Scent of Mystery (1960)

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?

I had seen the restored previews on you tube.I had presumed one day that flicker alley was going to release it ,once they ran out of three panel classics.I Was wrong It was released on Nov. last year from Redwind productions ,distributed exclusively by screen archive dot com. I found this out last month.I also found out that flicker alley is not going to stop selling Cinerama films ,but, this had nothing to do with them.It was Cinerama's decision ,probably. This is the 109 minute version,When It was sold to Cinema miracle and when that went out of business sold to Cinerama ,it enlarged and slice and diced.The first story plot film to be projected in Cinerama.This was not combo DVD and Blu-Ray.Which was not fair for those with d.v.d players.It had a CD disc of the original L.p. sound track. It came with a pamphlet that explained the making of the film and all the actors.It also showed that Diana Dors was not a bimbo ,when you learned she did stage work also and a t.v. show in England The print was excellent.David Strohmaier did a great job restring with what they found,the 123 minute version is lost except for some fragments of the other film.It was originally in Smell-O-Vision ,but, every time a cue scent for a smell would com up ,I would get dizzy cause my nose was feeling compelled to smell a sensation that was not their .In spite of the lack of odors, the story was still good.Denholm Elliot plays the writer on vacation in Spain.He ends up getting involved with Beverly Bentley,when he is in a car wreck cause by a truck that was trying to knock her down. Liam Redmond tells Elliot the situation.With the aid of Peter Lorre as the taxi driver ,they track her down to save her from those who are going to kill her.The location in Spain were wonderful and the 70mm cinematography was great.This was not Todd a.o. process, but a different 70mm process.Vincent Korda did the production design .He built a fake hotel room,on the roof of a real hotel,for the effect of the 70mm cinema photography .There's an intermission and a surprised ending.The stereo sound was great to .It was originally eight tracks stereo sound.It would be reduce for the Cinerama convert 7 tracks .There's an interview with Beverly Bentley,years later, as well as Mike Todd j.r daughter,who was born the same year I was .Thank goodness this was in smile box.02/6/15

This is very silly and should not under any circumstances be taken seriously. Any attempt to not follow that advice will lead into the inevitable result of you not liking the movie at all. Actually of you dreading the movie. And it's comedy might be considered poor taste, it's acting poor too.But it is silly and simple for a reason and it stays true to that formula til the end (even if it has hits and misses throughout). The main character with his conviction of knowing more than he actually does helps the movie a lot. Also Mr. Lorre in a role that we are not used seeing him, is great too. All in all, a crime comedy, that might not be something to really recommend ... But still funny to watch

There was a race to get smells into films at this time. It was won by the Walter Reade organisation in late 1959 with a documentary called "Behind The Great Wall", which added smells after the film was completed, in a process called aromarama. "scent of Mystery" was produced by Mike Todd Jr. in 70mm, with the smells to be used as clues to the mystery. It was a lighthearted romp, beautifully shot in Spain, with Elizabeth Taylor as a guest star. It has never been revived, or put out on video.