Welles with Manowar

[Magentarose67]

Thanks, Magentarose. My friend did like Third Man and Jane Eyre. She was disappointed by War of the Worlds, thinking it should have been scarier. And she was born on Welles' birthday, so she was destined to find out at least something about him. If someone has a spare bottle of vitality handy, perhaps I can exhume myself enough to capture the necessary frames for assembling that animated gif.

Thank you, and you're quite welcome ! And when I first heard War of the Worlds, I didn't think that it was scary either at first (More suspenseful, IMO), but it was scary in 1938. I sure enjoyed it and think it is brilliant.

She was born on May 6? She is so lucky...but then, I am a lucky girl as well, because according to astrology, a Capricorn is considered compatible with Taurus ...

I am not, and I have never been a fan of heavy metal. I was always curious why Orson would agree to narrate a song for a heavy metal group. I do not think that Beatrice, who was close to 30 at the time, could ever be a fan of a band like Manowar...but then again, you never know.

[mido505]

You're probably right, Store, although the ARKADIN rushes you mention do jibe with most reports that when Welles got drunk, he just became...more - more bigger, more louder, more jovial, more Falstaffian, more Wellsian, rather than the near comatose lump we see in the Paul Masson outtake. As this was, as you report, his last commercial for the company, and Welles may have already been told that his contract would not be extended, he may have shown up soused just to flip Paul Masson the bird, especially if he had been fired because the company wanted to promote a new "lite" diet-conscious image. What better way to show his contempt for that strategy than to show up for his last shoot blasted on the product! I've posted this before, but here is the Gielgud commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhZv8aIr55k

As much as I admire Gielgud, he can't touch Orson, even when Orson is at his worst.

Interestingly, although many Welles fans are concerned that a short-sighted public will only remember Welles as some sort of failed, pathetic joke, it is remarkable that most of the comments over at YouTube underneath the "drunk" outtake are positive and sympathetic. People still really admire the guy.

One of the many reasons given for Welles getting the boot from Paul Masson was that he gave an interview in which he stated that he had given up drinking wine because he wanted to lose weight. Interestingly, Bob Altman, who is in my mind one of the true Wellsian heirs among a sea of wannabee's, got fired in 1963 from a TV gig with Kraft Suspense Theater because he gave an interview in which he called Kraft's show "as bland as it's cheese".

[Terry]

Here's the dubbed broadcast version. You can fix a lot with ADR.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqxhM-7wERM

[mido505]

Thanks, Store, I've never seen the "doctored" version, never knew it existed, actually. After all this discussion, I'm going to go open a bottle of wine. It's vintage dated...

[Magentarose67]

You're probably right, Store, although the ARKADIN rushes you mention do jibe with most reports that when Welles got drunk, he just became...more - more bigger, more louder, more jovial, more Falstaffian, more Wellsian, rather than the near comatose lump we see in the Paul Masson outtake. As this was, as you report, his last commercial for the company, and Welles may have already been told that his contract would not be extended, he may have shown up soused just to flip Paul Masson the bird, especially if he had been fired because the company wanted to promote a new "lite" diet-conscious image. What better way to show his contempt for that strategy than to show up for his last shoot blasted on the product! I've posted this before, but here is the Gielgud commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhZv8aIr55k

As much as I admire Gielgud, he can't touch Orson, even when Orson is at his worst.

Interestingly, although many Welles fans are concerned that a short-sighted public will only remember Welles as some sort of failed, pathetic joke, it is remarkable that most of the comments over at YouTube underneath the "drunk" outtake are positive and sympathetic. People still really admire the guy.

One of the many reasons given for Welles getting the boot from Paul Masson was that he gave an interview in which he stated that he had given up drinking wine because he wanted to lose weight. Interestingly, Bob Altman, who is in my mind one of the true Wellsian heirs among a sea of wannabee's, got fired in 1963 from a TV gig with Kraft Suspense Theater because he gave an interview in which he called Kraft's show "as bland as it's cheese".

That John Gielgud commercial was...err..interesting .

Orson Welles > Sir John Gielgud is correct, my friend , Orson had much more class no matter how bad the material he had to do, and enjoy that wine .

And yes, so nice to see so many sympathetic YouTube comments on that drunk outtake video!

[mido505]

Thanks, Magentarose67. The wine is lovely, as is your post. Orson couldn't ask for a better fan!

[Magentarose67]

Thanks, Magentarose67. The wine is lovely, as is your post. Orson couldn't ask for a better fan!

Aww...that is so sweet...thank you so much for you lovely post, it made my day brighter and as a Wellesian makes me feel happy !