suspicious circumstances and tragedy that befell his family. Brilliant ending. Westaway is surely a pioneer in his field.
4 Reviews
conspiracy rabbit hole
SnoopyStyle12 March 2023
Professor Matthew Alford states the obvious. The US military has supported Hollywood productions over the years and uses that influence to have a say in their scripts. There is the case of Hollywood writer Gary Devore. After many successes, he is presumed killed in a strange 1997 car accident.
This is a conspiracy nut going down a murder mystery rabbit hole. He probably has a murder board with all the yarn strings tying all the pictures together. I rolled my eyes at his shocking reveal of the US military involvement with Hollywood. Duh! He should do more in laying out the car accident and maybe do a recreation. That should be the start. The military reveal could come later and he should take off his tinfoil hat. Finally, I don't know what to make of the clown makeup. This movie leaves me feeling unimpressed. It does lead me to a fascinating cold case, but it gives no satisfaction.
This is a conspiracy nut going down a murder mystery rabbit hole. He probably has a murder board with all the yarn strings tying all the pictures together. I rolled my eyes at his shocking reveal of the US military involvement with Hollywood. Duh! He should do more in laying out the car accident and maybe do a recreation. That should be the start. The military reveal could come later and he should take off his tinfoil hat. Finally, I don't know what to make of the clown makeup. This movie leaves me feeling unimpressed. It does lead me to a fascinating cold case, but it gives no satisfaction.
Misses the Mark by Miles
cyclops_screener20 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Why Matthew Alford did not make his article "Hollywood Hitmen:The Gary DeVore Murder Conspiracy" into a documentary is a mystery to me. It's a fascinating tale. Very few of the most intriguing details from the article make it into this documentary.
Gary Devore was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. When he began work on his most ambitious script, based upon the 1989 US invasion of Panama, he went down a rabbit hole, involving American intelligence agencies, experimental weapons, and the "actual" reasons for the Panama invasion.
While driving at night from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Santa Barbara, California, in June 1997, DeVore disappeared in June 1997.
What interesting points does this documentary miss? Well, it doesn't delve into even the most basic aspects of DeVore's disappearance, such as giving the date or even a basic description of the circumstances. Such as describing the accident:
"The official 'accident' explanation of Gary's death is certainly creative, if nothing else. By the police's own calculations, in order to have ended up in the aqueduct, Gary would have had to have driven in excess of 110km/h without headlights -- they had been deliberately turned off, the investigation found -- the wrong way up a major highway for 3.2km, unnoticed, and through the only gap in the road rail " a mere 5m wide " all without causing any damage to either rail or car."
It does not reveal that the area where DeVore's vehicle was eventually found had been searched in the days following his disappearance. When it was found a year later, many believed the vehicle and body it contained were deliberately placed there.
The skeletal remains in the car were missing hands -- hence the documentary's title.
Hands were eventually found inside the vehicle, but they were later proven to be 200 years old.
There is no mention of a key figure in this whole story -- a good friend of DeVore's named Charles 'Chase' Brandon, veteran CIA case officer.
The doc doesn't mention how Brandon asked DeVore's wife for access to DeVore's home computer. When DeVore's wife accessed the computer she inexplicably found it "wiped". Why would Brandon have done this?
This documentary won't tell you.
I think Matthew Alford simply wanted a vacation in America. I mean, if America had never been discovered there would be no British documentaries. It's a mystery to me the sheer number of British documentaries that find the thinnest of pretexts to travel to the US.
The ending of this documentary is utterly idiotic.
I have looked forward to seeing this for years, and can say I'm honestly shocked at how thin and shallow it is. The article that led me to this case was written by Alford. It's an amazingly interesting piece:
Why Alford did not follow his own article is an absolute mystery to me and a complete injustice to this story.
Gary Devore was a successful Hollywood screenwriter. When he began work on his most ambitious script, based upon the 1989 US invasion of Panama, he went down a rabbit hole, involving American intelligence agencies, experimental weapons, and the "actual" reasons for the Panama invasion.
While driving at night from Santa Fe, New Mexico to Santa Barbara, California, in June 1997, DeVore disappeared in June 1997.
What interesting points does this documentary miss? Well, it doesn't delve into even the most basic aspects of DeVore's disappearance, such as giving the date or even a basic description of the circumstances. Such as describing the accident:
"The official 'accident' explanation of Gary's death is certainly creative, if nothing else. By the police's own calculations, in order to have ended up in the aqueduct, Gary would have had to have driven in excess of 110km/h without headlights -- they had been deliberately turned off, the investigation found -- the wrong way up a major highway for 3.2km, unnoticed, and through the only gap in the road rail " a mere 5m wide " all without causing any damage to either rail or car."
It does not reveal that the area where DeVore's vehicle was eventually found had been searched in the days following his disappearance. When it was found a year later, many believed the vehicle and body it contained were deliberately placed there.
The skeletal remains in the car were missing hands -- hence the documentary's title.
Hands were eventually found inside the vehicle, but they were later proven to be 200 years old.
There is no mention of a key figure in this whole story -- a good friend of DeVore's named Charles 'Chase' Brandon, veteran CIA case officer.
The doc doesn't mention how Brandon asked DeVore's wife for access to DeVore's home computer. When DeVore's wife accessed the computer she inexplicably found it "wiped". Why would Brandon have done this?
This documentary won't tell you.
I think Matthew Alford simply wanted a vacation in America. I mean, if America had never been discovered there would be no British documentaries. It's a mystery to me the sheer number of British documentaries that find the thinnest of pretexts to travel to the US.
The ending of this documentary is utterly idiotic.
I have looked forward to seeing this for years, and can say I'm honestly shocked at how thin and shallow it is. The article that led me to this case was written by Alford. It's an amazingly interesting piece:
Why Alford did not follow his own article is an absolute mystery to me and a complete injustice to this story.
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