Scent of Mystery
6.2 /10 1 Votes
Director Jack Cardiff Screenplay Gerald Kersh Country United States | 6.3/10 Genre Mystery Duration Language English | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Release date 1960 (1960) Writer Kelley Roos (story), William Roos Music director Mario Nascimbene, Harold Adamson Cast Denholm Elliott (Oliver Larker), Peter Lorre (Smiley), Beverly Bentley (The Decoy Sally), Paul Lukas (Baron Saradin), Liam Redmond (Johnny Gin), Leo McKern (Tommy Kennedy)Similar movies Peter Lorre appears in Scent of Mystery and Mr Moto in Danger Island Tagline Now Cinerama takes you on a manhunta suspense hunt-a thrill hunt-across an exotic world of excitement! |
An Englishman (Denholm Elliott) and a cabby (Peter Lorre) try to save an heiress from murder in Spain.
Contents
Scent of Mystery is a 1960 mystery film that featured the one and only use of Smell-O-Vision, a system that timed odors to points in the films plot. It was the first film in which aromas were integral to the story, providing important details to the audience. It was produced by Mike Todd, Jr., who in conjunction with his father Mike Todd had produced such spectacles as This is Cinerama and Around the World in Eighty Days.
An Englishman (Denholm Elliott) and a cabby (Peter Lorre) try to save an heiress from murder in Spain.
Plot
A mystery novelist, played by Denholm Elliott, discovers a plan to murder an American heiress, played by Elizabeth Taylor in an uncredited role, while on vacation in Spain. He enlists the help of a taxi driver, played by Peter Lorre, to travel across the Spanish countryside in order to thwart the crime. Some scenes were designed to highlight the Smell-O-Visions capabilities. In one, wine casks fall off a wagon and roll down a hill, smashing against a wall, at which point a grape scent was released. Other scenes were accompanied by aromas that revealed key points to the audience. The assassin was identified by the smell of a smoking pipe, for example.
The screenplay was adapted from the 1947 novel Ghost of a Chance by Kelley Roos, the pen name of husband and wife mystery writers Audrey Kelley and William Roos. The novel was set in locations in New York City. Kelley Roos also wrote a 1959 paperback novelization of the screenplay, reset in Spain.
Smell-O-Vision
Similar Movies
Peter Lorre appears in Scent of Mystery and Mr Moto in Danger Island. The Bishop Murder Case (1930). The Preview Murder Mystery (1936). Calling Philo Vance (1940). Peter Lorre appears in Scent of Mystery and Mr Moto Takes a Vacation.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack was recently re-released on CD. It features the score composed by Mario Nascimbene and two songs from the film sung by Eddie Fisher.
Blu Ray is coming of Holiday in Spain in November 2014. Lots of extras included.
References
Scent of Mystery WikipediaScent of Mystery IMDbScent of Mystery themoviedb.org