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George Orson Welles
(May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985), best known as
Orson Welles
, was an American
film director
, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in
, and
. Welles was also an accomplished
, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the 20th century. His first two films with
Citizen Kane
The Magnificent Ambersons
, are widely considered two of the greatest films ever made. His other films, including
Touch of Evil
Chimes at Midnight
, are also considered masterpieces. He was also well-known for a
radio adaptation
' novel
The War of the Worlds
which, performed in the style of a news broadcast, caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an actual extraterrestrial invasion was in progress.
In 2002 he was voted the greatest film director of all time in the
British Film Institute
's poll of
Top Ten Directors
Life and work
Youth and early career (1915–1934)
Welles was born May 6, 1915, in
, Wisconsin and was brought up a
Roman Catholic
He had
Despite his parents' affluence, Welles encountered many hardships in childhood.
In 1919, his parents separated and moved to
, and his father became an alcoholic and stopped working.
Welles's mother died of
on May 10, 1924, in a Chicago hospital, four days after Welles's ninth birthday. After his mother's death, Welles ceased pursuing his interest in music.
Richard Welles died when Orson was 15 - the summer after Orson's graduation from
Todd School for Boys
, an
independent school
Woodstock, Illinois
- whereupon Maurice Bernstein, a Jewish physician from Chicago, became his guardian.
At Todd, Welles came under the positive influence and guidance of Roger Hill, a teacher who later became Todd's headmaster. Hill provided Welles with an 'ad hoc' educational environment that proved invaluable to his creative experience, allowing Welles to concentrate on subjects that interested him. Welles performed and staged his first theatrical experiments and productions there.
On his father's death, Welles traveled to
with the aid of a small inheritance.
Welles later reported that while on a walking and painting trip through
, he strode into the
Gate Theatre
and claimed he was a Broadway star.
Gate manager
Hilton Edwards
later said he didn't believe him, but was impressed by his brashness and some impassioned quality in his audition. Welles made his stage debut at the Gate in 1931, appearing in
Jew Suss
as the Duke.
He acted to great acclaim, which reached the
United States
He performed smaller supporting roles as well. On returning to the United States he found his fame ephemeral and turned to a writing project at Todd that would become the immensely successful
Everybody's Shakespeare
, and subsequently,
The Mercury Shakespeare
. Welles traveled to North Africa while working on thousands of illustrations for the
Everybody's Shakespeare
series of educational books, a series that remained in print for decades.
An introduction by
Thornton Wilder
led Welles to the New York stage. He toured in three off-Broadway productions with
Katharine Cornell
's company. Restless and impatient when the planned Broadway opening of
Romeo and Juliet
was canceled, Welles staged a drama festival of his own with the Todd School, inviting
Micheál MacLíammóir
Hilton Edwards
from Dublin's Gate Theatre to appear, along with New York stage luminaries. It was a roaring success. The subsequent revival of
Romeo and Juliet
brought Welles to the notice of
John Houseman
, who was then casting for an unusual lead actor and about to take a lead role in the
Federal Theatre Project
By 1935 Welles was supplementing his earnings in the theater as a radio actor in New York City, working with many of the actors who would later form the core of his
Mercury Theatre
. He married Chicago actress Virginia Nicholson in 1934. They had one daughter, Christopher, who became known as Chris Welles Feder, an author of educational materials for children. Welles also shot an eight-minute silent short film,
The Hearts of Age
with Nicholson.
Renown in theater and radio (1936–1940)
In 1936, the
Federal Theatre Project
(part of
Works Progress Administration
) put unemployed theater performers and employees to work. Welles was hired by
John Houseman
and assigned to direct a play for the Federal Theatre Project's Negro Theater Unit.
He offered them
in a production that became known as the
Voodoo Macbeth
, because Welles set it in the
court of King
Henri Christophe
, with voodoo witch doctors for the three
Weird Sisters
played Macbeth. The
incidental music
was composed by
Virgil Thomson
. The play was rapturously received and later toured the nation. When the lead (
Maurice Evans
) fell ill on tour, Welles jumped on a plane and stepped into the part playing the role in
. At the age of 20, Welles was hailed as a prodigy. A few minutes of Welles' production of Macbeth was recorded on film in a 1937 documentary called
We Work Again
Original poster for Project #981's production of
The Cradle Will Rock
The Cradle Will Rock
After the success of
, Welles mounted the absurd farce
Horse Eats Hat
. He consolidated his "White Hope" reputation with
Dr Faustus
which used light as a prime unifying scenic element in a nearly blacked-out stage. In 1937, he rehearsed
Marc Blitzstein
's highly political operetta
The Cradle Will Rock
. Because of severe federal cutbacks, the show's premiere at the
Maxine Elliott Theatre
was cancelled. The theater was locked and guarded to prevent any of the government-purchased materials being used for a commercial production of the work. In a last-minute move Welles announced to waiting ticket-holders that the show was being transferred to
the Venice
, about twenty blocks away. Some cast, some crew and audience walked the distance on foot. The union musicians refused to perform in a commercial theater for lower non-union government wages. The actors union stated that the production belonged to the federal theater project and could not be performed outside that context without permission. Lacking the participation of the union members,
The Cradle Will Rock
began with Blitzstein introducing the show and playing the piano accompaniment on stage, with some cast members performing their parts from the audience. This impromptu performance was well received by its audience. It afterward played at the Venice for two weeks in the same informal circumstances as the first performance.
Mercury Theatre
Resigning from the Federal Theatre, Welles and Houseman formed their own company, the
Mercury Theatre
, which eventually included actors such as
Agnes Moorehead
Joseph Cotten
Dolores del Río
Ray Collins
George Coulouris
, Frank Readick,
Everett Sloane
, Eustace Wyatt and Erskine Sanford, all of whom would continue to work for Welles for years. The first Mercury Theatre production was a melodramatic and heavily edited version of Shakespeare's
Julius Caesar
, set in a contemporary frame of fascist Italy. Cinna the Poet dies at the hands not of a mob but a secret police force. According to
Norman Lloyd
, who played Cinna, "it stopped the show". The applause lasted more than 3 minutes and the production was widely acclaimed.
In the second year of the Mercury Theater, Welles shifted his interests to radio, as an actor, director and producer. He played
The Columbia Workshop
, adapting and directing the play himself. The
Mutual Network
gave him a seven-week series to adapt
Les Misérables
, which he did with great success. Welles was chosen to anonymously play Lamont Cranston,
The Shadow
, in late 1937 (again for Mutual) and in the summer of 1938 CBS gave him (and the Mercury Theatre) a weekly hour-long show to broadcast radio plays based on classic literary works. The show was titled
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
, with original music by
Bernard Herrmann
, who would continue working with Welles on radio and in films for years.
An electrical transcription disk of the Orson Welles War of the Worlds broadcast
War of the Worlds
Their October 30 broadcast,
The War of the Worlds
, brought Welles notoriety and instant fame on both a national and international level. The mixture of news bulletin format with the between-breaks dial spinning habits of listeners from the rival and far more popular
Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy program
, created widespread confusion among late tuners. Panic spread among many listeners who believed the news reports of an actual Martian invasion. The resulting panic was duly reported around the world and disparagingly mentioned by
Adolf Hitler
in a public speech a few months later. Welles's growing fame soon drew Hollywood offers, lures which the independent-minded Welles resisted at first. However,
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
, which had been a "sustaining show" (without sponsorship) was picked up by
Campbell Soup
and renamed
The Campbell Playhouse
Welles in Hollywood (1939–1948)
RKO Pictures
George Schaefer
eventually offered Welles what is generally considered the greatest contract ever offered to an untried director: complete artistic control. RKO signed Welles in a two-picture deal; including script, cast, crew, and most important, final cut, though Welles had a budget limit for his projects.
