Deadly Duo

Attorney Preston Morgan (Craig Hill) is hired by a very wealthy woman to travel to Acapulco to collect her grandson and bring him back to her. But when Morgan meets the boy's mother, Sabena (Marcia Henderson), he has a change of heart regarding his assignment. Complicating matters is Sabena's twin sister. She sees this as her opportunity to strike it rich - regardless of who gets hurt.

I completely understand that Deadly Duo is not what I'd generally call a good movie. In fact, it's got a load of problems, including: Craig Hill's acting, the Mexican accents, logic, the lack of real Mexican locations, and a look and feel of a 60s-era sitcom. But, there's just something about it that I found oddly appealing. First, there are a few plot twists that I enjoyed. This isn't Oscar caliber writing, but there are still some fine moments. Second, Marcia Henderson is very good in the roles of Sabena and her sister. She has a definite presence that works. And third, the scheming on the part of the twin and her husband. How on earth did they think they'd get away with it? Good stuff.

While Deadly Duo probably isn't everyone's cup of tea, I found it weirdly and surprisingly enjoyable. My rating may seem generous, but I rate primarily on entertainment value. And I was definitely entertained.

6/10.

The problem with "Deadly Duo" is that the script idea is very good and should have been the basis of a nice film noir drama. Unfortunately, the film just isn't that interesting and feels quite flat.

When the film begins, a rich old lady (familiar TV character actress Irene Tedrow) meets with a young lawyer and offers him a very enticing proposition. It seems that her son married some lady a few years back and since then, he died and she has been left with a kid...her grandkid. If he can manage to convince the daughter-in- law to give her custody, she'll pay the lawyer a bundle.

When the lawyer visits the mother, she seems like a decent person and a perfectly good mother. Not surprisingly, she won't sell her kid and tells the lawyer to take a hike. But, the lady has a nearly identical sister and she and her sleazy boyfriend concoct a plan to kill her and make it look like an accident. Then the new guardian, this sister, could sell the kid!! What's next? See the film.

I am NOT saying this is a bad film but the suspense wasn't handled properly. The ending came too quickly, seemed too pat and wasn't entirely satisfying.

Most of this movie takes place in Acapulco. It's not that we don't believe that ... Exactly ...

The sets look for all the world, though, like sets from TV series of the time. And wait! Not that Bette Davis and Olivia De Havilland hadn't done it already. But isn't the good twin/evil twin reminiscent of "I Dream Of Jeannie" and "Bewitched"? The sisters, both played by Marcia Henderson, really don't look alike. Yes, they are the same actress. But the evil sister wears a long platinum wig and presents herself so differently, no one would think them related. Unless, of course, there were constant dialogue commenting on their remarkable similarity of appearance.

Craig Hill plays a California lawyer down on his luck. He is hired to do something moderately dishonorable, down in Mexico. He's not bad. He looks good in a brief bathing suit and he's filmed hat way for quite a bit. He is often filmed (fully clothed) from the back, walking, though. This was unflattering to several major female stars in the 1940s. And it does him no favors.

This is not great film making. It's moderately entertaining. And the cars in it are fantastic! It's not one of those projects in which they all are from the same company. The then-Big Three are all represented; and we get to see some real beauties.

From George Montgomery to Rock Hudson, actress Marcia Henderson usually played the good girl to a good man... and she's a good girl here too... widowed to a rich man without caring about anything but her son... and the titular DEADLY DUO twist is, she has an identical twin sister, also played by Henderson...

The first is brunette and sweet as pie, the other's bad and blonde and, married to a lowlife yet charming former nightclub owner, they're all being checked out by lawyer Craig Hill who, sent for the rich grandmother's custody of the son, is actually the lead character despite Marcia's double role...

Her best moment is playing the blonde sister acting like while disguised as the good sister, providing an evil glint within a docile grin, while Hill... not a great actor but passable here... doesn't catch on...

And why should he since Marcia Henderson is great in the double role, playing both sisters like completely separate humans... as is her job as a actress, ending a b-movie career with a literal double-whammy in a low-budget neo noir that, lacking action and full of dialogue, remains an intriguing, visual page-turner.

Marcia Henderson has a dual role in this 1962 film, Deadly Duo, also starring Craig Hill and Robert Lowery. This movie was probably seen by many as it was a double feature with Dr. No.

This is one of those where as soon as you hear the words twin sister you know the entire plot.

A wealthy woman, Lenora Spence ( Irene Tedrow) offers attorney Preston Morgan (Hill) $50,000 if he can get her son's widow (Henderson) to sign away rights to her son for $500,000. She hasn't met the woman, but she's a nightclub performer and therefore unsuitable.

Morgan flies to Acapulco and finds the brunette Mrs. Spence a lovely brunette, a devoted mother who has quit show biz. She wants nothing to do with her mother-in-law's offer.

Her blond, brassy sister, on the other hand, married to a failing night club owner, is desperate for the cash, as is her husband (Lowery).

No need to go into the rest of the plot. Henderson manages to create two different people as the twins. Sadly, due to rheumatoid arthritis, Deadly Duo was her last film. She had previously enjoyed television and theater success.