Warner Bros released Two on a Guillotine on 13 January 1965.
In 1964, Warner Bros announced that it was investing in a number of directors. But it did not work out as planned. For example, the company hired Hugh Griffith and Maximilian Schell to direct films. But they never did. But Warner did manage to get three TV directors to make films for them. They hired Jack Smight and William Conrad.
You probably know Conrad as an actor. He starred in Cannon (1971-1976) and Jake and the Fatman (1987-1992). But he was a highly successful and productive TV director starting in the late 1950s through the 1960s. But in the middle of this, he made three films for the company. They were all released in 1965. After Two on a Guillotine, he produced and directed the two neo-noir films My Blood Runs Cold and Brainstorm.
Guillotine is a haunted house film. It stars Connie Stevens and Dean Jones. And much of it could pass as a live-action Disney film (except that it is in black and white). As a result, most of the middle section of the film feels a lot like 13 Ghosts. But this is mixed with some excellent horror sequences. And then the whole last act is pure horror/thriller.
In this film, Conrad directs creatively with great clarity. This is no surprise. TV directors don’t get the respect they deserve. They are given little time and few resources. They need to shoot quickly without being boring. And Conrad used the extra resources very effectively. (So did Jack Smight. One of his films for Warner was the excellent Harper.)
It’s not clear to me why TV directors aren’t grabbed by film producers more often. Nor is it clear why Warner didn’t continue to experiment. But let’s take the opportunity to appreciate the first of these, Two on a Guillotine.
Two on a Guillotine (1965) via Wikipedia via Fair Use.
