It's Roger Corman Week @ Video WatchBlog - Welles/Corman connection

[Harvey Chartrand]

Tim Lucas is devoting this entire week of blogs to producer/director Roger Corman, who is celebrating his 80th birthday on April 5.

Orson Welles was Corman's first choice to play Al Capone in THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE (1967).

According to the IMDB: "Welles was originally picked by director Roger Corman to play Al Capone, while Jason Robards was to play "Bugs" Moran. Welles was willing, but Fox vetoed the deal, feeling Welles was "undirectable". Robards took over the role of Capone and Ralph Meeker was brought in to play Moran."

So it appears that Welles' reputation for being undisciplined even interfered with his acting-only choices.

[Kevin Loy]

He had that reputation long before 1967. Keep in mind that David O. Selznick didn't want Welles in The Third Man because he considered Welles to be "box-office poison".

[Le Chiffre]

Nice Corman interview on the front page, Tony (and L. French). It would have been great to see Welles play Capone in Corman's film, but it might have been even more interesting to see him play Capone under Richard Wilson's direction in the 1959 AL CAPONE. Of course, Rod Steiger did do an excellent job in that underrated film. Steiger is also, I believe, the only star besides Welles to ever play Ahab in MOBY DICK REHEARSED.