Twenty Plus Two

1961 "20 Mysterious Clues... Plus 2 Beautiful Women!"
6.1| 1h42m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 13 August 1961 Released
Producted By: Allied Artists Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

A famous movie star's fan club secretary has been brutally murdered. She has in her office old newspaper clippings regarding a missing heiress. Did the secretary know something about the mystery of the heiress?

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Reviews

TrueHello Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.
Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,
Josephina Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.
pierrotlunaire0 Watching this movie was an easy way to spend a lazy afternoon, but the moment I thought about the plot, it fell apart.Spoiler #1: David Janssen meets Dina Merrill, and apart from asking, "Haven't we met before?", accepts her word that they have never met. Until a good half hour deeper into the movie, and he suddenly remembers they had a passionate (albeit brief) affair years ago. Why doesn't he remember her? Well, back then she was a brunette, and now she's a blond. Oookay.Spoiler #2: The con man character wants to hire David Janssen to find his long lost criminal brother. Dina Merrill was raped by the same criminal brother. Turns out that the criminal brother is now a top movie star. And nobody recognized him? Save your money, con man, and go to the movies once in a while. The criminal brother/now movie star is presented as a huge star, such that when he walks through a hotel lobby, excited teen fans mob him. Oookay.Spoiler #3: Jeanne Crain is supposed to be the woman who broke David Janssen's heart, the woman who sent him a Dear John letter that sent him into a tailspin. They reconnect at the beginning of this movie, and in spite of the pain she caused him, David Janssen can't resist her. Except, once he finally recognizes Dina Merrill, it is as if Jeanne Crain never existed. Oookay.Odd little movie, with the music score at times blaring as if it were having convulsions.
Ed-Shullivan This certainly should not be classified as a real "thriller" but, as a mystery film it was a decent watch. I was intrigued to hear the story behind special investigator Tom Adler's (David Janssen) American born geisha girl Nicki Kovacs (Dina Merrill). The story has flashback scenes to when Tom Adler was a lieutenant stationed in Japan when he meets Nicki Kovacs at a Japanese nightclub.. Nicki is one of the private dancers/geisha girls at the nightclub who provides the sombre looking Tom with an ear to listen to his woes, and a couch to sleep on overnight. By morning Tom has fallen in love with the mysterious Nicki but he loses touch with his war time crush and over the following decades he cannot get her beautiful mysterious face out of his dreams and thoughts.Do not expect any James Bond or Mike Hammer physical action scenes as David Janssen is not your action Jackson type of detective. No, Tom Adler is more a wussy heartbroken type of detective who is good at his job at finding missing persons to which his firm gets a handsome reward for finding long lost loved ones. In this film, ironically enough Tom Adler is having a difficult time finding his own long lost love, his American born geisha girl Nicki Kovacs.No spoiler here. Suffice to say that Twenty Plus Two is a decent mystery film with a decent ending to which I give the film a decent 6 out of 10 rating.
drednm This disjointed film noir is hobbled by a rambling narrative that spends too much time on a flashback and then devolves into a silly ending in North Dakota (with some hideous rear projection).David Janssen stars as a finder of missing persons, especially heirs. He gets involved in a decade-old mystery in which a movie star vanished. Seems her rich daddy paid lots of hush money and she's long forgotten until her name comes up again after a woman is murdered.Somehow, the case seems to involve a famous movie actor who seems to show up in odd places. Then there's an erudite fat man following him as well as an ex-wife who suddenly pops up.Janssen gets hooked after visiting a a boozy ex-reporter who lets slips a few juicy details about the dead movie star. After a visit to her mother, he's on the trail that takes him, ultimately, to a shack in North Dakota.The mystery isn't much and is given away in the flashback, after which the viewer just waits it out. But there are several excellent performances in this film. Janssen is solid. Jeanne Crain is wasted as the ex-wife. Dina Merrill is surprisingly good as Nikki. William Demarest is excellent as the boozy reporter as is Agnes Moorehead as the flinty mother. Jacques Aubuchon is also very good as the fat man, and Will Wright has a nice bit as the records keeper. Robert Strauss is good as Janssen's pal. That's TCM host Robert Osborne as the sailor with dance tickets. Brad Dexter is badly cast as the movie actor.Certainy worth a look for some great acting and Gerald Fried's driving jazz score.
GUENOT PHILIPPE I must admit that I expected more from the Joseph Newman's last picture. I thought that it was an authentic film noir, not necessarily with plenty of action, but intriguing, breathless, well done; with a plot not tepid as the one in this feature.The story of a private eye - Janssen - who investigates on a murder and meets a bunch of protagonists; as usual in this kind of production. An unbelievable tale, and complicated at the most. But the music score, jazzy, is adequate as the surroundings. I think it's the only positive point of view about this movie.David Janssen is also rather good in his character, as Brad Dexter, Agnes Moorehead and Jeanne Crain.In short, it's not a corny picture, but if you miss it, I think you'll be able to live without it.