Superstars Kirk Douglas, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum and Frank Sinatra headline the witty thriller The List of Adrian Messenger directed by Academy Award(r) winner John Huston. A retired officer (Academy Award(r) winner George C. Scott) must uncover the identity of a mass murderer who is killing off the potential heirs to a family fortune. The only clues are the names on the list of murdered heir Adrian Messenger. The tension builds as the final evil unfolds during a suspense-filled fox hunt. Let the chase begin!

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John Huston was eager for a lightweight lark, and The List of Adrian Messenger was just the project he needed. Philip MacDonald's upper-crust British murder mystery allowed Huston to work close to his Irish estate, including fox hunting and quail shooting well suited to Huston's lord-of-the-manor lifestyle. The mystery itself is clever enough: As a former MI-5 agent, George C. Scott is lured into the case when writer Adrian Messenger (John Merivale) gives him a list of 11 names to investigate, just before Messenger is mysteriously killed. Scott combs for clues to connect the names, and the film's promotional gimmick--big-name stars disguised under Bud Westmore's expert makeup--kicks into gear. Thus you get Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, and Frank Sinatra, barely identifiable under layers of latex, and the mystery never suffers from this playful distraction. Huston enjoyed making this film (he makes a cameo appearance, and his son Tony plays a supporting role), and that pleasure is passed along to the viewer. --Jeff Shannon

A good movie re-viewed (5.0)

It was a pleasure to find this old movie, with an amusing if not outstanding plot and wonderfully made up list of actors -- they were hard to identify with the makeup jobs done on them.

Clever Film from Huston (4.0)

The List of Adrian Messenger is a clever film from director, John Huston. Based on an obscure novel, Adrian Messenger is a film that features well known actors not just in character but "in disguise". I know that Huston used body doubles for some of the actors like Robert Mitchum. However, the film is an enjoyable lark.

Note: This film has been unavailable for several years. Thanks to Amazon , The List of Adrian Messenger is available to fans everywhere.

Make The Best of What You Have (3.0)

The offering from Amazon and Universal Vault Series has several faults. The most obvious is that the frames have been cropped, as one reviewer has already mentioned. Another problem is that there are a few scenes missing from the beginning of the picture. The first fox hunt starts off almost before we are introduced to the characters. I cannot verify how many minutes are missing, since my VHS copy is gone, but this is not the complete movie I first saw at the theater in 1964.

I give this DVD three stars for the quality of the picture (which is somewhat dark), the cropping and the missing scene. The movie itself is four stars. While the major stars are only barely disguised (Burt Lancaster's make-up is the best), it's still a fun picture to watch.

Image is cropped (1.0)

The List of Adrian Messenger is severely cropped in its DVD release currently selling on Amazon. It's especially evident that the bottom of the image was cut off. The sides may have been cropped as well. The result is that the composition is terrible in about half of the shots, and in many shots you can't see what the actors are doing with their hands.

There are shots of actors on horses, except you can't see the hands on the reins and you can barely see the horse. There are shots of horses jumping fences, except you can't see the fence. There are a couple of shots where one actor is handing papers to another actor, but the passing of papers happens below frame. There's a shot of an actor passing a glass of wine to another actor, but the you can't see the hand of the actor receiving the glass. There are two shots of actors reaching for doorknobs and opening doors, but you can't see the hands or the doorknobs.

The cropping of films released on DVD is widespread, and ought to be loudly decried by everyone who loves the cinema. Please add your voice to those who are denouncing this loathsome practice.

brother in law (5.0)

I bought The List of Adrian Messinger for my brother in law who egjoyed it very much and I was
pleased to get it for him.