Scent of Mystery
Encyclopedia
Scent of Mystery is a 1960
mystery film
that featured the one and only use of Smell-O-Vision
, a system that timed odor
s to 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
.
, discovers a plan to murder an American
heiress, played by Elizabeth Taylor
in an uncredited role, while on vacation in Spain
. He enlists the help of a taxi
driver, played by Peter Lorre
, to travel across the Spanish countryside in order to thwart the crime. Some scenes were designed to highlight the Smell-O-Vision's capabilities. In one, wine casks fall off a wagon and roll down a hill, smashing against a wall, at which point a grape scent was released. Other scenes were accompanied by aromas that revealed key points to the audience. The assassin was identified by the smell of a smoking pipe, for example.
The screenplay was adapted from the 1947 novel Ghost of a Chance by Kelley Roos, the pen name of husband and wife mystery writers Audrey Kelley and William Roos. The novel was set in locations in New York City. Kelley Roos also wrote a 1959 paperback novelization of the screenplay, reset in Spain.
as, "I hope it's the kind of picture they call a scentsation!" He also got help from newspaper columnists such as Earl Wilson, who lauded the system, saying Smell-O-Vision "can produce anything from skunk to perfume, and remove it instantly." New York Times
writer Richard Nason believed it was a major advance in filmmaking. As such, expectations for the film were great.
The film opened in three specially equipped theaters in February, 1960, in New York City
, Los Angeles
, and Chicago
. Unfortunately, the mechanism did not work properly. According to Variety
, aromas were released with a distracting hissing noise and audience members in the balcony complained that the scents reached them several seconds after the action was shown on the screen. In other parts of the theater, the odors were too faint, causing audience members to sniff loudly in an attempt to catch the scent.
Technical adjustments by the manufacturers of Smell-O-Vision solved these problems, but by then it was too late. Negative reviews, in conjunction with word of mouth
, caused the film to fail miserably. Comedian Henny Youngman
quipped, "I didn't understand the picture. I had a cold." Todd did not produce another film until 1979's The Bell Jar
, which was also his last film.
The film was eventually retitled as Holiday in Spain and re-released, sans odors. However, as The Daily Telegraph
described it, "the film acquired a baffling, almost surreal quality, since there was no reason why, for example, a loaf of bread should be lifted from the oven and thrust into the camera for what seemed to be an unconscionably long time."
Scent of Mystery was aired once on television by MTV
in the 1980s, in conjunction with a convenience store
promotion that offered scratch and sniff
cards that viewers were to use to recreate the theater experience.
was recently re-released on CD. It features the score
composed by Mario Nascimbene
and two songs from the film sung by Eddie Fisher
.
1960 in film
The year 1960 in film involved some significant events, with Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho the top-grossing release in the U.S.-Events:* April 20 - for the first time since coming home from military service in Germany, Elvis Presley returns to Hollywood, California to film G.I...
mystery film
Mystery film
Mystery film is a sub-genre of the more general category of crime film and at times the thriller genre. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of a crime by means of clues, investigation, and clever deduction.The...
that featured the one and only use of Smell-O-Vision
Smell-o-vision
Smell-O-Vision was a system that released odor during the projection of a film so that the viewer could "smell" what was happening in the movie. The technique was created by Hans Laube and made its only appearance in the 1960 film Scent of Mystery, produced by Mike Todd, Jr., son of film producer...
, a system that timed odor
Odor
An odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors...
s to points in the film's plot
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
. 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.
Mike Todd, Jr.
Michael Todd Jr. was the son of movie producer and cinema pioneer Mike Todd and his first wife, Bertha Freshman Todd. He also a stepson of Elizabeth Taylor eventhough he was older than his famous stepmother through his father's third marriage. Todd Jr...
, who in conjunction with his father Mike Todd
Mike Todd
Michael Todd was an American theatre and film producer, best known for his 1956 production of Around the World in Eighty Days, which won an Academy Award for Best Picture...
had produced such spectacles as This is Cinerama
This is Cinerama
This is Cinerama is a 1952 full-length film designed to introduce the then-new widescreen process Cinerama, which broadens the aspect ratio so the viewer's peripheral vision is involved...
and Around the World in Eighty Days
Around the World in Eighty Days (1956 film)
Around the World in 80 Days is a 1956 adventure film produced by the Michael Todd Company and released by United Artists. It was directed by Michael Anderson. It was produced by Michael Todd, with Kevin McClory and William Cameron Menzies as associate producers. The screenplay was written by James...
