Scent of Mystery

Scent of Mystery
A film poster bearing the film's new title: Holiday in Spain
Directed byJack Cardiff
Screenplay byGerald Kersh
Based onGhost of a Chance
1947 novel
by Kelley Roos
Produced byMike Todd Jr.
StarringDenholm Elliott
Peter Lorre
Elizabeth Taylor
CinematographyJohn von Kotze
Edited byJames E. Newcom
Music byHarold Adamson
Mario Nascimbene
Jordan Ramin
Color processTechnicolor
Release date
  • January 6, 1960 (1960-01-06) (Chicago)
[1]
Running time
125 minutes (original cut)
102 mins (re-release)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million[2]
Box office$300,000 (US/Canada rentals)[3]
External videos
video icon "Holiday in Spain (trailer)"

Scent of Mystery is a 1960 American mystery film, the first to use the Smell-O-Vision system to release odors at points in the film's plot. It was the first film in which aromas were integral to the story, providing important details to the audience. It was produced by Mike Todd, Jr., who, in conjunction with his father Mike Todd, had produced such spectacles as This Is Cinerama and Around the World in Eighty Days.

The film was later re-released in Cinerama under the title Holiday in Spain without Smell-O-Vision. In 2012, the film was restored, reconstructed and re-released by David Strohmaier. In 2015, a version complete with reconstructed scents was presented at screenings in Los Angeles, Denmark and England.[4]

Jack Cardiff called it the "one film I want to erase from my memory. The reason for this is that, through no fault of my own, the film was a complete disaster."[5]

  1. ^ Scent of Mystery at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference new was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Feature films shot, released domestically in 70mm process". Daily Variety. May 21, 1992. p. 22.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Distillations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Burnstock, Tammy (1986). "Jack Cardiff about "Scent of Mystery"". 70mm.com.