Orson Welles’ last Hollywood studio film and one of his best known acting performances each earned a spot on The Guardian’s recent list of the 10 best film noir movies ever made. “Touch of Evil,” directed by Welles for Universal Studios in 1958, and Director Carol Reed’s “The Third Man,” co-starring Welles as the corrupt […]
To get Orson Welles fans in the mood this holiday season, Wellesnet is offering a collection of vintage Christmas radio shows featuring Welles and his Mercury Theatre players. For starters, there are two versions of “A Christmas Carol” as heard on the Campbell Playhouse in 1938 and 1939. Next up is Lady Esther’s “Orson Welles […]
UPDATED ON DEC. 5th: Upon the advice of his doctor, Mr. Anderson will not be taking part in the performance. ______ Mercury Theatre actor Arthur Anderson, 91, will star in a Quicksilver Radio Theater live production on December 6 at St. Rita’s Roman Catholic Church in Meiers Corners, New York. Anderson will recreate his role […]
The seemingly impending completion of Orson Welles’ unfinished “The Other Side of the Wind” is a familiar story to fans. Sketchy reports surface online that a deal has been reached, or Welles’ confidantes hint its world premiere is just around the corner. Hopes are raised, then dashed. Director Peter Bogdanonich, who co-starred in the film […]
AboutFACE Ireland will take Dublin theatergoers back 75 years to the Golden Age of Radio with a fictionalized account of the making of Orson Welles’ 1938 radio production of A Christmas Carol. Scripter Paul Nugent stars as Welles with Cillian O’Donnachadha as Joseph Cotten. Nugent’s play will have its world premiere in Dublin on Dec. […]
Editor’s note: Orson Welles and Cole Porter’s “Around The World” was recently staged as a benefit in London’s Sadler’s Wells. It will come to New York City’s Mint Theater on December 6-12. By SETH ALEXANDER THÉVOZ LONDON – In later years, Orson Welles observed that his short-lived musical adaptation of Jules Verne’s Around the World […]
Acclaimed Spanish actress Amparo Rivelles died on November 7 in her native Madrid. She was 88. Rivelles portrayed Baroness Nagel in the Spanish version of Orson Welles’ 1955 film “Mr. Arkadin.” In other versions of the movie, the role of Baroness Nagel was played by Suzanne Flon. She also appeared as herself in “Orson Welles […]
By MIKE TEAL “Othello” restoration producer Michael Dawson concludes his interview with Wellesnet with a discussion of the plans for a celebration in Woodstock, Illinois, for the 2015 centennial of Orson Welles’s birth, and also discusses his documentary “Citizen Welles.” What is Woodstock Celebrates? Woodstock Celebrates is a nonprofit organization formed to make better known […]
Editor’s note: A Kickstarter campaign has been launched by the non-oprofit Woodstock Celebrates Inc. for a May 16-17, 2014 event celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Todd Theatre Festival. You can make donations and learn more at their Kickstarter page. By WOODSTOCK CELEBRATES INC. Orson Welles often stated that he owed his creative spirit to […]
The 75th anniversary of “The War of the Worlds” has been marked this week with stage performances and events in more than a dozen states. (There are productions on Halloween night in Massachusetts, Virginia and West Virginia). So, it seems fitting that one of the last events will take place in Orson Welles’ birthplace of […]
Screen Archives Entertainment is now accepting pre-orders for the Twilight Time release of “Jane Eyre” on Blu-ray. Priced at $29.95, the Blu-ray, which stars Joan Fontaine and Orson Welles, has an anticipated release date of November 12. Production is limited to 3,000 copies. It is region free, presented in 1080p high definition, and has a […]
Orson Welles and Cole Porter’s “Around The World,” now being staged as a benefit in London’s Sadler’s Wells, will come to New York City’s Mint Theater in December The performances, running Deceember 6-12, are fundraising events for Britain’s The Lost Musicals Charitable Trust. This production marks the first time “Around the World” will be seen […]
SiriusXM listeners will hear “The War of the Worlds,” the classic radio drama performed by Orson Welles that caused panic and convinced listeners 75 years ago that Martians had landed in Grovers Mill, NJ, and the United States was being attacked. “The War of the Worlds” will air on Wednesday, October 30, at 8 p.m. […]
By RAY KELLY On Tuesday, October 29, PBS’ Emmy Award winning history series “American Experience” will turn back the clock 75 years and examine Orson Welles’ infamous “The War of the Worlds” broadcast. Director-producer Cathleen O’Connell has not only made use of interviews with historians; Welles’ eldest daughter, Chris Welles Feder; and director and Welles […]
By MATTHEW ASPREY GEAR “But this way ain’t out, mister! That way!” – Jakob Zouk Orson Welles’ Mr Arkadin (1955) is an international narrative set mostly in Western Europe but also in Mexico City, Acapulco, and Tangiers. Many of the locations were convincingly faked. Welles shot most of Arkadin in Spain, on the French Riviera, […]
Updated on Oct. 14, 2013: The Guardian weighed in on the screening. “While it is a work print, not a finished film, ‘Too Much Johnson’ offers breathlessly enjoyable viewing. Joseph Cotten makes a tremendous movie debut as the play’s philandering lead, displaying unimagined guts and agility in a series of tumbles and leaps across Manhattan […]
Editor’s note: In marking the 75th anniversary of “The War of the Worlds” broadcast, Wellesnet offers a transcript of the October 30, 1938 broadcast as heard on the Columbia Broadcasting System. It was performed by Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air from a script by Howard Koch and based on the novel […]
Launched in 1974 and running for a decade on NBC, “The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts” gathered some legendary show biz names together to salute and snipe at each other. StarVista/Time Life has released a dozen of these roasts in a new six-DVD collection, which carries a suggested list price of $59.99. Martin was the genial […]
The Regent Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts, will commemorate the 75th anniversary of “The War of the Worlds” on October 31 with a live theater event recreating Orson Welles famous radio play. The event will raise funds for “The Orson Welles Complex,” a new documentary produced and directed by Garen Daly about the legendary Cambridge art […]
By RAY KELLY Chris Welles Feder, the eldest daughter of Orson Welles, is sharing her thoughts on her father’s “The War of the Worlds” radio broadcast as the media notes the 75th anniversary on October 30. Feder has been interviewed for public television, syndicated newspaper and national magazine retrospectives. And she has been kind enough […]
