Surinam - based on Conrad's Victory (1973 OW screenplay)

[Wellesnet]

From Wellesnet Twitter:

On July 7th, Mathew Asprey Gear, author of "At the End of the Street in Shadow: Orson Welles and the City", will give a talk about Orson Welles’s attempt to adapt Joseph Conrad's novel ‘Victory’ in 1973, with reference to his unmade screenplay drafts. The talk will be held at the Joseph Conrad Society conference in London.
http://www.josephconradsociety.org/2019 ... e_2019.pdf

If the film had come to fruition, Welles would have called it "Surinam", and it would have starred Ryan O'Neal and Oja Kodar. Welles's screenplay drafts can be read at the University of Michigan's Special Collections Library, part of their "Oja Kodar Collection:
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/s/sclead/umi ... ;view=text

Conrad's novel, sometimes described as a modern updating of Shakespeare's "The Tempest", was originally published in 1915, and was one of several Conrad works that Welles sought to adapt for various media, including film, radio and audio books.

[Wellesnet]

Unproduced Orson Welles ‘Surinam’ script to be detailed by Matthew Asprey Gear at literary conference:
http://www.wellesnet.com/unproduced-ors ... t-surinam/

Includes an interview with Mr. Gear.

[tonyw]

Conrad is in danger of being forgotten, at least in some English Departments (!), so it is gratifying to learn about this. When I visited Manchester's Central Reference Library last month, I asked where Joseph Conrad's books were. The thirtyish librarian asked, "Who?" then immediately apologized when he saw the look on my face. Just a few copies were there as opposed to the hardback complete works they had years ago.

Most of these original hardbacks have been removed in favor of media, computers, etc. Even in the late 70s, I could go to the old Swansea Library and take out dust-covered but still readable edition of Hawthorne, Melville, etc. But those days are gone.

Conrad also influenced Michael Moorcock's THE WARLORD OF THE AIR and, I assume, Alan Moore, is familiar with his work.

The more someone can bring Conrad to the attention he deserves, the better.