Deadly Duo

Saw this movie on TV recently; not much to get excited about. The actors seemed charming, especially supporting actor Robert Lowery, who has a resemblance to Clark Gable or Cesar Romero. It seems like the entire movie was shot inside a single Hollywood sound stage. Marcia Henderson, whom I have never heard of, played two characters who were twin sisters: one nice, the other mildly evil. The evil sister's part was overacted to say the least, but perhaps that was what the script called for. The movie took place entirely in Acapulco, Mexico, but it sure could have used a few more Acapulco scenes. i agree with an earlier commenter: what happened to Craig Hill? He had leading-man good looks, but he seems to have disappeared from view after Whirlybirds.

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.

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.

And all that I can remember about it is that it starred Craig Hill (Kenneth Tobey's sidekick in "Whirlybirds") and I believe some of it took place in pre-Castro Cuba (although I could be wrong about that). Great memory, huh? I could swear it was more like 1959 instead of 1962, but in retrospect, what's a coupla years? (lol). I remember Craig Hill as a very attractive leading man-type who got zippo publicity in this country, but just scanning over his IMDb resume he has appeared in an incredible amount of films and TV work. How could someone who was so much in children's' eyes in the 1950's (i.e. Whirlybirds) manage to remain so anonymous, yet appear in so many different projects? Maybe I should write to the guy on Turner Classic Movies (hey, he was just talking about Kenneth Tobey tonight) and ask him.

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.