Scent of Mystery (1960)

A vacationing Englishman (Denholm Elliott) stumbles upon a plot to kill a young American tourist (Beverly Bentley) in Spain.

Director:

Jack Cardiff

Writers:

Kelley Roos (story), William Roos

Stars:

Denholm Elliott, Peter Lorre, Beverly Bentley

Cast

Cast overview:
Denholm Elliott	...	Oliver Larker
Peter Lorre	...	Smiley
Beverly Bentley	...	The Decoy Sally Kennedy
Paul Lukas	...	Baron Saradin
Liam Redmond	...	Johnny Gin
Leo McKern	...	Tommy Kennedy
Peter Arne	...	Robert Fleming
Mary Laura Wood	...	Margharita
Diana Dors	...	Winifred Jordan
Judith Furse	...	Miss Leonard
Maurice Marsac	...	Pepi
Michael Trubshawe	...	English Aviator
Juan Olaguivel	...	Truck Driver
Billie Miller	...	Constance Walker

Storyline

A vacationing Englishman (Denholm Elliott) stumbles upon a plot to kill a young American tourist (Beverly Bentley) in Spain.

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Plot Keywords:

spain | butterfly | aerial camera shot | tourist | rose | 

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Taglines:

Now Cinerama takes you on a manhunt----a suspense hunt---a thrill hunt---across an exotic world of excitement!

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Genres:

Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 January 1960 (USA)

Also Known As:

Holiday in Spain

Filming Locations:

Córdoba, Andalucía, Spain

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 75 min (re-release)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.59 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The success of the syndicated nationwide 1986 telecasts of Scent of Mystery, with scratch-and-sniff cards provided by 7-Eleven, continued to build as the year progressed, with ratings high, and independent stations always on the scent of offbeat material to attract viewers away from the more traditional network shows. When a number flashed on the screen, home sniffers were instructed to scratch the corresponding number on their cards, and take a whiff. Who could resist a gimmick like that? Among the 30 different odors were rose, licorice, pipe tobacco, popcorn, garlic, gasoline, peaches, mothballs, and, of course, the title perfume, i.e. Scent of Mystery. In Honolulu, after two weeks of non-stop promotion and comment, it made its "Island Premiere" on KGMB (Channel 9), and its rival network ratings were wiped out by hurricane force. By this time local commentators were resigned to admitting, "Sure, it stinks, but it's fun!" By 21 November 1987, its popularity had peaked to the point of it being offered in the competitive Saturday night 10 PM slot on the wildly trendy MTV music video channel. After that, it once again, faded away into history.

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Quotes

Oliver Larker: [narrating] I haven't been away from my flat in 9 years, and 6 mysteries. But, I suppose the creator of a private eye has to get out in public every so often. And I hate to travel - unless it's in the Commonwealth. Otherwise you meet so many foreigners, who don't even speak English. And all those beastly tourists - mostly Americans. They don't speak English either.

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Crazy Credits

There is a credit for the shoe polish brightening the cast's shoes.

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Alternate Versions

In the UK version of Holiday in Spain, Elizabeth Taylor is credited as Liz Rolyat, (Taylor spelled backwards).

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Connections

Referenced in What's My Line?: Peter Lorre (2) (1960)

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Soundtracks

SCENT OF MYSTERY
Written by Jordan Ramin
Sung by Eddie Fisher

User Reviews

Silly and stupid but with one or two good points.

Mostly when people discuss this film they get sidetracked by the Smell-O-Vision aspect. It was made at a time when there was a lot of experimentation with the technology of film making. In the decade previously they had tried 3-D and Cinerama, so adding aromas to film didn't seem that far out of bounds. The technology really wasn't ready as yet and the film, "Scent of Mystery", wasn't good enough to stand on its own. The story was silly and the dialog was stupid. The original film no longer exists as such. Another film called "Holiday in Spain" was cobbled together from pieces of various prints. Some say, therefore, you can't judge the original by the copy. However, the copy does have a strongly coherent narrative flow. It's the original that was stupid. The actors were competent professionals and there is the occasional clever line, but there is a certain amount of embarrassment in watching talent going to waste. There is an inside showbiz secret society feel to it. It's Elizabeth Taylor and her then husband Eddie Fisher working with Mike Todd, Jr. trying to salvage the botched job his father had done. By the way, what I said earlier about the addition of aromas to dramatic entertainment, watch what happens when V. R. adds story lines and acting. They are already adding tactility to V. R. Can odor be far behind?