The List of Adrian Messenger

Plot synopsis:
A writer named Adrian Messenger (John Merivale) believes a series of apparently unrelated "accidental" deaths are actually linked murders. He asks his friend Anthony Gethryn (George C. Scott), recently retired from MI5, to help clear up the mystery. However, Messenger's plane is bombed while he is en route to collect evidence to confirm his suspicions and, with his dying breath, he tries to tell a fellow passenger the key to the mystery.
The passenger survives and turns out to be Raoul Le Borg (Jacques Roux), Gethryn's old World War II counterpart in the French Resistance. They join forces to investigate Messenger's list of names, and decode Messenger's final cryptic words. They establish that all on the list were together in a prisoner of war camp in Burma, where a Canadian sergeant, George Brougham, betrayed his fellow prisoners, foiling their escape attempt. Each has a reason to kill Brougham. It evolves that Brougham is their killer, but why? They deduce that he is about to come into prominence and cannot risk being recognised. Gethryn and Le Borg establish that he stands in line to an inheritance of the Bruttenholm family, landed gentry who are friends of Gethryn and the late Messenger, and who avidly engage in fox hunting.
Having disposed of all possible witnesses to his wartime treachery, Brougham (Kirk Douglas) appears at a Bruttenholm estate fox hunt and introduces himself as a member of the family (he has previously been seen only in disguise). It then becomes clear to the visiting Gethryn and Le Borg that Brougham's next victim is to be the young heir, Derek. In an attempt to divert Brougham, Gethryn makes known his investigation of Messenger’s list, calculating to set himself up as the next victim.
That night, Brougham sabotages the next morning’s hunt by laying a drag with a fox in a sack over the fields. He especially marks a blind spot behind a high wall, and moves a large hay tedder behind, intending for Gethryn (who has been given the honour of leading the hunt) to be impaled upon its lethal tines. Unbeknownst to Brougham, his plan goes awry when a farmer repositions the tedder early the next morning. The hunt commences but comes to a halt at the specified spot. Gethryn reveals to the gathered crowd that he discovered and removed the hay-tedder booby trap earlier that morning and, with the help of the lead fox hound, will detect the scent of the culprit amongst a group of hunt saboteurs. Brougham, once again disguised, is identified and runs off, mounting Derek's horse. When Derek shouts a command to the horse, the animal stops short, throwing Brougham and impaling him on the very same machine he intended for Gethryn.

Tags: murder

Review:
John Huston displays an indiscreet lack of subtlety, taxing our tolerance with a somewhat modern English whodunit with an extra publicity stunt: Numerous major Hollywood actors are announced to appear in the film, but are all thickly concealed in John Chambers' make-up design: Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis as an organ-grinder, Burt Lancaster as an old woman, Frank Sinatra as a gypsy horse-trader.
Because of that gimmick with Curtis, Mitchum, Sinatra and Lancaster people seem to regard this film as a sort of spot-the-star contest.
Excellent acting (especially Douglas in what must be his best role since Paths of Glory), superb music (Jerry Goldsmith) and brilliant direction of John Huston more than make up for occasional lapses in the story.The story is quite simple, but the less said the better.
Very good support cast such Robert Mitchum , Tony Curtis , Frank Sinatra , Herbert Marshall , Gladys Cooper , Marcel Dalio , Bernard Fox , being the fourth of seven films that Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster made together and final film of Clive Brook .
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.
La Borg who took down, in his photographic mind, the dying mans last words that reveal, if deciphered, the truth about his list and the person who's not only responsible for his impending death but the deaths of all the persons, some who at the time were still alive, on it!Despite its novelty of guessing just who are the actors, Burt Lancaster Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis etc.
It's only Kirk Douglas as George Brougham, together with some half dozen other disguises, and Robert Mitchum as James Slattery who had any real role in the movies plot line.
Instead of just showing up in the end and, when the film was finally over, taking off their disguise revealing to the startled viewers just who they were playing.Gethryn and Borg who both worked together in WWII against the Nazis team up to get to the bottom of what the late Adrian Messenger meant in his list of names and as the two check out the names one at a time.It turns out that all of them, with he exception of James Slattery, died mysteriously over the last five years.