With this contract in hand, Welles (and nearly the entire Mercury Theatre) moved to
He commuted weekly to New York to maintain his commitment to
The Campbell Playhouse
Welles toyed with various ideas for his first project for
RKO Pictures
, settling on an adaptation of
Joseph Conrad
Heart of Darkness
, which he worked on in great detail. He planned to film the action with a subjective camera from the protagonist's point of view. When a budget was drawn up, RKO's enthusiasm cooled, because it was greater than the previously agreed limit. RKO also declined to approve another Welles project,
The Smiler with the Knife
ostensibly because they lacked faith in
Lucille Ball
's ability to carry the leading lady role.
In a sign of things to come, Welles left
The Campbell Playhouse
in 1940, due to creative differences with the sponsor. The show continued without him, produced by John Houseman. In perhaps another sign of things to come, Welles's first actual experience on a Hollywood film was as narrator for RKO's 1940 production of
The Swiss Family Robinson
Citizen Kane
Welles in
Citizen Kane
Orson Welles's first two movie proposals, including an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's
Heart of Darkness
in which Welles planned to substitute the narrarator with subjective camera, were both rejected by RKO Pictures. The studio finally agreed on the third offer,
Citizen Kane
, which Welles co-wrote, produced, directed, and acted in. ("Orson Welles",
Authors and Artists for Young Adults
40 (2001))
Welles found a suitable film project in an idea he conceived with screenwriter
Herman J.
(who was then writing radio plays for
The Campbell Playhouse
). Initially called
, it would eventually become Welles's first feature film (also his most famous and honored role),
Citizen Kane
Mankiewicz, Welles's collaborator, based his original notion on an
of the life of
William Randolph Hearst
, whom he knew socially but now hated, having once been great friends with Hearst's mistress,
Marion Davies
. Mankiewicz was now banished from her company because of his perpetual drunkenness. Mankiewicz, a notorious gossip, exacted revenge with his unflattering depiction of Davies in
Citizen Kane
for which Welles got most of the criticisms; Welles also had a connection with Davies through his first wife. Kane's megalomaniacal personality was also loosely modeled on
Robert McCormick
Howard Hughes
, and
Joseph Pulitzer
, as Welles wanted to create a broad, complex character, intending to show him in the same scenes from several points of view. The use of multiple narrative perspectives in Conrad's
Heart of Darkness
also influenced the treatment. Supplying Mankiewicz with 300 pages of notes, Welles urged him to write the first draft of a screenplay under the watchful nursing of John Houseman, who was posted to ensure Mankiewicz stayed sober. On Welles's instruction, Houseman wrote the opening narration as a pastiche of
The March of Time
newsreels. Orson Welles explained to Peter Bogdanovich about the writers working separately by saying, "I left him on his own finally, because we'd started to waste too much time haggling. So, after mutual agreements on storyline and character, Mank went off with Houseman and did his version, while I stayed in Hollywood and wrote mine." ("Orson Welles",
Authors and Artists for Young Adults
40 (2001)) Taking these drafts, Welles drastically condensed and rearranged them, then added scenes of his own. The industry accused Welles of underplaying Mankiewicz's contribution to the script but Welles counteracted the attacks by saying, "At the end, naturally, I was the one making the picture, after all--who had to make the decisions. I used what I wanted of Mank's and, rightly or wrongly, kept what I liked of my own."
The resulting character of Charles Foster Kane is loosely based on parts of Hearst's life. Nonetheless, autobiographical allusions to Welles himself were worked in, most noticeably in the treatment of Kane's childhood, particularly regarding his guardianship. Welles then added features from other famous American lives to create a general and mysterious personality rather than the narrow journalistic portrait intended by Mankiewicz, whose first drafts included scandalous claims about the death of the film director
Thomas Ince
Once the script was completed, Welles attracted some of Hollywood's best technicians, including cinematographer
Gregg Toland
, who walked into Welles's office and announced he wanted to work on the picture. Welles later called Toland, "the fastest cameraman who ever lived." ("Orson Welles",
Authors and Artists for Young Adults
40 (2001)) For the cast, Welles primarily used actors from his Mercury Theatre. He invited suggestions from everyone, but only if they were directed through him. Filming
Citizen Kane
took ten weeks. ("Orson Welles",
Authors and Artists for Young Adults
40 (2001))
Mankiewicz handed a copy of the final shooting script to his friend,
Charles Lederer
, now husband of Welles's ex-wife Virginia Nicholson and nephew of Hearst's mistress Marion Davies.
Hedda Hopper
saw a small ad in a newspaper for a preview screening of
Citizen Kane
and went. Hopper, realizing immediately that the film was based on features of Hearst's life, reported this back to him and threatened to give "Hollywood, Private Lives" if that was what it wanted. Thus began the struggle over the attempted suppression of
Citizen Kane
Hearst's media outlets boycotted the film. It exerted enormous pressure on the Hollywood film community by threatening to expose 15 years of suppressed scandals and the fact that most of the studio bosses were Jewish. At one point, the heads of the major studios jointly offered RKO the cost of the film in exchange for the negative and all existing prints, for the express purpose of burning it. RKO declined, and the film was given a limited release. Meanwhile, Hearst successfully intimidated theater chains by threatening to ban advertising for any of their other films in any of his papers if they showed
Citizen Kane
While the film was critically well-received, by the time it reached the general public the positive tide of publicity had waned. It garnered nine Academy Award nominations, but won only for Best Original Screenplay, shared by Mankiewicz and Welles. Although it was basically ignored at the Academy Awards, Citizen Kane is now hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. Andrew Sarris called it "the work that influenced the cinema more profoundly than any American film since
Birth of a Nation
." ("Orson Welles",
Authors and Artists for Young Adults
40 (2001)) The delay in its release and its uneven distribution contributed to its average result at the box-office, making back its budget and marketing, but RKO lost any chance of a major profit. The fact that
Citizen Kane
ignored many Hollywood conventions also meant that the film confused and angered the 1940s cinema public. Exhibitor response was scathing; most theater owners complained bitterly about the adverse audience reaction and the many walkouts, and only a few saw fit to acknowledge Welles's artistic technique. RKO shelved the film and did not re-release it until 1956. During the 1950s, the film came to be seen by young French film critics such as
François Truffaut
as exemplifying the "auteur theory", in which the director is the "author" of a film. Truffaut,
and others were inspired by Welles's example to make their own films, giving birth to the
Nouvelle Vague
. In the 1960s
Citizen Kane
became popular on college campuses, both as a film-study exercise and as an entertainment subject. Its frequent revivals on television, home video, and DVD have enhanced its "classic" status, and it ultimately recouped its costs. The film is still considered by most film critics and historians as one of the greatest motion pictures in cinema history.
The Magnificent Ambersons
Joseph Cotten as Eugene Morgan in
The Magnificent Ambersons
Welles's second film for RKO was
The Magnificent Ambersons
, adapted from the
Pulitzer Prize
Booth Tarkington
. George Schaefer hoped to make back the money lost by
Citizen Kane
had already been adapted for
The Campbell Playhouse
by Welles, who wrote the screen adaptation himself. Toland was not available, so
Stanley Cortez
was named cinematographer. The meticulous Cortez, however, was slow and the film lagged behind schedule and over budget. Prior to productions, Welles' contract was renegotiated, revoking his right to control the final cut.
