By LAWRENCE FRENCH
Nearly a month after the single bad preview of THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS in Pomona, George Schaefer decided to take the drastic step of shooting a new ending scene for the film. Schaefer was also worried about the cost for the Urca club scene Welles wanted to use as the grand finale for IT’S ALL TRUE.
GEORGE SCHAEFER TO ORSON WELLES:
April 9, 1942
DEAR ORSON:
HAVE BEEN TRYING FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS REACH YOU ON PHONE BUT UNSUCCESSFUL TO GET THROUGH CONNECTION. IMPORTANT I TALK WITH YOU WITH REFERENCE TO RE-TAKES ON AMBERSONS AND CERTAIN ASPECTS WITH REFERENCE TO PROPOSED BUDGET AND EXPENSES IN THE URCA CLUB SEQUENCE. LEAVING FOR NEW YORK FRIDAY AND MUST TALK WITH YOU BEFORE I LEAVE AS WE MUST CLEAR UP AMBERSONS SITUATION BEFORE I LEAVE.
REGARDS,
GEORGE SCHAEFER
*
April 14 was Pan American Day and Welles gave a radio broadcast from Brazil to the U.S. via short wave radio. Meanwhile, assistant director Freddie Fleck was scheduled to shoot the new ending scenes for AMBERSONS beginning on April 17, and Welles’ Mercury colleagues cabled him with the bad news, since Welles had neither authorized nor had any input into the writing of the new scenes.
JACK MOSS and JOSEPH COTTEN TO ORSON WELLES (Excerpt):
April 14, 1942
DEAR ORSON:
SCHAEFER ORDERED THREE AMBERSON SCENES RETAKEN. SAYS HE IS PHONING YOU FOR APPROVAL. SHOOTING SCHEDULED TO START FRIDAY. NO FURTHER WORD FROM SCHAEFER AND NOT HEARING DIRECTLY FROM YOU WE ARE PLENTY WORRIED. IF YOU HAVE NOT TALKED TO SCHAEFER YOU SHOULD WITH US, SO WE COULD DISCUSS SITUATION…
*
George Schaefer was not only making changes to AMBERSONS, but was becoming worried that a documentary film on South America would be an even more difficult movie to sell than THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS.
GEORGE SCHAEFER TO ORSON WELLES:
April 14, 1942
DEAR ORSON:
SURE YOU CAN APPRECIATE MY WORRY AND CONCERN WHEN I HEAR COMMITMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO AUGMENT SHOW AND PRACTICALLY RECONSTRUCT URCA CASINO AT COST OF $25,000. AT THAT RATE WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER AMBERSONS SITUATION ON OUR HANDS. THIS LATTER PICTURE, AS YOU KNOW COST WELL OVER $1 MILLION.
IT IS VERY PAINFUL TO SEND THIS CABLE BECAUSE I KNOW WHAT A STICKLER YOU ARE FOR QUALITY, BUT ON OTHER HAND I AM RAPIDLY COMING TO CONCLUSION YOU HAVE NO REALIZATION OF MONEY YOU SPEND AND HOW DIFFICULT IT IS TO RECOUP COSTS.
REGARDS,
GEORGE SCHAEFER
*
To calm Schaefer’s fears, Welles prophetically cabled him that he must be allowed to finish IT’S ALL TRUE in his own way or the picture would become a total loss, which is exactly what happened. Remarkably, Welles was not willing to compromise one iota, as on the same day he cabled Schaefer about IT’S ALL TRUE, he also cabled Jack Moss telling him he could not sanction any re-takes on AMBERSONS, even though he was worried that he might be in danger of being recalled or suspended.
ORSON WELLES TO GEORGE SCHAEFER (excerpt):
April 15, 1942
PRICES FOR THIS (URCA SET) WERE QUOTED TO HOLLYWOOD BEFORE I HAD A CHANCE TO CUT THEM DOWN. $25,000 IS MORE THAN I INTEND TO SPEND. HOWEVER THAT MONEY BUYS THE BASIS FOR CARNIVAL PRODUCTION. IT WOULD COST $150,000 HOLLYWOOD AND ANY STUDIO WOULD BE HAPPY TO PAY FOR IT WHEN THEY SAW WHAT THEY WERE GETTING.
ON AMBERSONS I HAD ILLNESS AND A CRIMINALLY SLOW CAMERAMAN. HERE OUR MONEY COSTS ARE ACTUALLY NOT HIGH EVEN DURING SHOOTING OF THIS SEQUENCE.