Which in the end, with Gethryn & Borg giving up on him, lead to his death when the killer pushed him, wheelchair and all, off the docks and into the bay where he drowned.The killer***SPOILERS***finally reveals himself at a fox-hunt at the estate of the Marquis of Gleneyre, Clive Brook, as his long dead brothers son George Brougham.
A starry cast -- Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra -- wanders around under false-faces for, with one exception, no discernible reason (they all end up looking like late Sean Connery).
A "master of disguise" (who always looks exactly like the famous star portraying him no matter how much makeup he's under) is killing persons whose names appear on a secret list.
In an attempt to lure audiences to this artificial, parlor-game excrement, the film-makers included the gimmick of having 4 other famous stars appear in cameos under heavy makeup and daring the viewer to identify them.
When the whole mess has come to a merciful end, the stars rip off their bad latex Halloween mask makeup and wink at the camera as if to say, "Wasn't that clever?"  If you're still awake, your answer will be, "No."When you take into account the enormous amount of talent involved on both sides of the camera, this is surely one of the most inexcusably bad films of all time..
Entertaining...that's what this film is - the reason you go to the movies in the first place.If you like mysteries, this is among the best.
Cameos (in disguises) are by Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Frank Sinatra.It's supposed to be an English film but Scott hardly fits in with his American accent.
The story line of this film,George C Scott,retired MI-5 agent is requested by Adrian Messenger to check into the wherebouts of a groups of individuals,related to a wealthy family.
kirk Douglas,Dana Wynter and George C Scott are the main actors.Highly recommended..
The List of Adrian Messenger is a John Huston film from 1963.It's a movie filled with fantastic stars.Some of them are hard to recognize because they have disguised themselves.Your job is to guess which is which.You can discover Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Frank Sinatra.Your job is not easy for some of them are pretty unrecognizable.The brilliant Kirk Douglas is among the stars you can recognize, even though he is seen in many masks.It's always great to see this now 90 year old actor in a movie.The fine actor George C.
Scott plays Anthony Gethryn.Dana Wynter is Lady Jocelyn Bruttenholm while director's son Tony Huston plays the role of Derek Bruttenholm.The outstanding Jerry Goldsmith is behind the music.This film is fascinating, most fascinating..
the mark of John Huston is basis for a dark film who remains memorable for the status of game with masks, for the ambiguity and for the great job of Kirk Douglas ..
Released in 1963, "The List of Adrian Messenger" was marketed with a gimmick; the cast included five top box office stars, who were disguised with heavy makeup, and the audience was challenged to guess who was who.
Although the gimmick has faded in the half century since release, the tight, well-directed mystery at the film's core survives.An aristocratic writer named Adrian Messenger gives a typed list of 10 names to his friend, George C.
When Messenger soon perishes in a mysterious plane crash, Scott pursues the investigation and discovers that six of the men on the list have already died accidentally.
While not among John Huston's most famous films, "The List of Adrian Messenger" is a well directed work, enhanced by an appropriately eerie score by Jerry Goldsmith.
The five now-legendary stars under the false noses, hair pieces, and rubber faces are Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, and Frank Sinatra; a couple are easy to identify behind the make-up, while others more difficult.
Scott, however, is the film's star and central character, and he is ably supported by the elegant Dana Wynter, as well as Clive Brook, Gladys Cooper, and Herbert Marshall.Marketing ploys come and go; some fail, others succeed.
While "The List of Adrian Messenger" is a quality film that could stand on its own merits, the producers at the time felt the movie needed a boost to stand out at the box-office.
The wealthy host of an English country estate named Adrian Messenger (John Merivale) presents his friend, Anthony Gethryn (George C.
It's filled with cameos from major stars, and it's fun to figure out just who is who.The whole mystery is directed with tongue deeply in cheek by John Huston.
The List of Adrian Messenger :This is one of director John Huston's important films..
American director John Huston had a long as well as illustrious career as an intelligent filmmaker.If film critics were to draft a list of his important films then nobody would doubt that 'The List of Adrian Messenger' would easily find a place on that list.Although it boasts of some important names of Hollywood,The list of Adrian Messenger is able to surprise us all with its focus on suspense.This is one reason why this film's suspense elements appear to be more enjoyable than mere presence of big stars such as Burt Lancaster,Kirk Douglas,Robert Mitchum and Frank Sinatra.For a film which flirts effortlessly between different genres namely suspense and thriller,The list of Adrian Messenger throws its biggest surprise when it embraces comedy with natural ease.The pace of the film is fast with no scope for any type of dull moments.The end result is an important film which would be an inspiration for other thrillers..
which is utterly counter-productive (and it is the very reason why Hitchcock, who rejected whodunits, ended up making his cameo very early in his movies).The worst in my opinion are the deceptive credits who clearly bill Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum and Frank Sinatra alongside the actors playing the main characters while they barely are disguised cameos.
John Huston directs an enjoyable piece of escapism in which we have a creaky, old-style murder mystery complete with rambling country house, dimly lit streets, black cabs, canes, MI5, fox-hunting, death lists and heavily disguised actors.Best not to give too much away; Kirk Douglas excels and the cameos are fun too.6/10.
When John is killed in an airplane bombing, George recruits Jacques Roux and Dana Wynter to help in solving the mystery.
I won't spoil anything because it's fun to guess, but be on the lookout for Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra, and Robert Mitchum..
It shows the difference between right and wrong behavior.It's only flaw is using superstars in small roles: Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, and Frank Sinatra.
The actors:Dana Wynter, Jacques, Herbert Marshall, and Clive Brook were probably given one of their last good roles in a movie.
Disguises Aside I Liked This One. This film is most remembered by the cameo appearances of several stars under heavy make up which proposes a little game in trying to identify them (Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra and Kirk Douglas).
However, and that aside, "The List of Adrian Messenger" stands as an entertaining thriller for those of us who enjoy the genre.The story goes with a series of apparently unrelated accidental deaths, until someone -the guy in the title- suspects they are somehow linked and starts to investigate the case; when he perishes in an airplane crash his work is taken over by a friend of his a retired police inspector.The plot is interesting and, aided by an excellent black and white photography, director John Huston creates a sordid and most appropriate atmosphere and sustains tension and interest all along.George C.
Intriguing mystery from John Huston with celebrity cameo roles.
Scott are the leading actors but other stars were brought in to play small cameo roles hidden under heavy disguises!
Part of the mystery (and enjoyment of the film) was to guess where and when these stars appeared.
However, I have a sneaking suspicion that a trick was played on the unsuspecting audience and that other (unknown) actors stood in for both Frank Sinatra and Burt Lancaster during the actual film and that these two stars only put in an appearance at the very end of the film when disguises were taken off to reveal who was who!
Kirk Douglas wore the most disguises during the film and seemed to be having a good time in his various roles.
"The List of Adrian Messenger" could best be described as an old fashioned mystery thriller and is none the less enjoyable for that.
A good, old-fashioned mystery thriller, The List of Adrian Messenger offers a rare chance to see director John Huston serving up an atypically light-hearted style of film.
But The List of Adrian Messenger is more of a playful suspense story - similar to the kind of thing Hitchcock might have made at that time - and it comes across as a likable and occasionally exciting film.Retired British Intelligence agent Anthony Gethryn (miscast George C.
Scott, struggling with his inconsistent English accent) investigates the murder of Adrian Messenger, killed in the bombing of a plane.
Gethryn realises that Brougham is only two killings away from claiming his prize, and sets about ensnaring the villain before his sinister scheme is complete.The gimmick in the film is that four major stars have brief guest roles beneath heavy make-up.
Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra and Burt Lancaster are the stars - they're quite hard to spot (Mitchum is probably the easiest, but the others are very well disguised).
If you forget the gimmick and watch The List of Adrian Messenger purely as a suspense thriller, it holds up pretty well, with clever twists and turns and a very memorable final sequence in which Brougham plans an elaborate killing during a fox hunt.
