Holiday in Spain (1960)

Vacationing Englishman Oliver Larker (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

Vacationing Englishman Oliver Larker (Denholm Elliott) stumbles upon a plot to kill a young American tourist (Beverly Bentley) in Spain.

---

Plot Keywords:

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

---

Taglines:

First they moved (1895)! Then they talked (1927)! Now they smell!

---

Genres:

Adventure | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dame Elizabeth Taylor, who makes a cameo appearance at the end of this movie, was married to Mike Todd, whose son Michael Todd, Jr. produced this movie. She was married to Eddie Fisher at the time, who sang two songs on the soundtrack: "The Scent of Mystery" and "The Chase".

---

Goofs

Very little in this film makes sense (possibly because the version that currently exists was reconstructed from incomplete elements). Regardless, not even the central plot point is clear: who hired the impostor? If Tommy's wife knew Tommy's half-sister, why would she have someone impersonate the half-sister if she planned to kill the real one? Even if there was a reason, why would the wife's accomplices repeatedly attempt to kill someone who was merely trying to protect the impostor? Why not just allow them to waste their time "protecting" the impostor until the real deed was done? Alternatively, if Tommy hired the impostor to fool his wife, he would have had to know about the murder plot and chose to put an innocent woman's life at risk rather than alert the police (especially after the disappearance of the bellboy).

---

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.

---

Crazy Credits

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

---

Alternate Versions

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

---

Connections

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

---

Soundtracks

SCENT OF MYSTERY
Music by Jordan Ramin
Lyrics by Harold Adamson
Vocals by Eddie Fisher

User Reviews

Really fun gimmick

I saw this movie with the smells. Since the smells in many cases served as clues, it would be confusing without them. The machine that generated the smells was located in the lobby for examination by theater goers. The smells were introduced to the theater using a compressed air system and after a few examples, the audience recognized the noise (which was minimal) and commented to each other "Here comes another one" All in all not really a very good movie but a fun experience. I don't really see how this could ever have been anything more than an experiment.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 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