MR. ARKADIN - dubbing

[philly]

I apologise if this has already been mentioned here. On the criterion dvd box set of MR. ARKADIN a question is raised as to whether Orson Welles or Louis Dolivet had Paola Mori's voice dubbed by English actress Billie Whitelaw. I have found the answer in BW's autobiography WHO HE ?
quote:-
Another immortal among directors,whom i met briefly when i was hardly twenty,was Orson Welles.He had made a film called Confidential Report,and now needed somebody,anybody,to dub the voice of his Italian wife Paola Mori, whose voice he did'nt think had come through clearly enough(We had the same agent so Orson Welles got me.)
I had never been abroad in my life, and had to get a passport in a rush before getting myself to Paris.
Mr Welles - no "Orson" for me - and i worked together for a week.I was of course very much in awe of the the maker of Citizen Kane.When we went into a bar near the studio at St Cloud where we worked, what he seemed to want , curiously enough just like Hitchcock, was a quiet and ready listener.
He started to talk to me in some detail about the problem's he'd had with Rita Hayworth.To me,an absolute beginner,Rita Hayworth was a goddess from another planet,or rather from the Elite Cinema, Duckworth Lane in Bradford.Now here was this man who had actually been married to her.I thought i was dreaming,sitting there sipping my drink and nodding sagely.I was actually in a state of shock: this great man was going on and onabout his troubles - with Rita Hayworth!

[ToddBaesen]

Philly:

Welcome to the board. I just saw your post about Billie Whitelaw dubbing Mrs. Welles in MR. ARKADIN. There's certainly no need to apologize, as this is a much appreciated tidbit from Billie Whitelaw, who I didn't even realize had written an autobiography!

So many thanks.