At RKO's request, simultaneously, Welles worked on an adaptation of
Eric Ambler
's spy thriller,
Journey into Fear
, which he co-wrote with
Joseph Cotten
. In addition to acting in the film, Welles was also producer. Direction was credited solely to
Norman Foster
. Welles later stated that they were in such a rush that the director of each scene was whoever was closest to the camera.
Welles was then offered a new radio series by CBS. Called
The Orson Welles Show
, it was a half-hour variety show of short stories, comedy skits, poetry and musical numbers. Joining the original Mercury Theatre cast was
Cliff Edwards
, the voice of
Jiminy Cricket
, "on loan from
Walt Disney
". The variety format was unpopular with listeners, and Welles was soon forced to limit the content of the show by simply telling one half-hour story for the entirety of each episode.
It's All True
To further complicate matters during the production of
Journey into Fear
, Welles was approached by
Nelson Rockefeller
Jock Whitney
to produce a
documentary film
about South America. This was at the behest of the federal government's
Good Neighbor policy
, a wartime propaganda effort designed to prevent
Latin America
from allying with the
Axis powers
. Welles saw his involvement as a form of national service, because his physical condition excused him from direct military service.
Expected to film the
Rio de Janeiro
, Brazil, Welles rushed to finish the editing on
and his acting scenes in
Journey into Fear
Ending his CBS radio show, he lashed together a rough cut of
Robert Wise
, who had edited
Citizen Kane
, and left for Brazil. Wise was to join him in Rio to complete the film but never arrived. A provisional final cut arranged via phone call, telegram, and shortwave radio was previewed without Welles's approval in
in a double bill, to a mostly negative audience response, in particular to the character of Aunt Fanny played by Agnes Moorehead.
Whereas Schaefer argued that Welles be allowed to complete his own version of the film, and that an archival copy be kept with the
Museum of Modern Art
in New York City, RKO disagreed.
With Welles in South America, there was no practical means of having him edit the film.
Major changes occurred at RKO in 1942.
Floyd Odlum
took over control of the studio and began changing its direction. Rockefeller, the most significant backer of the Brazil project, left the RKO board of directors. Around the same time, the principal sponsor of Welles at RKO, studio president George Schaefer, resigned. The changes throughout RKO caused reevaluations of many projects. RKO took control of
, formed a committee which was ordered to edit the film into what the studio considered a commercial format. They removed fifty minutes of Welles's footage, re-shot sequences, rearranged the scene order, and added a new happy ending. Koerner released the shortened film on the bottom of a double-bill with the
Lupe Vélez
Mexican Spitfire Sees a Ghost
was an expensive flop for RKO, though it received four Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress for
Agnes Moorehead
Welles's South American documentary, titled
It's All True
, budgeted at one million dollars with half of its budget coming from the U.S. Government upon completion, grew in ambition and budget while Welles was in South America. While the film was originally to be a documentary on
, Welles added a new story which recreated the journey of the
, four poor fishermen who had made a journey on their open raft to petition Brazilian President Vargas about their working conditions. The four had become national folk heroes; Welles first read of their journey in
. Their leader, Jacare, died during a filming mishap. RKO, in limited contact with Welles, attempted to rein in the production. Most of the crew and budget were withdrawn from the film. In addition, the Mercury staff was removed from the studio in the US.
Welles requested resources to finish the film. He was given a limited amount of black-and-white stock and a silent camera. He completed the sequence, but RKO refused to support any further production on the film. Surviving footage was released in 1993, including a rough reconstruction of the Four Men on a Raft segment. Meanwhile, RKO asserted in public that Welles had gone to Brazil without a screenplay and that he had squandered a million dollars. Their official company slogan for the next year was "Showmanship in place of Genius" which was taken as a slight against Welles.
Director for hire (1943–1946)
On returning to Hollywood, Welles found no studios interested in hiring him as a film director after the twin disasters of
The Magnificent Ambersons
It's All True
. Welles afterward worked on radio. CBS offered him two weekly series,
Hello Americans
, based on the research he'd done in Brazil, and
Ceiling Unlimited
, sponsored by
, a wartime salute to advances in aviation. Both featured several members of his original Mercury Theatre. Within a few months,
Hello Americans
was canceled and Welles was replaced as host of
Ceiling Unlimited
by Joseph Cotten. Welles guest-starred on a great variety of shows, notably guest-hosting
Jack Benny
's show for a month in 1943. He took an increasingly active role in American and international politics and used journalism to communicate his forceful ideas widely.
In 1943, Welles married
Rita Hayworth
. They had one child,
Rebecca Welles
, and divorced five years later in 1948. In between, Welles found work as an actor in other directors' films. He starred in the 1943 film adaptation of
Jane Eyre
, trading credit as associate producer for top billing over
Joan Fontaine
. He also had a cameo in the 1944 wartime salute
Follow the Boys
, in which he performed his
Mercury Wonder Show
magic act and sawed
Marlene Dietrich
in half after
Columbia Pictures
Harry Cohn
refused to allow Hayworth to perform.
In 1944, Welles was offered a new radio show, broadcast only in California.
Orson Welles's Almanac
was another half-hour variety show, with
Mobil Oil
as sponsor. After the success of his stand-in hosting on
The Jack Benny Show
, the focus was primarily on comedy. His hosting on Jack Benny included several self-deprecating jokes and story lines about his being a "genius" and overriding any ideas advanced by other cast members. The trade papers were not eager to accept Welles as a comedian, and Welles often complained on-air about the poor quality of the scripts. When Welles started his
Mercury Wonder Show
a few months later, traveling to
Armed Forces
camps and performing magic tricks and doing comedy, the radio show was broadcast live from the camps and the material took a decidedly wartime flavor. Of his original Mercury actors, only Agnes Moorehead was left. The series was cancelled by year's end due to poor ratings.
While he found no studio willing to hire him as a film director, Welles's popularity as an actor continued.
Pabst Blue Ribbon
gave Welles their radio series
This Is My Best
to direct, but after one month he was fired for creative differences. He started writing a political column for the
New York Post
, again called
Orson Welles Almanac
. While the paper wanted Welles to write about Hollywood gossip, Welles explored serious political issues. His activism for world peace took considerable amounts of his time. The
column eventually failed in syndication because of contradictory expectations and was dropped by the
Post-war work (1946–1948)
The Stranger
In 1946, International Pictures released Welles's film
The Stranger
, starring
Edward G.
Loretta Young
and Welles.
Sam Spiegel
produced the film, which follows the hunt for a
war criminal living under an alias in America. While Anthony Veiller was credited with the screenplay, it had been rewritten by Welles and
John Huston
. Disputes occurred during the editing process between Spiegel and Welles. The film was a box office success and it helped his standing with the studios.
In the summer of 1946, Welles directed a musical stage version of
Around the World in Eighty Days
, with a comedic and ironic rewriting of the
Jules Verne
novel by Welles, incidental music and songs by
Cole Porter
, and production by
Mike Todd
, who would later produce the successful film version with
David Niven
. When Todd pulled out from the lavish and expensive production, Welles supported the finances himself. When he ran out of money at one point, he convinced Columbia president
Harry Cohn
to send him enough to continue the show, and in exchange Welles promised to write, produce, direct and star in a film for Cohn for no further fee. The stage show would soon fail due to poor box-office, with Welles unable to claim the losses on his taxes. The complicated financial arrangements concerning the show, its losses and Welles's arrangement with Cohn resulted in a tax dispute with the IRS.
