I love this movie so much

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Released in 1963, "The List of Adrian Messenger" was marketed with a gimmick; the cast included five top box office stars, who were disguised with heavy makeup, and the audience was challenged to guess who was who. Although the gimmick has faded in the half century since release, the tight, well-directed mystery at the film's core survives.An aristocratic writer named Adrian Messenger gives a typed list of 10 names to his friend, George C. Scott, and, without disclosing why, asks him to investigate whether or not these 10 men are still living at the addresses written beside their names. When Messenger soon perishes in a mysterious plane crash, Scott pursues the investigation and discovers that six of the men on the list have already died accidentally. The film follows Scott as he seeks to determine the connection between the men on the list, their suspicious deaths, and the motive for the apparent serial murders.Well written by Anthony Veiller from a story by Philip MacDonald, the engrossing film treads familiar Agatha Christie territory, but is solid entertainment in its own right. While not among John Huston's most famous films, "The List of Adrian Messenger" is a well directed work, enhanced by an appropriately eerie score by Jerry Goldsmith. Wisely the film was lensed in black and white by Joe MacDonald, which makes the often heavy, and some times obvious, makeup by Bud Westmore more convincing. The five now-legendary stars under the false noses, hair pieces, and rubber faces are Tony Curtis, Kirk Douglas, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, and Frank Sinatra; a couple are easy to identify behind the make-up, while others more difficult. George C. Scott, however, is the film's star and central character, and he is ably supported by the elegant Dana Wynter, as well as Clive Brook, Gladys Cooper, and Herbert Marshall.Marketing ploys come and go; some fail, others succeed. While "The List of Adrian Messenger" is a quality film that could stand on its own merits, the producers at the time felt the movie needed a boost to stand out at the box-office. Although still fun, the masquerade of five stars is little more than a curiosity and distraction today; however, the underlying mystery is sharp, well crafted, vastly entertaining, and more enduring than the film's advertising campaign.

It's almost a pity that The List of Adrian Messenger is a good film. Otherwise you could have fun with the title and call it The Mess of Adrian's List. In fact, an episode of Get Smart does this (to be exact, the episode is called The Mess of Adrian Listenger). But under the direction of the legendary John Huston, this old style English whodunit is a fun murder mystery. With the excellent George C. Scott in the lead speaking with a British accent.A writer named Adrian Messenger believes a series of apparently unrelated accidental deaths are linked murders. He asks his friend, a recently retired member from MI5, to help clear up the mystery.Spoilers ahead: The real fun of The List of Adrian Messenger and what makes this film still unique is that then famous movie stars play cameos in disguise. Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis and Robert Mitchum all appear in heavy makeup. Robert Mitchum is the most recognizable and the only one who uses his own voice. He certainly gives the best performance of the star cameo's (he has two scenes), but he does not give a typical Mitchum performance. He is the only one we can be sure of, because there have been claims that some of these stars just appeared in the revealing epilogue and that their scenes in the film were done by stand ins.The other actor we can also be sure of is Kirk Douglass who takes on different disguises. Douglass makes himself recognizable early in the film when he changes masks in the restroom of an airport. But his part is not a cameo, it is the second male lead and in the last act he appears without a disguise. The fact that Kirk Douglass is so recognizable does not make it much of a whodunit, but it doesn't really matter. It's still a fun guessing game why he is doing all the killings. The director John Huston himself makes a cameo at the end, although not in disguise.

