Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth

[shanghai]

Some questions:

1) Does anyone know the source of the story that say that Welles was envolved somehow on Gilda (the iconic Rita Hayworth movie) script?

2) On Leaming bio, it was written that the first time Orson and Rita have met was AFTER his return from Brazil, in 1942... But i think I've seen a photo of both of them in 1941, when Hayworth was invited to take part of one of his radio shows... Does anyone have seen it as well?

[Colmena]

In _Hello Americans_ p196 Callow says that OW invited RH to appear on the radio with him prior to his leaving for Brazil.

[shanghai]

Tks Colmena! :-)

[Jeff Wilson]

Hayworth was in the Lady Esther sponsored Orson Welles Show, in "There Are Frenchmen and Frenchmen." She played a PE teacher in the school-based comedy, if I'm remembering correctly. I have a summary of the script in my notes somewhere.

[Le Chiffre]

I'd like to see that script sometime. Too bad that show is apparently lost. Welles' surviving radio career is already an embarrassment of riches, but the "Frenchmen" program is among a fairly long list of important gems still missing, including 13 Campbell Playhouse shows and quite a few OW Almanac shows. Another missing Lady Esther program had Tim Holt and Anne Baxter while they were filming Ambersons. I wonder if this photograph of Welles and Hayworth is from the Lady Esther show:

http://www.wellesnet.com/?page_id=5974

[Jeff Wilson]

I'd like to see that script sometime. Too bad that show is apparently lost. Welles' surviving radio career is already an embarrassment of riches, but the "Frenchmen" program is among a fairly long list of important gems still missing, including 13 Campbell Playhouse shows and quite a few OW Almanac shows. Another missing Lady Esther program had Tim Holt and Anne Baxter while they were filming Ambersons. I wonder if this photograph of Welles and Hayworth is from the Lady Esther show:

http://www.wellesnet.com/?page_id=5974

Yeah, the Holt/Baxter bit was more of a comic sketch about a young couple in love. One bit in a almanac-style episode. I found my notes on "There are Frenchmen..." and while I didn't get any photocopies of script material, I can say that it seems like a fairly goofball story. Welles played Achille La Bucelle, a Frenchman who's come to America to teach French as part of an exchange program. He is sent to an all girls school, where the acting dean/phys-ed teacher is Oona Birdsong (Rita). They get off to a bad start when he talks about hating physical activity. La Bucelle is scared of Native Americans; Joseph Cotten plays Douglas Horsetail, a cop who wants to quit to become a wrestler. There's some comic business about teaching French, and we learn that the girls flock to La Bucelle's lectures as they've fallen in love with him. At the midpoint, Cotten asks mock dramatic questions to the audience: "Will La Bucelle get to first base with Oona Birdsong? Does he know what first base is?" La Bucelle and Birdsong fight/flirt, and the action switches to a wrestling match (I didn't write down why), where there are some amusing descriptions of the action. La Bucelle jumps in the ring when he thinks the "Frenchman" wrestling Horsetail is getting beat up for real. He gets punched out by the "Frenchman" (actually a Greek from Tulsa), but having proved his macho qualities, Oona falls for him.

[Le Chiffre]

Sounds like an amusing story. Thanks for the rundown, Jeff. The Holt/Baxter love story would make a great extra on an Ambersons DVD id they could ever find it.

[Wellesnet]

Appreciation of Rita on her 100th birthday anniversary:
https://variety.com/2018/film/news/rita ... 202972516/

Welles and Hayworth performed together on film ("The Lady from Shanghai"), radio ("Break of Hearts") and stage ("Mercury Wonder Show")
Here's a charming 1970 interview where Hayworth raves about "The Lady From Shanghai", and claims she directed part of a scene from it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF2S0-sQ-Q8

[tonyw]

Yet another example of collaboration in film making as well as another rebuttal to Andrew Britton's reading of the film in BRITTON ON FILM.

[Wellesnet]

Hollywood Couples - Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth: