The List of Adrian Messenger (dual audio) [1963] John Huston

http://bayimg.com/OaomLAaCG The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057254/maindetails DUAL AUDIO TRACKS TRACK 1 GERMAN TRACK 2 ENGLISH The List of Adrian Messenger is a 1963 black and white thriller about a retired British intelligence officer (George C. Scott) investigating a series of apparently unrelated deaths. The film is based on the 1961 novel of the same title by Philip MacDonald. This film has long been unavailable in the USA, but is now avaialbe through Amazon. George C. Scott ... Anthony Gethryn Dana Wynter ... Lady Jocelyn Bruttenholm Clive Brook ... Marquis of Gleneyre Gladys Cooper ... Mrs. Karoudjian Herbert Marshall ... Sir Wilfrid Lucas Jacques Roux ... Raoul Le Borg John Merivale ... Adrian Messenger Marcel Dalio ... Max Karoudjian Bernard Archard ... Insp. Pike Tony Huston ... Derek Bruttenholm (as Walter Anthony Huston) The List of Adrian Messenger is a relatively modern-day Golden Age type of mystery with an additional gimmick of its own. A number of prominent Hollywood actors are advertised to appear in the film heavily disguised in make-up designed by John Chambers: Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, and Robert Mitchum. Their identities are revealed to the audience at the very end of the film, when each star removes his disguise and make-up. Based on a novel by crime writer Philip MacDonald, this murder mystery (directed by John Huston) is primarily remembered today for its somewhat gimmicky use of A-list actors (Tony Curtis, Frank Sinatra, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster) in heavily made-up, nearly indistinguishable cameo roles. Audiences at the time were invited to guess who was who, and were rewarded when each actor unmasked himself during the closing credits. To that end, Bud Westmore’s make-up is truly impressive: while we can tell that the characters played by each of these actors are clearly in disguise, it’s remarkably difficult to discern their real faces underneath. Kirk Douglas — acknowledged almost immediately as the film’s psychopathic villain — plays the largest camouflaged role, hiding behind various effective personae as he commits a series of cold-blooded murders. The fact that we know the killer’s identity from the beginning means that the story really belongs to George C. Scott, playing a retired British intelligence officer determined to follow through on the suspicions raised by his recently deceased friend, the oddly named Adrian Messenger (John Merivale) — who does indeed attempt to leave a final message for the man by his side (Jacques Roux) as he’s dying. As fate would have it, Scott knows Roux, and the two collaborate together on the mystery. Meanwhile, in the weakest element of the plot, Roux falls for and romances Messenger’s widowed cousin, Dana Wynter (beautiful but poorly used here). Huston’s firm directorial hand is evident throughout; unfortunately, however, the story he’s working with is merely serviceable entertainment — worthy viewing once, but not must-see for all film fanatics. Note: Interestingly enough, character actor Jan Merlin was actually the man behind the make-up during several of the presumed “cameo” roles by the famous actors; apparently only Douglas and Mitchum actually did any real acting in disguise, while the others merely showed up for their “unmasking” scene at $75,000 each.

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nehoc (2010-12-22)

Two tracks, English and German (that one goes first so you can change to the original English); picture is widescreen and excellent quality.