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
Gimmicky star-chasing all but sinks modest murder mystery
The handful of top-notch films directed by John Huston, from The Maltese Falcon in 1941 to Prizzi's Honor in 1986, has always been evened out by more than his share of clunkers -- mediocre material half-heartedly helmed (The Bible, In This Our Life, Judge Roy Bean, Annie). But what was his thinking behind The List of Adrian Messenger? A modestly entertaining murder mystery of the fusty old English school, it's trumped up with foolish gimmickry that's irrelevant to the movie but was vital to its marketing. 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). So sitting through it is to join the celebrity hunt (preferable, at any rate, to the fox hunts which eat up the film footage).
The plot proper concerns a series of fatal "accidents" that leads George C. Scott, sans mask and makeup, to uncover a betrayal in wartime Burma and the scion of an aristocratic family long vanished into the Canadian west. But Huston loses interest in the puzzle with unseemly haste -- as do we. Stifling yawns, we wait for the "stars" -- most of whom contribute little more than walk-ons -- to peel off their disguises, winking and smirking insufferably at the camera.
The plot proper concerns a series of fatal "accidents" that leads George C. Scott, sans mask and makeup, to uncover a betrayal in wartime Burma and the scion of an aristocratic family long vanished into the Canadian west. But Huston loses interest in the puzzle with unseemly haste -- as do we. Stifling yawns, we wait for the "stars" -- most of whom contribute little more than walk-ons -- to peel off their disguises, winking and smirking insufferably at the camera.
helpful•156
- bmacv
- Jan 8, 2002
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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Top Gap
By what name was The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) officially released in India in English?
Answer