The least successful of all the gimmicks that Hollywood came up with to compete with TV in the 1950s? That would be Smell-O-Vision, a process in which theater seats were equipped with small pipes that released appropriate scents (like flowers, grapes or pipe smoke) timed to coincide with particular scenes in a movie. As the ads said, “First they moved (1895)! Then they talked (1927)! Now they smell!”
Not surprisingly, there was only one feature film released in this process: “Scent of Mystery.’’ Reviews from 1960 suggest the system didn’t work very well. Some audience members weren’t able to detect the scents at all, while others complained the scents were released prematurely or griped about a hissing sound preceding their release.
Producer Mike Todd Jr. and his financial partner and stepmother, Elizabeth Taylor, licensed their flop to Cinemiracle, which distributed and exhibited ultrawide films in a process similar to Cinerama. This outfit released “Scent of Mystery’’ in a deodorized version titled “Holiday in Spain,’’ which converted the film’s original 70mm negative into three separate 35mm prints that were projected side by side in theaters operated by both Cinemiracle and Cinerama.
A heavily edited version of the film had limited TV exposure in the 1980s under its original title, “Scent of Mystery,’’ with convenience stores distributing scratch-and-sniff cards similar to those used for the 1981 John Waters film “Polyester.’’ All that survives of either version (they ended up being owned by Cinerama) are a severely damaged and faded print, and a negative, which have been miraculously restored in vivid color and high definition for arguably the year’s most surprising video debut — a limited edition is just out on Blu-ray via the new Redwind label (sold exclusively through screenarchives.com).
Directed by the great cinematographer Jack Cardiff — Oscar-nominated for his other 1960 helming effort, “Sons & Lovers’’ — “Holiday in Spain” is part travelogue and part adventure, centering on the efforts of an English tourist (a young Denholm Elliott, best remembered in this country for “Raiders of the Lost Ark’’) to find a missing woman (a wordless cameo by Taylor). It’s a fun movie co-starring Peter Lorre as a cab driver, with appearances by Paul Lukas and Leo McKern as bad guys. The release includes deleted scenes from “Scent of Mystery,’’ a featurette on the restoration and a reproduction of the original theatrical program.
“Holiday in Spain’’ is presented in Smilebox — which simulates the deeply curved screen of Cinemiracle and Cinerama — as are a pair of two new-to-video Cinerama travelogues: “Seven Wonders of the World’’ (1956) and “Search for Paradise’’ (1957). Like “Holiday in Spain,’’ they were painstakingly restored from long-neglected film elements by Cinerama expert David Strohmaier, who was also responsible for four previous titles in the archaic process released by the same label, Flicker Alley.
Both feature as on-screen narrator the legendary newsman Lowell Thomas, who could casually drop the name of Lawrence of Arabia, whom Thomas made famous with a 1919 documentary. “Seven Wonders’’ offers sweepingly spectacular mid-century aerial views of a live East African volcano, Rio de Janiero, the Pyramids and the Parthenon, and the camera even swoops under the bridges on New York City’s East River.
“Search for Paradise’’ follows Thomas in “the footsteps of Marco Polo,’’ taking viewers to the Himalayas, Japan and Central Asia. Both sets — combo packs with a Blu-ray disc and two DVDs — are loaded with special features, both archival and new, like an amazing French featurette on a 3,000-seat inflatable Cinerama theater that toured throughout Europe and Africa.
Especially entertaining is “In the Picture,’’ a 30-minute tongue-in-cheek Los Angeles travelogue that was shot using an original Cinerama camera by Strohmaier to celebrate the format’s 60th anniversary in 2012. He’s already completed restoration on three other Cinerama titles (“Russian Holiday,’’ “The Golden Head’’ and “The Best of Cinerama’’) that could appear on video in the future.
Perhaps contemporary filmmakers who have embraced shooting in 70mm and IMAX, like Christopher Nolan, will be interested in reviving this breathtaking format as well — though there are only three theaters in the world left with equipment to show these films.