The List of Adrian Messenger

1963
Approved
1h 38m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

5.9K

YOUR RATING

Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster in The List of Adrian Messenger (1963)

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.

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Mystery Thriller

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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

5.9K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

Trivia
In 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'.

Goofs
When 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 credits
The characters played by Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra and Tony Curtis in the film are never identified by name.

Connections
Featured in The 54th Annual Academy Awards (1982)

Soundtracks
A Wand'ring Minstrel, I
from the operetta "The Mikado"
Music by Arthur Sullivan
Played by the orchestra as Tony Curtis removes his makeup

User reviews79

Review

Featured review

10/10

A gem

Because of that gimmick with Curtis, Mitchum, Sinatra and Lancaster people seem to regard this film as a sort of spot-the-star contest. But it is much more than that. Excellent acting (especially Douglas in what must be his best role since Paths of Glory), superb music (Jerry Goldsmith) and brilliant direction of John Huston more than make up for occasional lapses in the story.

The story is quite simple, but the less said the better. The 'list' in question is a list of 10 names of people from all over the UK, who seem to have nothing in common except...well just see the movie.

And spotting the stars is quite fun too.