Charles H. Weiss, a public relations executive. The film was described as a "kaleidoscope of comedy, drama and travelogue". The process had been developed over two years by Rhodia, Inc., a subsidiary of Rhône-Poulenc. In October 1959, it was reported that Walter Reade Jr. was rushing to release The China Wall, an Italian-made travelogue through China at the Palace Theatre in New York City. The system to be used for the film was different to that of Smell-O-Vision as it sent scents through the air-conditioning system of a theater. The particular technique was invented by Charles Weiss, who stated in a 1959 appearance on CBS's television programme To Tell the Truth:I ... have invented a process to make movies smell. I call the process AromaRama. After more than two and a half years of work, our picture Behind the Great Wall will open December 2 at the Mayfair Theater in New York. In addition to seeing the action and hearing the dialogue, our audiences will be able to smell the scenes. More than 100 different aromas will be injected into the theater during the film. Among these are the odors of grass, earth, exploding firecrackers, a river, incense, burning torches, horses, restaurants, the scent of a trapped tiger and many more. We believe, with Rudyard Kipling, that smells are surer than sounds or sights to make the heartstrings crack. The film was eventually released as Behind the Great Wall on December 9, 1959 at the (recently renamed) DeMille Theatre in New York, just a month ahead of Scent of Mystery, and the competition between the two films was called "the battle of the smellies" by Variety. The film was directed by Carlo Lizzani with the "AromaRama" process conceived and directed by Charles Weiss. The film was accompanied by a range of 72 smells that included incense, smoke, burning pitch, oranges, spices and a barnyard of geese. Besides the slightly earlier release date, the name AromaRama itself made fun of Todd Sr.'s Cinerama process, and the choice of film was also deliberate, as travelogues were one of Cinerama's specialties. An alternate explanation of the provenance of the word "AromaRama" was provided by Weiss: "Screenwriter Henry Myers (Destry Rides Again) came up with the name "AromaRama" because the process was to the sense of smell what Cinerama was to the sense of sight. AromaRama echoed Cinerama rather than made fun of it.