.
Plot
The plot was relatively simple. A mystery novelist, played by Denholm ElliottDenholm Elliott
Denholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
, discovers a plan to murder an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
heiress, played by Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
in an uncredited role, while on vacation in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. He enlists the help of a taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
driver, played by Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was an Austrian-American actor frequently typecast as a sinister foreigner.He caused an international sensation in 1931 with his portrayal of a serial killer who preys on little girls in the German film M...
, to travel across the Spanish countryside in order to thwart the crime. Some scenes were designed to highlight the Smell-O-Vision's capabilities. In one, wine casks fall off a wagon and roll down a hill, smashing against a wall, at which point a grape scent was released. Other scenes were accompanied by aromas that revealed key points to the audience. The assassin was identified by the smell of a smoking pipe, for example.
The screenplay was adapted from the 1947 novel Ghost of a Chance by Kelley Roos, the pen name of husband and wife mystery writers Audrey Kelley and William Roos. The novel was set in locations in New York City. Kelley Roos also wrote a 1959 paperback novelization of the screenplay, reset in Spain.
Smell-O-Vision
Scent of Mystery was developed specifically with Smell-O-Vision in mind. Although Scent of Mystery was not the first film to be accompanied by aromas, it was the most technologically advanced. Ads for the film proclaimed: "First they moved (1895)! Then they talked (1927)! Now they smell!" Todd, who was a bit of a showman, engaged in such hyperboleHyperbole
Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally....
as, "I hope it's the kind of picture they call a scentsation!" He also got help from newspaper columnists such as Earl Wilson, who lauded the system, saying Smell-O-Vision "can produce anything from skunk to perfume, and remove it instantly." New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
writer Richard Nason believed it was a major advance in filmmaking. As such, expectations for the film were great.
The film opened in three specially equipped theaters in February, 1960, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. Unfortunately, the mechanism did not work properly. According to Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
, aromas were released with a distracting hissing noise and audience members in the balcony complained that the scents reached them several seconds after the action was shown on the screen. In other parts of the theater, the odors were too faint, causing audience members to sniff loudly in an attempt to catch the scent.
Technical adjustments by the manufacturers of Smell-O-Vision solved these problems, but by then it was too late. Negative reviews, in conjunction with word of mouth
Word of mouth
Word of mouth, or viva voce, is the passing of information from person to person by oral communication. Storytelling is the oldest form of word-of-mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up. Oral tradition is cultural material and...
, caused the film to fail miserably. Comedian Henny Youngman
Henny Youngman
Henry "Henny" Youngman was a British-born American comedian and violinist famous for "one-liners", short, simple jokes usually delivered rapid-fire...
quipped, "I didn't understand the picture. I had a cold." Todd did not produce another film until 1979's The Bell Jar
The Bell Jar (film)
The Bell Jar is a 1979 film directed by Larry Peerce. It stars Marilyn Hassett and Julie Harris.-Cast:*Marilyn Hassett as Esther Greenwood*Julie Harris as Mrs. Greenwood*Jameson Parker as Buddy Willard*Anne Jackson as Dr. Nolan...
, which was also his last film.
The film was eventually retitled as Holiday in Spain and re-released, sans odors. However, as The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
described it, "the film acquired a baffling, almost surreal quality, since there was no reason why, for example, a loaf of bread should be lifted from the oven and thrust into the camera for what seemed to be an unconscionably long time."
Scent of Mystery was aired once on television by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in the 1980s, in conjunction with a convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
promotion that offered scratch and sniff
Scratch and sniff
Scratch and sniff technology generally refers to things that have been treated with a microfragrance coating. When scratched, the coating releases an odor that is normally related to an image being displayed under the coating...
cards that viewers were to use to recreate the theater experience.
Soundtrack
The soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
was recently re-released on CD. It features the score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
composed by Mario Nascimbene
Mario Nascimbene
Mario Nascimbene was one of the best known Italian film soundtrack composers of the 20th Century. His career spanned six decades, during which time he earned several awards for the innovative contents of his composing style...
and two songs from the film sung by Eddie Fisher
Eddie Fisher (singer)
Edwin Jack "Eddie" Fisher , was an American entertainer. He was one of the world's most famous and successful singers in the 1950s, selling millions of records and hosting his own TV show. His divorce from his first wife, Debbie Reynolds, to marry his best friend's widow, Elizabeth Taylor, garnered...
.
External links
- Kritzerland, producers of the CD soundtrack