There's also the footage Welles shot for his theatre productions of AROUND THE WORLD, THE GREEN GODDESS, and THE UNTHINKING LOBSTER, all apparently lost as well, but now that the TMJ footage has been discovered, who knows? 
teddyleevin:
Just returned from the "world premiere" of Too Much Johnson.
I assume many of you might have seen the work print that's available online, so the contents of the film isn't a huge shock. There were intertitles used by the creators of this performance that were unobtrusive, in style, and garnered laughs; I think Welles would approve.
The obvious highlight is still the whole prologue to act I, everything before they get on the steamer. It's amazing footage really, with some of the most striking images happening in Arlene Francis's bedroom (her part his too small; that said, the entire chase gets put in motion because half of a picture is shoved down her dress). There was applause (mild-mannered) for Cotten: on his first appearance and on a some of the more dangerous stunts. The footage seems to be simultaneously of the silent era, of the late 30s, and of the latter half of the 20th century. The only real give away is the under-built NYC, and as a native, it's mostly unrecognizable.
This whole first sequence gives way to the first section of the play. The actors held scripts but had costumes and were as staged as could be in the small playing area. A few laughs were had by way of interjected apologies, begging indulgence for missing props or explaining archaic terminology. The farce is pretty predictable and suitably unbelievable, but there is humor to be had. There were definitely moments that would have landed better with more rehearsal (there was a lot of stumbling, given that they were also trying to walk around and act with each other). The best line in the play involved the steamer's porter amazingly being able to relate the entire plot thus far in one monologue, lamp-shading the over-the-top composition of the story, but the timing was just barely misjudged and the great joke was just a good one.
The underrehearsed aspect made the play sections drag by just making them lack verve and intent; one time an actor (the director as well) missed his entrance, leading to one of the biggest laughs of the night as the other actors briefly struggled to fill in. The actors were all fine players, and all well suited to their types and the characters they were supposed to be matching from the Mercury company. The most striking performance was from Steve Sterner as the French cuckold trying to track down Cotten's character. Steve is known as being FF's resident pianist (a task which he performed with his usual gusto this evening during the film segments), but I didn't know he could also ham it up with the best of them on stage.
The second film segment is barely worth noting, and the third is just one minor set piece that lacks the power of the first, Lloyd-esque segment, but has an amusing punchline.
All-in-all, I'm glad I saw it. I don't know if I would choose to see it again anytime soon, but any one who is a devotee of Welles, owes it to themselves to try to make it to this, as a chance to see this probably won't happen again anytime soon.
What I can now report is that the wish expressed by Lokke Heiss at the end of the piece—that is, a desire to experience a “re-purposing” of Welles’ material for an actual performance of William Gillette’s play—was accomplished last week at NYC’s Film Forum. I was fortunate enough to attend one of two performances of Too Much Johnson, the play, accompanied by the prologues created by Welles and his Mercury Theatre team over seventy-five years ago. The uncut material shown at Pordenone was, under the supervision of Bruce Goldstein, edited by William Hohauser into an approximation of what Welles might have intended. That’s subject to debate, of course, but to my eye it appeared that the takes used were the best available, arranged in a way that made sense. The prologues certainly went over well with the audience, and seemed to be a very close approximation of what was originally planned. The filmed sections were a blast, and while I especially enjoyed seeing Joseph Cotten caper about on rooftops like a silent clown, I’d have to say that Edgar Barrier practically stole the show.
It was a delightful evening. Something like 20% of it was comprised of the Welles film footage, while the other 80% was a semi-staged reading of William Gillette’s play, adapted and directed by Allen Lewis Rickman (perhaps best known for his acting role on Boardwalk Empire), who also appeared in the show. The cast was spirited; they knew how to play farce, and they played it to the hilt. The performance came off smoothly for the most part, but at one point when an actor missed a cue, they turned it into a joke, got a laugh, and rolled on without missing a beat. There was no scenery as such, but everyone was in costume, which helped set the antic mood.
Not much else to say, except that I hope the producers are able to do more with this project, i.e. take it to the next level and get it staged again, on a bigger scale if possible. More people should be able to see this.
Return to “Welles's Theater Career”
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest