The Magnificent Ambersons was Welles' follow-up to Citizen Kane, and instead of being a triumphant return to the screen, helped comprise a distastrous turn in his fortunes. Along with the failure of It's All True, Welles would never regain the exalted status he had previous inhabited. The difficult nature of Ambersons, particularly for audiences in the early days of World War II, made Ambersons an unwise choice for Welles to produce, at least in a box office sense, and for the bosses at RKO, who were hoping for some kind of return on their unprecedented investment in the "boy wonder," it was the final straw. Following two less than stellar previews, the film was hacked up and new scenes replaced the original ending. The film was left to die by RKO, and Welles was finished at the studio in any major capacity. No other Welles-made film in Hollywood would remain unaltered by studio hands in his lifetime.

WRITINGS

"Orson Welles and the Un-Making of The Magnificent Ambersons: A Brief History"

 

VIDEO

Availablity

 

PUBLICITY STILLS

George and Fanny

Eugene and Fanny

George, Fanny and Isabel

The house in Indianapolis that Booth Tarkington based the Amberson's mansion upon. It no longer stands today. Photo sent by Lee Gordon.