Australian writer-producer Tammy Burnstock has been fascinated by the world’s first and only “Smell-o-Vision” feature ever since she interviewed its director/cinematographer Jack Cardiff in 1986.
Now Burnstock is part of the team that aims to screen a restored version of Scent of Mystery, retitled Holiday in Spain, to cinema audiences around the world including Australia.
Released in 1960, the film starred Denholm Elliott as a mystery novelist who discovers a plan to murder an American heiress (Beverly Bentley) while on vacation in Spain. He enlists the help of a local taxi driver (Peter Lorre) to try to thwart the crime. The cast included Leo McKern, Diana Dors and Paul Lukas.
Cardiff and producer Mike Todd Jr. updated a system invented by a Swiss man, Dr. Hans Laube, which piped artificial scents through a network of tubes to the back of each seat in a theatre.
Laube first demonstrated his “Scentovision” invention when he produced a 35-minute film Mein Traum, or My Dream, which screened at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York.
Scent of Mystery premiered in January 1960 in New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles in cinemas that had been specially fitted for Smell-O-Vision.
But it was the film that stunk, bedevilled by lousy acting and a budget that was so tight that some scenes were accidentally filmed out of focus and others were shot using a malfunctioning camera.
The New York Times' Bosley Crowther sniffed, “When this reviewer saw (and smelled) the picture … the Smell-o-Vision squirters weren't at full blast or his nasal apparatus was on the fritz.”
Later reissued in Cinerama—without the aroma gimmick—under the title Holiday in Spain, it was similarly on the nose.
The 35mm film was restored and remastered by Hollywood Cinerama expert David Strohmaier, who is a key member of the team that is planning the cinema release.
Also involved are the distributor, Redwind Productions, Saskia Wilson-Brown, founder of The Institute for Art and Olfaction in Los Angles, Neal Harris of Scentevents and Antonio Gardoni of independent perfumer Bogue, who is providing the Scent of Mystery fragrance.
The first screenings are set for Bradford, England, on October 16 as part of a Widescreen Weekend and later that month in Denmark.
“The event will be theatrical and participatory with atmospheric scents delivered via electric fans and hand held atomisers in the audience for 14 spot and plot scents,” Burnstock tells IF.
“Two featured scented actors and scented souvenir fans will also be part of our propagation system. We are hoping to provide an unusual and memorable experience, to demonstrate the power of scented storytelling and to pave the way for more Smell-o-Vision cinema events.
“This is a labour of love. Everything is being done on ‘the smell of an oily rag.’ We are all working on the project because we are passionate about cinema and/or smell. We are hoping to raise funds for expenses only via crowdfunding.
“The film itself is not a wonderful piece of cinema I have to admit. However it is an amazing piece of history both for scent and Cinerama reasons. “
“We are offering contemporary audiences a new dimension in cinematic experience. If it works we are aiming for Hollywood 2016 and beyond.
"There are no Australian screenings confirmed so far but I have had some nibbles and just need to prove it can be done and done well.”
View the trailer and crowdfunding site: http://igg.me/at/scentofmystery/x/1609038