MovieChat Forums > The List of Adrian Messenger (1963) Discussion > If you spotted the star you were actuall...

If you spotted the star you were actually fooled


Allmovie Guide:

only Douglas and Mitchum did any real acting under their mounds of collodion and crepe hair; the others showed up only to shoot their unmasking scenes (at a salary of $75,000 each!) and were "doubled" in the film itself.
If you spotted the star you were actually fooled.

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That's a lot of coin for a reveal! Do you know if the audio was performed by the "stars" also? Specifically the Gypsy?

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According to interviews with character actor Jan Merlin, it was Merlin who portrayed the disguised killer in the majority of scenes, not Douglas. Aside from the undisguised George Brougham, the only other role Douglas played was Mr. Pythian, the "mousey little man" in Messenger's flat.

Strictly speaking, Douglas also briefly portrayed the vicar, Reverend Atlee, in the airport toilet during the first "reveal" (note that he looks nothing like the "Atlee" seen earlier near Gleneyre); it's Pythian he turns into (again, Douglas) as he exits the airport. It's also the Pythian make-up that Douglas doffs during the unmasking epilogue.

Based on scores of viewings, here is my detective work at who played which disguised role. Suggestions and additions are welcome:

Man in overcoat (pre-title scene): Jan Merlin
Reverend Atlee: Jan Merlin [voice: Kirk Douglas]
Reverend Atlee (airport reveal only): Kirk Douglas
Mr. Pythian: Kirk Douglas
Jim/Joe Slattery: Robert Mitchum
Organ grinder: unknown (could this actually be Tony Curtis?)
Man in tavern: Jan Merlin
Gypsy: Dave Willock (per IMDB credit) [voice: Paul Frees]
Woman protester at hunt: unknown (Jan Merlin again?) [voice: unknown]
Man at hunt: Jan Merlin
Man at hunt (final shot only): Kirk Douglas

Jan Merlin turned his unusual experience working on this production into a novel, "Shooting Montezuma," available from Amazon and other retailers.

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This whole movie is boring, unsatisfying and makes litle sense, not to mention the schlocky gimmick of the reveal (and since a real woman obviously voiced Lancaster's character, that was a sham too). The makeup was so badly and grotesquely done, it was easy to spot that those were 'supposedly' the cameos, but the revelation that the stars did not do any of the real filming makes the whole enterprise less than worthless.

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I wonder, is the character Doug Cowan in the book supposed to be Kirk Douglas.

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JUST watched the film on YouTube, and I'm afraid I must disagree with some of what NwsHound says: the final Kirk Douglas unmasking is NOT "Pythian". Instead it is clearly what he describes as "man in overcoat - pre-title sequence". And it very well may be, although I have no way of knowing for certain, that Kirk Douglas may have played that role in disguise. It would have been convenient to film it that way since he had to be filmed taking that mask off anyway!

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I had the distinct feeling that the "disguised" actors were actually other actors, made up to seem as if they were made up, as it were.

I think the whole conceit in the movie is a sort of running sub-plot to enhance the mysterious quality of the killer. If this had not been done, it would have seemed just like another run of the mill mystery. But the elaboration of the survivors, each of whom wanted to remain anonymous in order to avoid detection by the killer, made the disguise theme very effective.

It's become a cult classic. It isn't great art. It isn't intended to be. I'm not sure that "unmasking" the actors at the end added much to the effect. If it hadn't been done, it might have increased the frustration of the mystery, and hence made it more intriguing. "Who WAS that guy, anyway???"

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Good point. I don't know about the others but that is definitely Mitchum in the wheelchair. I think Merlin is full of it and I have never seen corroborating evidence from others who worked on the film that Merlin did all these parts. I suspect that he merely worked as a standin/stuntman for some shots and he has inflated this for his book.

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I believe that is Frank Sinatra as the gypsy, with Paul Frees' voice. And Tony Curtis, too. Some of Kirk Douglas's scenes may have been a stand-in because we weren't supposed to recognize him yet. (Remember Tony Perkins' stand-in for Psycho?) What they were thinking with Burt Lancaster, logic fails me. He is about a foot too tall, and I don't think he looked one bit like the actress he was playing. (Who was very good.)

"We have a powerful enemy somewhere within our planetary system." -Commando Cody

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I believe that is Frank Sinatra as the gypsy, with Paul Frees' voice. And Tony Curtis, too. Some of Kirk Douglas's scenes may have been a stand-in because we weren't supposed to recognize him yet. (Remember Tony Perkins' stand-in for Psycho?) What they were thinking with Burt Lancaster, logic fails me. He is about a foot too tall, and I don't think he looked one bit like the actress he was playing. (Who was very good.)

"We have a powerful enemy somewhere within our planetary system." -Commando Cody

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Good point. I don't know about the others but that is definitely Mitchum in the wheelchair. I think Merlin is full of it and I have never seen corroborating evidence from others who worked on the film that Merlin did all these parts. I suspect that he merely worked as a standin/stuntman for some shots and he has inflated this for his book.


I guess we'll never know for sure but they most definitely weren't all played by Jan Merlin (and I agree that it is possible that he inflated the story for his book and mostly worked as a stand-in/double).
I think most of Douglas' scenes were actually Douglas, which was quite easy to spot when he wasn't wearing contact lenses, so he at least played the Reverend during at the Airport toilet, Mr. Pythian and the Man at the Hunt (not just in the final shot). And the man in the wheelchair was definitely Mitchum. Also his height and physique - especially when he is standing up - was nothing like the other characters, so it couldn't possibly be the same person who possibly was the man in the overcoat or the gypsy.
I don't know about Curtis, Sinatra and Lancaster, I didn't guess them but can't tell whether it because it wasn't actually them or because of the heavy make-up (especially if contact lenses, false teeth and prosthetics were used).

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