Archive for July, 2012

The Memos Part XI: ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’ opens in Los Angeles running only 88 minutes; Welles completes ‘It’s All True’ in Brazil

Monday, July 23rd, 2012

Ambersons lobby card 6By LAWRENCE FRENCH

'The Magnificent Ambersons' opens in Los Angeles - July 7, 1942

Even in it's truncated version, THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS received many excellent reviews and eventually was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress (Agnes Moorehead); Best Cinematography (Stanley Cortez); and Best Art Decoration. Certainly not an easy task for a film that was released in July of the awards year. And despite a widely perceived notion that the film was dumped without fanfare by RKO, this was not entirely the case. At least initially, RKO gave AMBERSONS an impressive campaign, with full page ads appearing in many national publications, such as LIFE and LOOK. In fact, according to Joseph McBride, AMBERSONS box-office returns for many major cities boded very well for the films prospects. "It was holding up beyond expectations in LA, doing sensationally in San Francisco, nice in New York and Baltimore, good in Denver and Omaha, and not bad in Boston and Philly." (as reported in 1942 by Variety).
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The Memos Part X: George Schaefer resigns as RKO president; urges studio to save extra negative and postive cuts made to Orson Welles’ ‘The Magnificent Ambersons’

Thursday, July 5th, 2012
George Schaeffer and Orson Welles

George Schaeffer and Orson Welles

By LAWRENCE FRENCH

As George Schaefer's position as head of RKO (as well as the Mercury's chief supporter) became extremely precarious, Herbert Drake, the press representative for Mercury productions, sent Welles this plan to help with his public relations efforts regarding IT'S ALL TRUE and the increasingly hostile RKO regime, which would soon be headed by RKO vice-president Charles Koerner.

HERBERT  DRAKE TO ORSON WELLES (excerpt):
June 1, 1942

You have got to come home right away - hugely - and not sneak in on a plane. You must return with trumpets and banners because the campaign really needs a good hot fillip of the old Welles personality. I have been planting pretty solid stuff locally and nationally and I think we have made par for the course.

There have been two other Welles pictures to keep alive, and the RKO anti-Welles battle to fight. It has never been so virulent. The juggling act done by your press office here has been nothing short of extraordinary.
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