At the same time in 1946 he began two new radio series,
The Mercury Summer Theatre
for CBS and
Orson Welles Commentaries
for ABC. While
Summer Theatre
featured half-hour adaptations of some of the classic Mercury radio shows from the 1930s, the first episode was a condensation of his
Around the World
stage play, and remains the only record of
Cole Porter
's music for the project. Several original Mercury actors returned for the series, as well as Bernard Herrmann. It was only scheduled for the summer months, and Welles invested his earnings into his failing stage play.
was a political soap-box, continuing the themes from his New York Post column. Again, Welles lacked a clear focus, until the
brought to his attention the case of
Isaac Woodard
. Welles brought significant attention to Woodard's cause. Soon Welles was being hanged in effigy in the South and theaters refused to show the
The Stranger
in several southern states.
The Lady from Shanghai
Welles as Michael O'Hara in
The Lady from Shanghai
The film Welles had to do for Harry Cohn wound up being
The Lady from Shanghai
, filmed in 1947 for
Columbia Pictures
. Intended to be a modest thriller, the budget skyrocketed after Cohn suggested that Welles's then-estranged second wife Rita Hayworth co-star. Cohn disliked Welles's rough-cut, in particular the confusing plot and lack of close-ups, and ordered extensive editing and re-shoots. After heavy editing by the studio, approximately one hour of Welles's first cut had been removed. While expressing displeasure at the cuts, Welles was particularly appalled by the soundtrack, objecting to the musical score. The film was considered a disaster in America at the time of release. Not long after release, Welles and Hayworth finalized their divorce. Though the film was acclaimed in Europe, it was not embraced in the US for several decades. A similar situation occurred when Welles suggested to
Charles Chaplin
that he star in a film directed by Welles based on the life of the French
serial killer
Henri Désiré Landru
. Chaplin instead adapted the idea for his own film,
Monsieur Verdoux
, with Welles officially credited for the idea.
In 1948 Welles convinced
Republic Pictures
to let him direct a low-budget version of
, which featured
sets, cardboard crowns and a cast of actors lip-syncing to a prerecorded soundtrack. Republic did not care for the Scottish accents on the soundtrack and held up release for almost a year. Welles left for Europe, while his co-producer and life-long supporter
Richard Wilson
reworked the soundtrack. Welles ultimately returned and cut twenty minutes from the film at Republic's request and recorded narration to cover the gaps. The film was decried as another disaster. In the late 1970s, a version of
was released that attempted to follow Welles's original vision.
Welles in Europe (1948–1956)
Welles left Hollywood for Europe in late 1947, enigmatically saying he had chosen "freedom." In Italy he starred as
in the 1948 film
Black Magic
. His co-star,
Akim Tamiroff
, impressed Welles so much that he appeared in four of Welles' own productions during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Third Man
The following year, Welles starred as
Harry Lime
Carol Reed
The Third Man
, alongside his good friend and
Citizen Kane
Joseph Cotten
, with a script by
Graham Greene
and a memorable
score by
Anton Karas
. The film was an international smash hit, but Welles unfortunately turned down a percentage of the gross in exchange for a lump-sum advance. A few years later British radio producer
Harry Alan Towers
would resurrect the Lime character for radio in the series
The Lives of Harry Lime
. The 1951 series included new recordings by Karas, was very successful, and ran for 52 weeks. Welles claimed to write a handful of episodes – a claim disputed by Towers, who maintains they were written by
Ernest Borneman
– which would later serve as the basis for the screenplay of Welles'
Mr. Arkadin
Welles also appeared as
Cesare Borgia
in the 1949 Italian film
Prince of Foxes
, with
Tyrone Power
and Mercury Theatre alumnus
Everett Sloane
, and as the Mongol warrior Bayan in the 1950 film version of the novel
The Black Rose
(again with Tyrone Power).
During this time, Welles was channeling his money from acting jobs into a self-financed film version of Shakespeare's play
From 1949 to 1951, Welles worked on
, filming on location in Europe and
The film featured Welles' old friends
Micheál MacLíammóir
Hilton Edwards
's father
Suzanne Cloutier
starred as Desdemona and
Campbell Playhouse
Robert Coote
appeared as Iago's associate Roderigo.
Filming was suspended several times as Welles ran out of funds and left to find other acting jobs, accounted in detail in MacLiammóir's published memoir
Put Money in Thy Purse
When it premiered at the
Cannes Film Festival
it won the
Palme d'Or
, but was not given a general release in the United States until 1955 (by which time Welles had re-cut the first reel and re-dubbed most of the film, removing Cloutier's voice entirely), and it played only in
New York
and Los Angeles.
The American release prints had a technically flawed soundtrack, suffering from a complete drop-out of sound at every quiet moment, and it was one of these flawed prints that was restored by Welles' daughter, Beatrice Welles-Smith in 1992 for a wide re-release. The restoration included reconstructing
Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
's original musical score (which was inaudible) and adding ambient stereo sound effects (which weren't in the original film). Though still active in Italy, Lavagnino was not consulted. The subject of great controversy among film scholars, the restoration went on to a successful theatrical run in America. A print of the US version was released on laser-disc in 1995 and soon withdrawn after a legal challenge by Beatrice Welles-Smith. The original Cannes version has survived but is not commercially available.
In 1952 Welles continued finding work in England, after the success of the
Harry Lime
radio show. Harry Alan Towers offered Welles another series,
The Black Museum
, with Welles as host and narrator, and this would also run 52 weeks. Director Herbert Wilcox offered him the part of the murdered victim in
Trent's Last Case
, based on the novel by
. And in 1953 the
hired Welles to read an hour of selections from
Walt Whitman
's epic poem
Song of Myself
. Towers hired Welles again, to play
Professor Moriarty
in the radio series
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
, starring
John Gielgud
, and
Ralph Richardson
Late in 1953, Welles returned to America to star in a live CBS
television presentation of Shakespeare's
King Lear
. The cast included MacLiammóir and the British actor
Alan Badel
. While Welles received good notices, he was guarded by IRS agents, prohibited to leave his hotel room when not at the studio, prevented from making any purchases, and the entire sum (less expenses) he earned went to his tax bill. Welles returned to England after the broadcast.
In 1954, director George More O'Ferrall offered Welles the title role in the 'Lord Mountdrago' segment of
Three Cases of Murder
, co-starring Badel.
Herbert Wilcox
cast him as the antagonist in
Trouble in Glen
Margaret Lockwood
Forrest Tucker
Victor McLaglen
. Old friend
John Huston
cast him as Father Mapple in his film adaptation of
Herman Melville
, starring
Gregory Peck
Mr. Arkadin
Welles' next turn as director was the film
Mr. Arkadin
(1955), produced by his political mentor from the 1940s, Louis Dolivet. It was filmed in France, Germany, Spain and Italy on a very limited budget. Based loosely on several episodes of the Harry Lime radio show, it stars Welles as a billionaire who hires a man to delve into the secrets of his past. The film stars
Robert Arden
, who had worked on the Harry Lime series, Welles' third wife, Paola Mori, whose voice was completely dubbed by actress
Billie Whitelaw
, and guest stars
Akim Tamiroff
Michael Redgrave
Katina Paxinou
, and
Mischa Auer
. Frustrated by his slow progress in the editing room, producer Dolivet removed Welles from the project and finished the film without him. Eventually five different versions of the film would be released, two in Spanish and three in English. The version which Dolivet completed was retitled
Confidential Report
. In 2005 Stefan Droessler of the Munich Filmmuseum oversaw a reconstruction of the surviving film elements. Released on DVD by the Criterion Company, it is considered by Welles scholar and director
Peter Bogdanovich
to be the best version of Welles' original intentions for the film.
