Macabre, engaging, and fun, Two on a Guillotine (1965) is a classic thriller that takes you a one wild ride. Guillotine tells the tale of an illusionist who mysteriously dies and wills his fortune to the child he abandoned years ago for the sake of his career. There’s just one stipulation: his daughter, Cassie, must stay in his house of horrors and strange happenings for seven straight days in order to get the money. Will she survive?
Luckily for her she has a male companion at her side, but when she discovers the truth about his motives will she risk spending one night alone in the house?
Filled with plenty of suspenseful moments thanks to director William Conrad and a score by Max Steiner, Two on a Guillotine is a rare gem that will leave you guessing until the final moments of the film. If you like the originals of The House on Haunted Hill (1959) or The Haunting (1963), you will really like this film.
As for the cast…you’ll probably recognize a lot of faces throughout this film if you watch old movies and TV shows. Connie Stevens, who was in many series in the 70s and 80s including Hawaiian Eye, The Red Skelton Hour, and The Love Boat, stars as Cassie. You may also remember her from the silly beach movie send-up, Back to the Beach (1987) starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
Before he played Batman’s campy nemesis, The Joker, on the old Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, Cesar Romero had quite a distinguished and varied career in both film and television. In Guillotine, which was made just one year before the batman series premiered, be plays the mysterious illusionist Duke Duquesne. And there’s nothing to laugh at about his performance here.
Three films come to mind when I think of leading man Dean Jones: The Love Bug (1968), The Ugly Dachsund (1966), and Beethoven (1992). His ability to play in a wide range of genres from Disney films to darker offerings like Guillotine show his definite range as an actor. His role in this film as reporter Val Henderson shows his ability to play the heroic leading man.
You’ll also recognize actors who have had bit parts on classic series like The Andy Griffith Show, Dragnet, Perry Mason, Hogan’s Heroes, and many more.
A fantastic and gripping film, Two on a Guillotine is a horror classic that’s not the be missed. Get your copy today through the Warner Bros. Archive Collection by clicking here.
Two on a Guillotine is available NOW on DVD!