This
American mystery film is directed by Joseph M. Newman and is adapted
from Frank Gruber's 1961 novel of the same mysterious title. Ten
years into Gerald Fried's career is a period-specific jazz band
score. The prolific television composer's opening theme here suggests
a private eye caper. Close enough. The film was released by Allied
Artists Pictures (uh-oh) and stars David Janssen, Jeanne Crain, and Dina
Merrill, with a dandy performance by Jacques Aubuchon. Fans of
Janssen will be pleased, if not the entirety of the film. His
downplayed trademark acting skill is well suited for this role. This
film is sandwiched between Janssen's television success with the
Richard Diamond series and his phenomenal hit, The
Fugitive. There are touches of both characters in this film from
his potential smile twitch at the right side of his mouth, a general
awkward nervousness, and his occasional glib humor. I have centered
my comments only on the actors and the production. There are no
spoiler alerts except this one: far left, the poster suggests Ellie Kent is an integral part of the film. On the contrary, she has an uncredited bit part and a viewer's sneeze will make one miss her entirely.
Set
ten years after his Korean War service, Janssen plays an investigator
[privately] specializing in locating lost heirs and perhaps bringing
closure to any unresolved issues. His interest is peaked by a teenage
girl who went missing a decade prior—perhaps dead or alive. It
leads to encounters with a detective associate, the mother of the
missing girl, and a former flame. Surprisingly, such a talkative
film holds one's interest thanks to Janssen's performance and a
well-paced script. Not all “talkies” come off this well.
The
early scene between Janssen and Aubuchon—tailing him
everywhere—lays down the personalities of both characters. Aubuchon
needs his services to locate his brother, who may be using an
assumed name. His sophisticated demeanor and superior attitude are
amusing and off-putting to Janssen, whose humorous counters to his
proposal are subtle highlights. Just who is using assumed names in
this film is something Janssen needs to unravel. This in itself
provides most of the script's twists.
Coming off his role in The Magnificent Seven is Brad Dexter, once again at his smarmy best. No one, including the viewers, trusts this guy. Crain is the past flame of Janssen who insists on rekindling those dying embers. Her "Dear John" letter while he was in the war still stings after ten years. Time to move on, you two! One wonders why her character is even in this film, but even she has a connection to Janssen's investigation.
The production itself has its problems. One is the year that the young girl disappeared from school. It is not consistent throughout the film—like the film editing. I have not spent enough time to figure out how the Twenty Plus Two title fits into this film since I have not read the book. Who has? Perhaps it is the year of the missing girl's birth advanced to what would be her current age: twenty...plus two. Except that Merrill is thirty-eight! There is a ten-year flashback in the final third of the film set in Japan that might have been less of a surprise had the film used the alternate title, It Started in Tokyo. During this flashback, Janssen's acting persona comes off as much younger—an awkward young adult—something Merrill does not accomplish. This brings up a problem early in the film when Janssen and Merrill are seated on a United Airlines flight.
He cannot quite place where he has seen her. She apparently has no clue who he is. This makes sense until that late flashback blows this whole scene to smithereens. How a highly trained investigator is unable to recognize the woman with whom he had a pivotal fling simply because of her altered hair color is beyond reason. Maybe the hint of "crow's feet" emanating from her eyes through him off. The suspension of disbelief should not have to stretch this far. It is kind of like Richard Kimble "dying" his hair black for four years.
Note: On the positive side, whereas low-budget
film companies were notorious for switching aircraft mid-flight,
United Airlines provided all the airline footage. So the Douglas DC-8
remains constant throughout the film.
