Movie Review: Two on a Guillotine (1965)

Synopsis: When stage magician John Harley "Duke" Duquesne dies, he leaves his entire estate to his estranged daughter, Cassie. The bequeathment comes with a condition though, Cassie must stay in his house for seven nights, so she can be a witness when he carries through with his promise to return from the dead. Cassie, along with her new friend, Val (who is secretly an undercover reporter), discover Duquesne's house is both full of artifacts from his shows and set up like a funhouse, with a variety of hidden scares. As a result, when strange things begin to occur at night, she doesn't know if they are just a trick or supernatural.

Who's in it? The movie stars Connie Stevens, Dean Jones, Cesar Romero, Parley Baer, John Hoyt and Virginia Gregg.

Review: I came across Two on a Guillotine last night and, while it was longer than I usually prefer for a morning movie, the plot sounded intriguing enough for me to add it to my library and give it a try. It proved to be a great choice that surpassed my expectations.

My first thought when I started watching this film is it would turn out to be like so many other "haunted house" movies and the "ghosts" would turn out to be someone who had something to gain from the heiress, in this case, Cassie (Stevens) failing to make it through the night. In fact, the movie does a good job setting this up by stipulating Duquesne's (Romero) money be split between his ex-manager, Buzz (Baer) and ex-companion, Dolly (Gregg), if Cassie failed to stay in the house for seven nights.

At the same time, I also questioned whether Duquesne was even dead or if it was just one of his tricks. If so, it made me wonder why he would pick Cassie, a daughter he hadn't seen in decades, as his foil rather than someone who knew him a lot better.

Another element I found intriguing was the mystery surrounding Cassie's missing mother, Melinda (also Stevens), who disappeared without a trace 20 years earlier. Was she murdered? Was she still alive and inside that locked room at the top of the stairs? I wondered if and how she would eventually come into play with all of it, along with the guillotine that was introduced into their stage act presumably right before Melinda disappeared.

In the end, it all added up to an ending that both was somewhat expected but had just enough twists to keep it from being nearly as predictable as so many other films from this genre. It both brought closure and suspense, keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The budding love story between Cassie and Val (Jones) also added a lot more to the movie than I was expecting. Normally, romances in horror films aren't always the best decision because they either distract from the main plot or just don't develop in a way that makes them worth the time. This time around, however, I thought it worked. There was, of course, the fact Val was secretly a reporter and I knew that would likely cause some problems at some point, but the pairing and the way the movie took the time to develop their romance made them likeable as co-protagonists.

That said, I would have preferred to see Cassie be a bit more independent. It seemed like anytime something happened, despite knowing the house was set up to scare her, she would be a little too quick to hide behind Val. It would have been nice to see her stick up for and defend herself rather than just play the damsel in distress.

Final Opinion: This is a good movie that, despite a familiar concept, wasn't anywhere near as predictable as I would have expected it to be. It's worth taking the time to watch it as a result.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1965:

Movie Review: Space Probe Taurus (1965)

Movie Review: Die, Monster, Die! (1965)

Movie Review: The Alphabet Murders (1965)

Movie Review: Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)