Gradually he realizes that the list of names are of men who were prisoners of war with Messenger, and that they and others were betrayed by another man who will kill anyone who is in his way to claim a large estate.The gimmick of this film (which makes it a guessing game, but also ruins the mystery to some extent) was to guess who were the celebrities in cameo roles in this film.
The five celebrities were Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Curtis.
One of his disguises, by the way, looks like Dr. Hawley Crippen.Despite the gimmick taking one's attention away from the actual mystery, the film is a good one, well directed by John Huston (who has a cameo here as well, as does his son), and has some nice countryside photography - particularly of the final fox hunt.
Kirk Douglas has a more substantial supporting role as the head heavy, and Robert Mitchum is on screen several times as a drunken scoundrel.The director, John Huston, had an estate in Ireland at the time and rode in exaltation to the hounds in fox hunts.
But I think a lot of suspected something when the stars in makeup at the end didn't look much like the same character seen in the rest of the film..
The first name I wrote was Kirk Douglas playing George C.Scott's role.
Adrian Messenger as played by John Merivale asks a friend George C.
That list becomes the key to finding his murderers as Scott and plane crash survivor Jacques Roux go on the hunt.The List of Adrian Messenger is a nice murder mystery of the type that the British do so well.
Had it not been for the gimmick of the heavily make-up laden stars playing bit roles except in two cases the film might well have stood on its own merits of well executed plot and good acting.
Scott, like Gregory Peck in The Paradine Case he drifts in and out of an affected English accent.Three of the stars, Frank Sinatra, Tony Curtis, and Burt Lancaster have small walk-on parts.
Robert Mitchum has a small role as one of the names on The List of Adrian Messenger.
He's got a very well thought out plan and he comes close to completing it.I agree with everyone else who has said that John Huston took this particular film assignment so he good indulge in fox hunting and get paid for it.
All look quite comfortable in their roles.The List of Adrian Messenger is a short film for an A feature.
It's almost a pity that The List of Adrian Messenger is a good film.
But under the direction of the legendary John Huston, this old style English whodunit is a fun murder mystery.
He asks his friend, a recently retired member from MI5, to help clear up the mystery.Spoilers ahead: The real fun of The List of Adrian Messenger and what makes this film still unique is that then famous movie stars play cameos in disguise.
Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Robert Mitchum all appear in heavy makeup.
He is the only one we can be sure of, because there have been claims that some of these stars just appeared in the revealing epilogue and that their scenes in the film were done by stand ins.The other actor we can also be sure of is Kirk Douglass who takes on different disguises.
The director John Huston himself makes a cameo at the end, although not in disguise..
THE LIST OF ADRIAN MESSENGER is an incredibly inventive murder mystery/thriller, made by John Huston and shot on his estate in Ireland.
Despite the outstanding cast, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Dana Wynter, and George C.
It still manages to entertain, but not nearly as much as it could have.The List of Adrian Messenger, 1963, Starring: George C.
Scott, Kirk Douglas and Dana Wynter, Directed by John Huston, 6/10 (C-)(This is part of an ongoing project to watch and review every John Huston movie.
Having made it clear quite early in the movie that the elevator killer, the vicar and the genial neighbor are all impersonated by Kirk Douglas (coldly, intelligently effective as the mass murderer), the film then cunningly obscures the trail by disguising its remaining four guest stars as characters who could as well turn out to be the ubiquitously protean Mr. Douglas as, say Burt Lancaster or Frank Sinatra.
John Huston's "The List of Adrian Messenger" has a quirky charm and an interesting story, but is derailed by a badly executed gimmick.
This film is as light as a soufflé in comparison; "The List of Adrian Messenger" is Huston on holidays.Top-billed Kirk Douglas plays George Brougham, distant heir to the Bruttenholme estate in England who eliminates a list of people who know a secret that would prevent him claiming his inheritance.
Although Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Tony Curtis play cameos, it is Kirk Douglas who occupies a large amount of screen time in a number of disguises.
John Huston lived on a country estate in Ireland when he made this movie, and his love for fox hunting inspired the final scenes of the film with the countryside of Ireland beautifully photographed.