IMDb RATING
6.8/10
5.8K
YOUR RATING
A former intelligence officer is tasked by the heir to the Gleneyre estate to investigate the unusual deaths of a disparate group of eleven men on a list.A former intelligence officer is tasked by the heir to the Gleneyre estate to investigate the unusual deaths of a disparate group of eleven men on a list.A former intelligence officer is tasked by the heir to the Gleneyre estate to investigate the unusual deaths of a disparate group of eleven men on a list.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Tony Huston
- Derek Bruttenholm
- (as Walter Anthony Huston)
Ronald Long
- Carstairs
- (as Roland Long)
Alan Caillou
- Insp. Seymour
- (uncredited)
Constance Cavendish
- Maid
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Anthony Veiller
- Philip MacDonald
- Alec Coppel(uncredited)
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn an article for Video Watchdog magazine, actor Jan Merlin reports playing several of the star cameos in the movie, primarily Kirk Douglas when he is disguised in his various make-up. According to Merlin, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra (doubled by actor Dave Willock), and Burt Lancaster never appeared in the film proper and only shot close-ups for an epilogue peeling off their heavy make-up. Merlin used his experiences as the basis of a thinly-veiled novel about the filming of the movie titled 'Shooting Montezuma'.
- GoofsWhen Derek rides Avatar for the first time, the horse has no reins or bridle. When he returns, it has both.
- Quotes
Adrian Messenger: There's nary a conspiracy. And if I'm right about this, it's a far older sin than politics.
- Crazy creditsThe characters played by Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis in the film are never identified by name.
- ConnectionsFeatured in The 54th Annual Academy Awards (1982)
- SoundtracksA Wand'ring Minstrel, I
from the operetta "The Mikado"
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Played by the orchestra as Tony Curtis removes his makeup
Featured review
The gimmick - I disagree
I wanted to say something in praise of the masked star gimmick - something I haven't seen anyone else mention.
Rather than viewing the various "heavily made-up" characters as a spot the star contest, look at it from the other side and, suddenly, the gimmick becomes an ingenious way of covering up the killer - hiding him from the audience. Since the filmmakers knew they couldn't find a way to make a full head latex "invisible" to the audience, (and presumably didn't want to go with a completely other actor) they went the Purloined Letter route and threw in a bunch of such "spottable" characters to keep the audience from guessing which one was the killer.
Much like the movie The Spanish Prisoner - where every person seems somehow fakey UNTIL you watch from the viewpoint of "spot the scam" and realize the EVERYONE sounds fake (i.e., like they're scamming someone) so you CAN'T spot the con artists.
Brilliant, really. In both cases.
Rather than viewing the various "heavily made-up" characters as a spot the star contest, look at it from the other side and, suddenly, the gimmick becomes an ingenious way of covering up the killer - hiding him from the audience. Since the filmmakers knew they couldn't find a way to make a full head latex "invisible" to the audience, (and presumably didn't want to go with a completely other actor) they went the Purloined Letter route and threw in a bunch of such "spottable" characters to keep the audience from guessing which one was the killer.
Much like the movie The Spanish Prisoner - where every person seems somehow fakey UNTIL you watch from the viewpoint of "spot the scam" and realize the EVERYONE sounds fake (i.e., like they're scamming someone) so you CAN'T spot the con artists.
Brilliant, really. In both cases.
helpful•165
- hoversj
- Apr 13, 2005
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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By what name was The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) officially released in India in English?
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