Also in 1955 Welles directed two television series for the BBC. The first was
The Orson Welles Sketchbook
, a series of six 15-minute shows featuring Welles drawing in a sketchbook to illustrate his reminiscences for the camera (including such topics as the filming of
It's All True
and the Isaac Woodard case), and the second was
Around the World with Orson Welles
, a series of six travelogues set in different locations around Europe (such as Venice, the
Basque Country
between France and Spain, and England). Welles served as host and interviewer, his commentary including documentary facts and his own personal observations (a technique he would continue to explore). A seventh episode of this series, based on the Gaston Dominici case, was suppressed at the time by the French government, but was reconstructed after Welles' death and released to video in 1999.
In 1956 Welles completed
Portrait of Gina
, posthumously aired on German television under the title
Viva Italia
, a 30-minute personal essay on
Gina Lollobrigida
and the general subject of Italian sex symbols.
Dissatisfied with the results - Welles recalled he had worked on it a lot and the result looked like it - he left the only print behind at the
Ritz Hotel
in Paris.
The film cans would remain in a lost and found locker at the hotel for several decades, where they were rediscovered after Welles' death.
Return to Hollywood (1956–1959)
In 1956, Welles returned to Hollywood, guesting on radio shows (notably as narrator of
, a nuclear holocaust drama produced by the
Federal Civil Defense Administration
). He guest starred on television shows, including
I Love Lucy
and began filming a projected pilot for
, owned by
Lucille Ball
and her husband
Desi Arnaz
, who had recently purchased the former RKO studios. The film was
The Fountain of Youth
, based on a story by
John Collier
. Originally deemed not viable as a pilot, the film wasn't aired until 1958. It won the
Peabody Award
for excellence. Welles's next feature film role was in
Man in the Shadow
Universal Pictures
in 1957, starring
Jeff Chandler
Touch of Evil
Welles as corrupt police captain Hank Quinlan in
Touch of Evil
Welles stayed on at Universal to direct (and co-star with)
Charlton Heston
in the 1958 film
Touch of Evil
, based on
Whit Masterson
's novel
Badge of Evil
(Welles, who wrote the screenplay for the film, claimed never to have read the book). Originally only hired as an actor, Welles was promoted to director by
Universal Studios
at the suggestion (and insistence) of Charlton Heston. Reuniting many actors and technicians with whom he'd worked in Hollywood in the 1940s (including cameraman
Russell Metty
The Stranger
), make-up artist Maurice Siederman (
Citizen Kane
), and actors
Joseph Cotten
Marlene Dietrich
, and Akim Tamiroff), filming proceeded smoothly, with Welles finishing on schedule and on budget, and the studio bosses praising the daily rushes. After the end of production, the studio re-edited the film, re-shot scenes, and shot new exposition scenes to clarify the plot. Welles wrote a 58-page memo outlining suggestions and objections. The studio followed a few of the ideas, but cut another 30 minutes from the film and released it. The film was widely praised across Europe, awarded the top prize at the
Brussels World's Fair
In 1978, the long preview version of the film was rediscovered and released. In 1998, editor
Walter Murch
and producer
Rick Schmidlin
, consulting the original memo, used a workprint version to attempt to create a version of the film as close as possible to that outlined in the memo. This is at best a compromise that should not be mistaken for Welles's original intent. Welles stated in that memo that the film was no longer his version — it was the studio's, but as such, he was still prepared to help them with it.
As Universal reworked
Touch of Evil
, Welles began filming his adaptation of
Miguel de Cervantes
' novel
Don Quixote
in Mexico, starring
Mischa Auer
as Quixote and Akim Tamiroff as
Sancho Panza
. While filming would continue in fits and starts for several years, Welles would never complete the project.
Welles continued acting, notably in
The Long, Hot Summer
(1958) and
(1959), but soon returned to Europe.
Return to Europe (1959–1970)
He continued shooting
Don Quixote
in Spain, but replaced Mischa Auer with Francisco Reiguera, and resumed acting jobs.In Italy in 1959, Welles directed his own scenes as
King Saul
in Richard Pottier's film
David and Goliath
. In Hong Kong he co-starred with
Curd Jürgens
Lewis Gilbert
's film
Ferry to Hong Kong
. In 1960, in Paris he co-starred in
Richard Fleischer
's film
Crack in the Mirror
. In
he starred in
Richard Thorpe
's film
The Tartars
By this time he had ceased filming
. Though he would continue toying with the editing well into the 1970s, he never completed the film. As the process went on, Welles gradually voiced all of the characters himself and provided narration. In 1992, the director
Jesús Franco
constructed a film out of the portions of
left behind by Welles. Some of the film stock had decayed badly. While the Welles footage was greeted with interest, the post-production by Franco was met with harsh criticism.
In 1961 Welles directed
In the Land of Don Quixote
, a series of eight half-hour episodes for the Italian television network
Similar to the
Around the World with Orson Welles
series, they presented travelogues of Spain and included Welles's wife, Paola, and their daughter, Beatrice. Though Welles was fluent in Italian, the network was not interested in him providing Italian narration because of his accent, and the series sat unreleased until 1964, by which time the network had added Italian narration of its own. Ultimately, versions of the episodes were released with the original musical score Welles had approved, but without the narration.
The Trial
In 1962 Welles directed his adaptation of
The Trial
, based on the novel by
Franz Kafka
and produced by
Alexander Salkind
and Michael Salkind. The cast included
Anthony Perkins
as Josef K,
Jeanne Moreau
Romy Schneider
, Paola Mori and Akim Tamiroff.
While filming exteriors in
, Welles was informed that the Salkinds had run out of money, meaning that there could be no set construction.
No stranger to shooting on found locations, Welles soon filmed the interiors in the
Gare d'Orsay
, at that time an abandoned railway station in Paris.
Welles thought the location possessed a "
Jules Verne
modernism" and a melancholy sense of "waiting", both suitable for Kafka. The film failed at the box-office.
Peter Bogdanovich
would later observe that Welles found the film riotously funny. During the filming, Welles met
Oja Kodar
, who would later become his muse, star and partner for the last twenty years of his life. Welles also stated in an interview with the
that it was his best film.
Welles played a film director in
La Ricotta
(1963) -
Pier Paolo Pasolini
's segment of the
movie, although his renowned voice was dubbed by Italian writer Giorgio Bassani. He continued taking what work he could find acting, narrating or hosting other people's work, and began filming
Chimes at Midnight
, which was completed in 1966. Filmed in Spain, it was a condensation of five Shakespeare plays, telling the story of
and his relationship with Prince Hal. The cast included
Keith Baxter
John Gielgud
Jeanne Moreau
Fernando Rey
Margaret Rutherford
, with narration by
Ralph Richardson
. Music was again by
Angelo Francesco Lavagnino
. Jess Franco served as second unit director.
Chimes at Midnight
Chimes at Midnight
was based on Welles's play
Five Kings
which condensed five of Shakespeare's plays into one show in order to focus on the story of
. Welles produced the show in New York in 1939 but the opening night, where part 1 was acted, was a disaster and part 2 was never put on.
