Two on a Guillotine (1965)

That was an excellent one.

There are better movies of two hours length. I loved the actress'performance.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is one of those films from 1965 that my friends and I went to in our small-town movie theater. I remember it as being full of those jump-out-at-you moments with people in the theater screaming. Connie Stevens is the heir to her father's estate but must stay in the old house for seven days. He is one of the great magicians of his time and has promised, upon his death, to return to the house. The house itself is great fun, full of remnants of his magic world. There is a cabinet that opens when a switch is flipped, allowing a skeleton on a wire to come face to face with the unwary victim. The guillotine in question is part of the act that killed the man's wife and assistant. Stevens then was farmed out and never saw her father again. She also never knew what happened to her mother. It's full of fun stuff with a plot that shouldn't be too closely evaluated. There are two characters that are left out of the will who become suspects. What they really know is always in doubt. Connie Stevens was a cute TV star at the time and well worth watching and makes a good victim. She is stubborn on the one hand and terrified on the other. She can also scream with the best of them. Dean Jones (a long time Disney staple) plays the love interest.

Forced to stay in her father's mansion for an inheritance, a woman and her friend find the entire estate rigged to allow him the chance at performing the greatest illusion of all time and forcing him to save her from his clutches.Overall this one wasn't really all that bad but did have a few flaws. What really seems to lower this one is the rather blatant and obvious set-up this utilizes in dragging out the running time here far beyond necessary simply because of the set-up required. The first half here is basically built around the concept of her going out and spending the time here going around and inspecting the house, resulting in nothing but endless scenes of the two of them inspecting his mystical traps and holdings from his past but doesn't really generate anything in the form of highly suspenseful tactics. Likewise, the whole story is presented into the final act twist that doesn't really seem all that shocking or twisted at all but all seems built into such a logical conclusion that there's no suspense or shock to be derived from it, plays out exactly the way it's supposed to be and never comes off all that well anyway as it's so obvious from the start which seems to follow suit with the rest of the scenes here as this one tends to play through it's running time with really unsurprising and cliché motivations for everything within this. There's some rather fun times here still within this, which is mainly centered around the fun had here in the mansion waiting around for something to happen, which is quite elaborate, chilling and seemingly made for something like this and really provokes quite a dark air about itself that's quite appealing overall. As well, the final half here is fantastic with the plot twist bringing about more action in numerous chases and brawls around the house, a fantastically maniacal air about the different stage shows and really elevates this one by really playing with the twists logically throughout here into a fun and enjoyable part that makes the most of this one. While there's some flawed areas elsewhere that do lower this one, it's still enjoyable and highly watchable.Today's Rating-PG: Violence.

"Two on a Guillotine" is an effective little BW chiller when aiming for the scares, but when that's not the case it becomes ponderous (the budding romance between the leads) and it in end too long-winded when it finally reach it very foreseeable conclusion. Still it's entertainingly solid with able performances by the ever delightful Connie Stevens and a charming Dean Jones. They work off each other rather well and the script stays compelling within its mystery building or trivial exchanges. Some slow spots, but never that distracting.In order to inherit her recently deceased father's fortune, his only daughter (who hadn't seen her father in years after an incident during a magic trick featuring her mother in a guillotine) must stay seven nights in his mansion. If not, the fortune is split between his carer and manager. Things soon get weird, but it hard to tell if it's just games or the house is really haunted. Although he did promise to return from the dead.The plot is a typical haunted house mystery (as nothing seems quite like what it is), but it's well presented and exemplary photographed. Director William Conrad mixes successfully the playful elements (an acceptable light-hearted funny bone) with the creepy moments (where it can draw some intensity). Cesar Romero is quite good as the illusionist too. An earnest little spook drama.

Not bad, lots of fun. Nice job by Dean Jones. I give it 6 stars Connie Stevens is very good and she looks great. Good movie for late at night. Nice to see the Joker out of makeup. Not too long, smart ending. Enjoy it.