WHEN I FINISH THIS PICTURE YOU WILL SEE WHAT I MEAN. MUST HOWEVER BE ALLOWED TO FINISH IT AS I WISH TO. I HAVE ADDED NOTHING TO ORIGINAL PROJECT.
OUR PROBLEMS HERE HAVE BEEN TREMENDOUS BUT UNLESS I CAN FINISH FILM AS IT MUST BE FINISHED FOR ENTERTAINMENT VALUE THE ENTIRE EXPENDITURE OF TIME AND MONEY AND EFFORT WILL BE A TOTAL LOSS.
MUCH LOVE,
ORSON WELLES
*
ORSON WELLES TO JACK MOSS:
April 15, 1942
HAVE CALL IN FOR YOU. MEANTIME PLEASE WIRE FULL DETAILS LEGALITY OF STUDIO RETAKES AND STUDIO CUTS. MY POSITION IS I CANNOT ALLOW RETAKES. WHAT CAN SCHAEFER DO ABOUT IT? IS CONNECTION COORDINATOR OFFICE WITH THIS PICTURE STRONG ENOUGH TO KEEP ME FROM BEING RECALLED OR SUSPENDED?
WILL TALK TO SCHAEFER RIGHT AFTER I TALK TO YOU ABOUT SITUATION HERE…
REALLY DESPERATE…
ORSON
*
Welles cable to Schaefer did little to sooth his fears about IT’S ALL TRUE, which were only growing stronger, no doubt in part, due to all the negative reports that Lynn Shores was sending back to the studio.
GEORGE SCHAEFER TO ORSON WELLES:
April 16, 1942
DEAR ORSON:
HAVE BEEN TRYING, ALL DAY YESTERDAY AND AGAIN TODAY BUT UNSUCCESSFUL. YOUR CABLE WAS RECEIVED AND I HAVE FULL APPRECIATION OF YOUR PRODUCTION DIFFICULTIES SO FAR AWAY FROM HOME. BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, I MUST TAKE FIRM POSITION AND CANNOT PERMIT MONEY TO BE EXPENDED AT RATE YOU ARE PLANNING AND I MUST KNOW WHEN YOU EXPECT TO FINISH. YOU HAVE BEEN AWAY NOW FOR THREE MONTHS AND SURELY WE EXPECTED YOU BACK LONG BEFORE THIS. ON TOP OF THAT, RECORDS INDICATE YOU SPENT $33,000 IN MARCH, $10,500 1ST WEEK IN APRIL, AND BUDGET CALLS FOR $15,000 WEEKLY FOR THE NEXT FOUR WEEKS. THIS IS ALL OUT OF PROPORTION TO WHAT WE EVER ESTIMATED AND WE CANNOT GO ALONG ON THAT BASIS, EVEN IF WE HAVE TO CLOSE DOWN SHOW AND ASK YOU TO RETURN. THIS IS HOW SERIOUS SITUATION IS. WITH RESPECT TO MY OWN APPREHENSIONS, I MUST CONTACT YOU BY PHONE WITHIN 24 HOURS AS THERE ARE SOME DEVELOPMENTS THAT LOOK VERY UNPLEASANT IN MANY DIRECTIONS.
REGARDS,
GEORGE SCHAEFER
*
Although Welles position was that he could not allow any retakes on AMBERSONS, his new contract no longer gave him the authority to stop them, as Jack Moss wrote to him.
JACK MOSS TO ORSON WELLES:
April 16, 1942
DEAR ORSON:
CAREFULLY THOROUGHLY CHECKED… LEGALITY DEFINITELY GIVES STUDIO FINAL RIGHT ON BASIS FILM THEIR PROPERTY.
…MY OPINION THERE WILL BE NO RECALL NO SUSPENSION. WAITING YOUR CALL TO RELATE AMBERSON DETAILS…
JACK MOSS
*
April 17 — 20: Freddie Fleck, the assistant director on AMBERSONS, shoots several retakes, including the two new ending scenes. George Schaefer has both of these new sequences re-scored by RKO staff composer Roy Webb. Webb’s music is done in a far cheerier style than the elegiac music Bernard Herrmann provided for the original ending credits.
April 18: Welles speaks at a radio broadcast done for Brazilian President Getulio Vargas’ birthday party.
April 20: Welles flies to Argentina for two days, continuing his good will tour and while in Buenos Aires he receives an award for CITIZEN KANE.