He revamped the show and revisited it in 1960 at the
Gate Theatre
But again, it was not successful. However, this later production was used as the base for the movie. The script contained text from five history plays: primarily
Henry IV, Part 1
Henry IV, Part 2
, but also
Richard II
Henry V
, and
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Keith Baxter
played Prince Hal, and internationally respected Shakespearean interpreter,
John Gielgud
, played the King, Henry IV. The film's narration, spoken by
Ralph Richardson
, is taken from the chronicler
Raphael Holinshed
. According to
Jeanne Moreau
, Welles delayed filming for two weeks due to stage fright. Welles held this film in high regard and considered it along with
The Trial
his best work. As he remarked in 1982, "If I wanted to get into heaven on the basis of one movie, that's the one I'd offer up."
In 1966, Welles directed a film for French television, an adaptation of
The Immortal Story
, by
Karen Blixen
. Released in 1968, it stars Jeanne Moreau, Roger Coggio and
Norman Eshley
. The film had a successful run in French theaters. At this time Welles met Kodar again, and gave her a letter he had written to her and had been keeping for four years; they would not be parted again. They immediately began a collaboration both personal and professional. The first of these was an adaptation of Isak Dinesen's
The Heroine
, meant to be a companion piece to
The Immortal Story
and starring Kodar. Unfortunately, funding disappeared after one day's shooting. After completing this film, he appeared in a brief cameo as
Cardinal Wolsey
Fred Zinnemann
's adaptation of
A Man for All Seasons
- a role for which he won considerable acclaim.
In 1967 Welles began directing
The Deep
, based on the novel
Dead Calm
by Charles F. Williams and filmed off the shore of
. The cast included Jeanne Moreau,
Laurence Harvey
and Kodar. Personally financed by Welles and Kodar, they could not obtain the funds to complete the project, and it was abandoned a few years later after the death of Harvey. The surviving footage was eventually edited and released by the Filmmuseum München. In 1968 Welles began filming a TV special for CBS under the title
Orson's Bag
, combining travelogue, comedy skits and a condensation of Shakespeare's play
The Merchant of Venice
with Welles as
. Funding for the show sent by CBS to Welles in Switzerland was seized by the IRS. Without funding, the show was not completed. The surviving portions were eventually released by the Filmmuseum München.
In 1969, Welles authorised the use of his name for a cinema in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Orson Welles Cinema
remained in operation until 1986, with Welles making a personal appearance there in 1977. Also in 1969 he played a supporting role in
John Huston
The Kremlin Letter
. Drawn by the numerous offers he received to work in television and films, and upset by a tabloid scandal reporting his affair with Kodar, Welles abandoned the editing of
Don Quixote
and moved back to America in 1970.
Final years (1970–1985)
Welles returned to Hollywood, where he continued to self-finance his own film and television projects. While offers to act, narrate and host continued, Welles also found himself in great demand on talk shows, and made frequent appearances for
Dick Cavett
Johnny Carson
Dean Martin
, and
Merv Griffin
. Welles's primary focus in this period was filming
The Other Side of the Wind
, a project that took six years to film but has remained unfinished and unreleased. An early role was portraying
Louis XVIII of France
(1970). Welles also narrated the beginning and ending scenes of the
Bud Yorkin
historical comedy
Start the Revolution Without Me
, which starred
Gene Wilder
Donald Sutherland
, and
Hugh Griffith
, among others.
In 1971 Welles directed a short adaptation of
, a one-man performance on a bare stage, reminiscent of his stage production
Moby Dick Rehearsed
from the 1950s. Never completed, it was eventually released by the Filmmuseum München. He also appeared in
La Décade prodigieuse
, co-starring with
Anthony Perkins
and directed by
Claude Chabrol
, based on a detective novel by
Ellery Queen
. That same year, the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
gave him an honorary award "For superlative artistry and versatility in the creation of motion pictures". Welles pretended to be out of town and sent
John Huston
to claim the award. Huston criticized the Academy for awarding Welles while they refused to give him any work.
In 1972, Welles acted as on-screen narrator for the film documentary version of
Alvin Toffler
's 1970 book
Future Shock
Welles as himself in
F is for Fake
The following year, Welles completed
F for Fake
, a personal essay film about art forger
Elmyr de Hory
and the biographer
Clifford Irving
. Based on an existing documentary by
François Reichenbach
, it included new material with
Oja Kodar
, Joseph Cotten,
Paul Stewart
William Alland
. An excerpt of Welles' 1930s
War of the Worlds
broadcast was recreated for this film, however none of the dialogue heard in the film actually matches what was originally broadcast. Welles filmed a five minute trailer, rejected in the US, that featured several shots of a topless Kodar.
Working again for a British producer, Welles played
Long John Silver
in director
John Hough
Treasure Island
(1972), an adaptation of the
Robert Louis Stevenson
novel, which had been the second story broadcast by
The Mercury Theatre on the Air
in 1938. Welles also contributed to the script, his writing credit was attributed to the pseudonym 'O. W. Jeeves'. Welles original recorded dialog was re dubbed by
Robert Rietty
Welles (above) as Long John Silver in
Treasure Island
In 1975, Welles narrated the documentary
Bugs Bunny: Superstar
, focusing on
Warner Bros.
cartoons from the 1940s. Also in 1975, the
American Film Institute
presented Welles with its third Lifetime Achievement Award (the first two going to director
John Ford
and actor
James Cagney
). At the ceremony, Welles screened two scenes from the nearly finished
The Other Side of the Wind
. Filming had begun in 1972 and by 1976, Welles had almost completed the film. Financed by Iranian backers, ownership of the film fell into a legal quagmire after the
Shah of Iran
was deposed. Written by Welles, the story told of a destructive old film director looking for funds to complete his final film. It starred John Huston and the cast included
Peter Bogdanovich
Susan Strasberg
Norman Foster
Edmond O'Brien
Cameron Mitchell
, and
Dennis Hopper
. While there have been several reports of all the legal disputes concerning ownership of the film being settled, enough disputes still exist to prevent its release. The
cable network has promised support for the project should the various entanglements associated with it be resolved.
In 1979 Welles completed his documentary
Filming Othello
, which featured Michael MacLiammoir and Hilton Edwards. Made for West German television, it was also released in theaters. That same year, Welles completed his self-produced pilot for
The Orson Welles Show
television series, featuring interviews with
Burt Reynolds
Jim Henson
Frank Oz
and guest-starring
The Muppets
Angie Dickinson
. Unable to find network interest, the pilot was never broadcast.
Beginning in the late 1970s, Welles participated in a series of famous television commercial advertisements, acting as the on-camera spokesman for the
Paul Masson
wine company. The sign-off phrase of the commercials — "We will sell no wine before its time" — became a national catchphrase. He was also the voice behind the long-running
"Probably the best lager in the world" campaign. The "probably" tag is still in use today. During coverage of these commercials on
Ads Infinitum
Victor Lewis-Smith
, a critic of Masson wines, fondly remarked that Welles endorsements of the wine were proof he was "a genius, but a lying bastard" and promptly showed an outtake of Welles being impossible to work with in a commercial shoot. In 1979 Welles also appeared in the biopic
The Secret Life of
Nikola Tesla
In 1981, Welles hosted the documentary
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
, about
-era prophet
. In 1982 the BBC broadcast
The Orson Welles Story
in the
series. Interviewed by
Leslie Megahey
, Welles examined his past in great detail, and several people from his professional past were interviewed as well. It was reissued in 1990 as
With Orson Welles: Stories of a Life in Film
. Welles provided narration for the track
Dark Avenger
's 1982 album,
Battle Hymns
. His name was misspelled on the album, as he was credited as "Orson Wells".