Anthony Gethryn is enjoying a weekend in the country with an old flame, Lady Jocelyn, and her cousin Adrian Messenger. Then, after a fox hunt, Anthony is pulled aside by Adrian, and Adrian gives him a list of names. He tells Anthony to look into their names, but doesn't give any reason why. Adrian then leaves for America, but en route his airplane explodes, and he dies. Anthony begins to look into the names, before realizing that most of them are dead.He then meets with a man who tells him Adrian's last words. Suddenly, he begins to realize that someone wanted him dead, and everyone on his list as well. Along with Jocelyn and a man named Raoul, Anthony slowly begins to realize that a massive conspiracy is underway, but it is too late?In order to make a good thriller, one must have three components. A plot that contains an amount of mystery, a lead with whom you can cheer for, and a feeling of palpable dread. The List of Adrian Messenger has none of the above. Does that make it a bad movie? No, but it certainly doesn't make it a good thriller. It appears to be Huston just sitting back and resting. Indeed, when I read the plot summary, I thought the premise was very good indeed. It sounded exactly like the stuff good thrillers were made of.Of course, it wasn't. Huston wasn't nearly involved enough to give the film any edge whatsoever. The entire affair felt as if Huston was just going through the motions. Despite the outstanding cast, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Frank Sinatra, Dana Wynter, and George C. Scott, only Scott, Wynter and Douglas are on screen for any measure of time. In fact, most of the film rests on the shoulders of Scott.George C. Scott is an outstanding actor, but here, despite the initial shock of "it's George C. Scott with a mustache!" he doesn't really do much with the character. The British accent is admirable, but even it soon wears thin (along with the mustache), and in fact his character is surprisingly dull. It doesn't help that he is given some really bad lines ("This is not the work of many men, but one man who is many men!"), but a veteran actor like Scott should have been able to flush out his performance.Dana Wynter was perfectly suited to be furniture, and her performance is wooden as a board, but not because of her. It isn't fault that her character is perfectly useless. There is a connection between her and Scott's character mentioned, but it is dropped after a few lines. Jacques Roux, who plays Scott's sidekick also suffers from having nothing to do. The juiciest part of the film goes to Kirk Douglas, as the man who is many men, and he is good. The thing is, he isn't given enough time to show his evilness, and the film's lightweight tone doesn't help him either.The celebrity cameos never elevate above gimmick, and the film doesn't showcase the cameos enough for the audience members to guess who is who. The script had promise, but under Huston's monotonous direction, the plot never really excites. In fact the film's tone is so light, one could mistake it for a satire, similar in tone to Beat the Devil. The first half really makes this seem as if it was actually what Huston wanted. However, when the second half begin, it is made clear that this is not a comedy, much to the film's detriment.The makeup used to hide the celebrities is actually not half bad, but it makes the skin of the mask look very old, and plastic like. Still, it is convincing enough to hide many celebrities, and it makes for an interesting enough ending. The film's sets are really basic, and even the climax is kind of boring. The plane crash scene looks intensely amateurish, especially when compared to a similar scene in Hitchcock's Foreign Correspondent in 1940.The cinematography is one note, and never becomes that interesting. The fox hunting scenes are the best shot scenes of the film, but the sport itself is rather confusing to me. Which brings me to the direction by Huston. Lax doesn't describe it. Anyone could have shot this film, and none of Huston's usual trademarks can be seen. It is a very boring exercise, only because no one seemed interested in the film, except Kirk Douglas. And even Douglas wasn't allowed to do much because Huston wasn't doing much.In short, what could have been a great thriller falls short of it's target. It still manages to entertain, but not nearly as much as it could have.The List of Adrian Messenger, 1963, Starring: George C. Scott, Kirk Douglas and Dana Wynter, Directed by John Huston, 6/10 (C-)(This is part of an ongoing project to watch and review every John Huston movie. You can read this and other reviews at http://www.everyjohnhustonmovie.blogspot.ca/)

For those who live in the UK,or Europe and for those who have region free DVD players in Canada and the US,this title has been released on DVD and can be purchase from several online shops in the UK. My favourite,Sendit.com. They do not overcharge on postage and they have just about every DVD that is available in the UK for sale. The story line of this film,George C Scott,retired MI-5 agent is requested by Adrian Messenger to check into the wherebouts of a groups of individuals,related to a wealthy family. Are these individuals still alive,after this request,Adrian Messenger boards an airplane for Montreal,the plane is blown up,in order to eliminate Adrain,and now the mystery begins. Several well known male actors appear in cameo roles. kirk Douglas,Dana Wynter and George C Scott are the main actors.Highly recommended.