Dos en la guillotina

Like some others who've seen this film as children, I have fond memories of Two On a Guillotine when it played as a Friday night movie on network TV in the mid-1960s. The sight of a lifeless Cesar Romero being lowered into a grave in a glass coffin at the beginning sets the spooky tone for the rest of the story. His character, a famous magician, promised to one day perform his greatest feat of all by returning from the dead. His wife (identical to his daughter) died some years before when he botched the guillotine trick she was assisting with. Without giving anything away, a lot of the suspense is built on the anticipation of his re-materializing at any time, to the horror of his daughter. This is a movie which has many of the elements necessary for genuine horror. No spilled guts, no splatter. It works on a neater, more effective plane.

Fun, campy suspense/horror flick that fully satisfies, particularly if you don't take it too seriously. For continuity buffs note the sets in the foyer and library of Cesar Romero's house. Look familiar? Compare them with your copy of "My Fair Lady". No one ever said Jack Warner didn't know how to squeeze a nickel and recycle an expensive set!!

I saw this movie several times in the late '60s to mid '70s on local (Los Angeles) television and then it disappeared. I enjoyed it a lot, especially Cesar Romero and Connie Stevens. I had wandered over here from Connie Stevens' biography.

The viewing I remember most occurred in 1975. I was in Harbor General Hospital in Torrance, California (Los Angeles County). I had just given birth to twin girls a day or two previous; new mothers and babies were kept in the hospital for three days back then. The babies weren't kept in the room with us. Being a county/teaching hospital they didn't put extras like TVs in the rooms and there were four beds to a room. One of the gals brought her 13" b/w set complete with rabbit ears. Since it was across the room on the other side from me on the window sill, I sat on the edge of another new mommy's bed and watched it.

Reading various areas of this title I've found out it's out on DVD. I'll have to see about getting hold of it and see if I still enjoy it as much as I remember. I always got a kick out of that kind of movie. They never really took themselves seriously. Vincent Price appeared in a lot of those and it wouldn't have been surprising if he'd been in it instead of Romero. Would have been right up his alley.

Connie Stevens once again shows what a fine, natural actress she is, here playing a young lass from Wisconsin who must spend seven nights in her late father's house of horrors before she can receive her inheritance; Dean Jones plays a reporter who smells a story and befriends the easily-spooked girl. Terrific second-biller from Warner Bros., ostensibly aimed at kids ("Attention Guillotine-agers!") yet bolstered by a very strong script with nice attention to dialogue. The movie has good effects, a funny/spooky scenario and surprising chemistry between the two leads. Stevens is very good, especially in the prologue playing her own character's uptight mother. It all comes to a commendable ending, thanks to a very clever...EXECUTION! *** from ****

This was one of my favorite movies when I was growing up. They just don't make movies like this anymore. I have been trying to find this movie on VHS or DVD for years, apparently it is not available to buy, which doesn't make any sense considering there are a ton of stupid movies out there by the billions and none of this one - which is one of the greatest movies ever! I really hope that Two On A Guillitine comes out on video really really soon, this movie mesmerized me when I was very young, it would be nice to go back to it again! It wasn't a gory type of movie, I am surprised it's considered a thriller actually. I never thought of it as scary. But it definitely should get a lot more credit, A LOT MORE!!!!