During the 1980s, Welles worked on such film projects as
The Dreamers
, based on two stories by
Isak Dinesen
and starring Oja Kodar, and
The Orson Welles Magic Show
, which reused material from his failed TV pilot. Another project he worked on was
Filming The Trial
, the second in a proposed series of documentaries examining his feature films. While much was shot for these projects, none of them was completed. All of them were eventually released by the Filmmuseum München. Also during this time he recorded narration for the tracks
"Dark Avenger"
heavy metal
In 1984, Welles narrated the short-lived television series
Scene of the Crime
. During the early years of
Magnum, P.I.
, Welles was the voice of the unseen character
Robin Masters
, a famous writer and
. Welles' death forced this minor character to largely be written out of the series. In an oblique homage to Welles, the
Magnum, P.I.
producers ambiguously concluded that story arc by having one character accuse another of having hired an actor to portray Robin Masters.
The last film roles before Welles's death included voice work in the animated films
The Enchanted Journey
(1984) and
The Transformers: The Movie
(1986), in which he played the planet-eating
. His last film appearance was in
Henry Jaglom
's 1987 independent film
Someone to Love
, released after his death but produced before his voice-over in
Transformers: The Movie
. His last television appearance was on the
television show
. He recorded an introduction to an episode entitled "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice", which was partially filmed in black and white. The episode aired five days after his death and was dedicated to his memory.
On October 10, 1985, Welles did his final interview on
The Merv Griffin Show
He died just two hours later of a
heart attack
at his home in the
area of
Los Angeles
, at the age of 70, the same day as
Yul Brynner
Welles's ashes were buried on the property of a long time friend, retired
Antonio Ordóñez
, in
Personal life
In 1932, Welles fell in love with the Mexican actress
Dolores del Río
. They lived a torrid romance between 1938 and 1942, though he was ten years her junior. They collaborated together in the movie
Journey into Fear
but the affair ended soon afterward.
In 1934, Welles eloped with Chicago-born actress
Virginia Nicolson
(often misspelled, her last name was Nicolson).
Welles married
Rita Hayworth
in 1943. The couple had been estranged during the making of
The Lady from Shanghai
. After five years, Rita filed for divorce, her reason to the press being, "I can't take his genius any more." During his last interview and only two hours before his death, Welles answered Merv Griffin's lustful comment "But one of your wives-oh, I have envied you so many years for Rita Hayworth." by calling her "one of the dearest and sweetest women that ever lived" and saying that he was "lucky enough to have been with her longer than any of the other men in her life".
Welles lived with
-born actress
Oja Kodar
for the last twenty years of his life .
Welles had three daughters: author Christopher Welles, or Chris Welles Feder (born in 1938, with Virginia Nicolson),
Rebecca Welles Manning
(born in 1944, with Rita Hayworth) and Beatrice Welles (born in 1955, with Paola Mori).
According to a 1941
physical exam
taken when he was 26, Welles was tall and weighed . His eyes were brown. Other sources cite that he was tall. Welles suffered from a serious weight problem in later life that rendered him
morbidly obese
, at one point weighing nearly four hundred pounds (200 kg). His obesity was severe to the point that it restricted his ability to travel, aggravated other health conditions, including his
, and even required him to go on a diet in order to play
Sir John Falstaff
Some have attributed his over-eating to
over his marginalization by the
In April 1982,
Merv Griffin
interviewed Welles and asked about his religious beliefs. Welles replied, "I try to be a Christian, I don't pray really, because I don't want to bore God." After the success of his 1941 film
Citizen Kane
, Welles announced that his next film would be about the life of
Jesus Christ
, and that he would play the lead role. However, Welles never got around to making the film. He narrated the
The Late, Great Planet Earth
as well as the 1961 Biblical film about the life of Christ,
King of Kings
Some of Welles' claimed familial ties have not held up under scrutiny. Despite the persistent urban legend, promoted by Welles himself, he was not the great-grandson of Abraham Lincoln's wartime Secretary of the Navy,
Gideon Welles
. Perhaps the genesis of the myth dates to a 1970 interview on
The Dick Cavett Show
during which Welles remarks about his venerable great-grandfather
Gideon Welles
. Orson Welles' father was Richard Head Welles, son of his paternal grandfather Richard Jones Welles; Gideon Welles had no son by that name. His sons were Hubert (1833-1862), John Arthur (1845-1883), Thomas G. (1846-1892), and Edgar Thaddeus Welles (1843-1914).
Welles was politically active from the beginning of his career. He remained a man of the
throughout his life, and always defined his political orientation as "
." He was a strong supporter of
Franklin Roosevelt
and the
New Deal
, and often spoke out on radio in support of progressive politics. In particular, he was an early and outspoken critic of American
and the practice of
. He campaigned heavily for Roosevelt in the 1944 election. For several years, he wrote a newspaper column on political issues and briefly toyed with running for office. In
, Welles narrated (but did not write) a satirical political record on the administration of President
Richard Nixon
The Begatting of the President
In his 2006 book,
Whatever Happened to Orson Welles?
, writer
Joseph McBride
made several controversial claims about Welles. Though Welles said otherwise during his lifetime, McBride claimed Welles left America in the late 1940s to escape
and the
. McBride also claimed, in spite of the sexual content of Welles' contemporary work (
F for Fake
and the unfinished
Other Side of the Wind
), that Welles was extremely puritanical about sex based on his comment to Peter Bogdanovich that
The Last Picture Show
was "a dirty movie"
Welles once told
Cahiers du Cinema
about sex in film, "In my opinion, there are two things that can absolutely not be carried to the screen: the realistic presentation of the sexual act and praying to God."
Unfinished projects
Welles's reliance on self-production meant that many of his later projects were filmed piecemeal or were not completed. Welles financed his later projects through his own fundraising activities. He often also took on other work to obtain money to fund his own films.
In the mid-1950s, Welles began work on
Don Quixote
, initially a commission from
television. Welles expanded the film to feature length, developing the screenplay to take Quixote and
Sancho Panza
into the modern age. Filming stopped with the death of
Francisco Reiguera
, the actor playing Quixote, in 1969. Orson Welles continued editing the film into the early 1970s. At the time of his death, the film remained largely a collection of footage in various states of editing. The project and more importantly Welles's conception of the project changed radically over time. A version of the film was created from available fragments of the film in 1992 and released to a very negative reception.
In 1970 Welles began shooting
The Other Side of the Wind
, about the effort of a film director (played by
John Huston
) to complete his last Hollywood picture, and is largely set at a lavish party. By 1972, the filming was reported by Welles as being "96% complete", but Welles had only edited 40% of the film by 1979. In that year, legal complications over the ownership of the film forced the negative into a Paris vault where it remained until 2004, when
Peter Bogdanovich
(who also acted in the film) announced his intention to complete the production. As of 2009, legal complications over the Welles estate have kept the film from being finished or released. Some footage is included in the documentary
Working with Orson Welles
(1993). Other unfinished projects include
The Deep
, an adaptation of
Charles Williams
Dead Calm
— abandoned in 1970 due to the death of star
Laurence Harvey
The Big Brass Ring
, the script of which was adapted and filmed by
George Hickenlooper
in 1999 — and an adaptation of
Vladimir Nabokov
's novel
for which Welles flew to Paris to discuss the project personally with the Russian author.
In his later years Welles became a regular fixture at the
restaurant "Ma Maison" (part owned by chef
Wolfgang Puck
) where he would try to enlist the aid of financiers, producers and directors to back his various film projects.
