SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES - Connie Stevens and Dean Jones star in the creepy "Two on a Guillotine" (1965)
SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES – I’m not a big fan of grisly horror films. Despite the enthusiasm of film buffs like Joe Bob Briggs in Texas, buckets of blood don’t impress me. Thus, a film like “The Haunting” (the original) is my go-to horror classic. Searching for a similar experience, I sampled “Two on a Guillotine” (1965) recently. Much more of a B movie than “The Haunting,” and definitely inspired by the films of William Castle, including “House on Haunted Hill,” I enjoyed this light horror experience with a spirited cast. Directed by actor William Conrad, it stars Connie Stevens as Cassie Duquesne, the estranged daughter of master magician “Duke” Duquesne (Cesar Romero), whose funeral in Los Angeles she attends. It turns out that Duke’s last request is that, in order to receive her $300,000 inheritance, Cassie must spend seven nights in his creepy mansion. Cassie comes from a very dysfunctional background. Her mother (also played by Stevens) was an uncomfortable magician’s assistant who disappeared when Cassie was little. Her father literally went crazy when she disappeared – he’s obsessed with a particular trick where he puts his subject under a guillotine (naturally). I’m convinced that movies like this were the perfect aphrodisiac for teenagers – better than a barrel of conch chowder. Cesar Romero – pre—Joker – is properly sinister. I should also mention Dean Jones, who plays a reporter trying to get Cassie’s story, who provides plenty of humor and light banter for the story. He works like Russ Tamblyn works in “The Haunting.” I also noted that this was the last score composed by Max Steiner for Warner Bros. Check it out and stay safe out there.
Novelist, Screenwriter, Lyricist
2 年Anyone…?
Producer Operation Kathleen
3 年The Haunting-Robert Wise director? Nelson Giddings, screenwriter? Awesome film. Saw it in his home screening room on Broad Beach in Malibu. I had nightmares as a kid. But, amazing film. I need to see it again.
Novelist, Screenwriter, Lyricist
3 年I’ll have to look for this.