Although he was unable to obtain any funding, Welles came close with two of them:
The Big Brass Ring
The Cradle Will Rock
. Producer
Arnon Milchan
agreed to produce
The Big Brass Ring
if any one of six actors -
Warren Beatty
Clint Eastwood
Paul Newman
Jack Nicholson
Robert Redford
, or
Burt Reynolds
- would sign on to star. All six declined for various reasons. Independent funding for
The Cradle Will Rock
had been obtained and actors had signed on, including
Rupert Everett
to play the young Orson Welles. Location filming was to be done in New York City with studio work in Italy. While pre-production went smoothly, three weeks before filming was to begin the money fell through. Allegedly Welles approached
Steven Spielberg
to ask for assistance in rescuing the film, but Spielberg declined. The scripts to both films were published posthumously. After a studio auction, he complained that Spielberg spent $50,000 for the Rosebud sled used in
Citizen Kane
, but would not give him a dime to make a picture. Welles retaliated by publicly announcing the sled to be a fake, the original having been burned in the film, but later recanted the claim. Director and friend
Henry Jaglom
said of this period: "These same stars and whiz kid directors wouldn't help him get one of his movies made. Any one of these people could have made Orson's life so much happier these past 10 years just by nodding their heads." The same theme was repeated another Welles friend, singer
Eartha Kitt
after Welles's death: "The way Hollywood treated him was a form of envy, jealousy. He died a frustrated man. In the eyes of Hollywood he never achieved
Citizen Kane
again, but ironically Hollywood wouldn't let him achieve another great success like
The 1995 documentary
Orson Welles: One-Man Band
, included on the
Criterion Collection
DVD release of
F for Fake
, features scenes from several of these unfinished projects, as well as footage from an adaptation of
The Merchant of Venice
starring Welles that was never aired due to vital footage being allegedly stolen; several short subjects such as the titular
One-Man Band
, a
Monty Python
-esque spoof in which Welles plays all but one of the characters (including two characters in
); footage of Welles reading chapters from
; and a comedy skit taking place in a tailor shop and co-starring
Charles Gray
. One short, also included in the documentary, is a comedy routine in which Welles (filmed in the 1970s) plays a reporter interviewing a king, also played by Welles, but in footage shot in the 1960s; Welles finished the skit and edited it together years later. The documentary also includes two completed and edited sequences from the unreleased
The Other Side of the Wind
, and footage from an unbroadcast
television pilot
for a talk show (he is shown interviewing
The Muppets
and discussing his rationale for doing the talk show, which was produced
in the round
). The documentary is built around a college lecture given by Welles not long before his death, in which he displays frustration at being unable to complete so many projects and having spent so much of his career raising money for films rather than doing creative work.
Cultural depictions
The 1996 documentary
The Battle Over Citizen Kane
chronicles the battle between Welles and Hearst. A 1999
, tells the story of the making of
Citizen Kane
, starring
Liev Schreiber
as Orson Welles.
Tim Robbins' 1999 film
Cradle Will Rock
chronicles the process and events surrounding Welles and John Houseman's production of the 1937 musical by Marc Blitzstein. In it Welles is played by actor
Angus MacFadyen
Playwright and actor
Austin Pendleton
wrote the play
Orson's Shadow
about Welles and his collaboration with
Laurence Olivier
. It deals with the time that Welles directed
Laurence Olivier
in a production of
Eugène Ionesco
's play
. According to this play, Welles privately disliked Olivier's adaptations of Shakespeare's films (which were far more successful than Welles'), at one point stating that Olivier's film of
"looked like a Joan Crawford movie". Welles struggles with getting Olivier to play not merely someone lower-class (as he did in
The Entertainer
) but getting Olivier to play someone utterly non-descript.
Me and Orson Welles
, to be released in November 2009, stars
Zac Efron
as a teenager who convinces Welles, played by
Christian McKay
, to cast him in Welles' 1937 production of
Julius Caesar
, based on
Robert Kaplow
's novel.
In the
Tim Burton
-directed biopic
Ed Wood
, made in 1994, Welles makes a brief cameo appearance, played by
Vincent D'Onofrio
Maurice LaMarche
. In his scene, he gives advice to director
Edward D.
Wood, Jr.
, who looks upon Welles as an idol. Inspired by Welles' comments, Wood proceeds to finish his film
Plan 9 from Outer Space
, sometimes called one of the worst films of all time. Though
Ed Wood
is inspired by Wood's own life, in reality the scene is entirely fictional: Wood never met Orson Welles.
Citizen Kane
was nominated for numerous prizes at the 1941
Academy Awards
, including
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor in a Leading Role
. The only
won, however, was
Best Original Screenplay
, which Welles shared with
Herman J.
. Welles later gave his statuette to cinematographer Gary Garver as payment for services rendered. Also, the film
The Magnificent Ambersons
was nominated for Best Picture, a year later.
The Stranger
was nominated for the
Golden Lion
at the
Venice Film Festival
in 1947. Welles himself was awarded a Career Golden Lion in 1970.
In 1952, Welles's
won the
Palme d'Or
at the
Cannes Film Festival
Welles was nominated for Best Foreign Actor in a Leading Role at the 1968
BAFTA Awards
for his performance in
Chimes at Midnight
Welles was given the first Career
Golden Lion
award in the
Venice Film Festival
in 1970.
In 1970, Welles won an
Honorary Academy Award
for "superlative and distinguished service in the making of motion pictures." In light of his poor treatment by the
and by the American
film industry
in general, Welles did not attend the ceremony.
In 1970, he was awarded the French
Légion d'honneur
, the highest civilian decoration in France. Welles was also a distinguished Foreign Member of the
Académie française
, succeeded by
Peter Ustinov
Welles was given a
Lifetime Achievement Award
by the
American Film Institute
in 1975.
In 1978, Welles was presented with the Los Angeles Film Critics Career Achievement Award.
Welles was inducted into the
Radio Hall of Fame
in 1979.
In 1982, Welles was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture at the
Golden Globe Awards
for his role in
, and won a
Grammy Award
Best Spoken Word Recording
for his role on
Donovan's Brain
Welles was awarded a Fellowship of the
British Film Institute
in 1983.
In 1984, Welles was given the
Griffith Award
of the
Directors Guild of America
In 1999, the
American Film Institute
ranked Welles as the 16th
Greatest Male Star of All Time
When asked to describe Welles's influence,
Jean-Luc Godard
remarked: "Everyone will always owe him everything." (Ciment, 42)
BFI | Sight & Sound |Top Ten Poll 2002 - The Directors' Top Ten Directors
BFI | Sight & Sound |Top Ten Poll 2002 - The Critics' Top Ten Directors
Library of Congress
American Memory
. Retrieved on August 25, 2009
"evidence of the decadence and corrupt condition of democracy"—
Learn Out Loud
http://www.wellesnet.com/trial%20bbc%20interview.htm Welles BBC interview
Interview with Orson Welles, BBC Arena, 1982.
Orson Welles's other works at IMDB
Magnum, P.I.
, episode "Paper War", 1986
Hedda Hopper, "Rita Hayworth Again Leaves Orson Welles," Los Angeles Times, Mar. 13, 1947.
The Merv Griffin Show, 10 October 1985
Simon Callow, Orson Welles: The Road to Xanadu
Orson Welles and obesity: A rather fat ghandi: Explain that Stuff!
Peter Conrad on Orson Welles | Film | The Guardian
"The Battle Over Citizen Kane" documentary, 1996, written and produced by Thomas Lennon, Richard Ben Cramer and Michael Epstein.
"I try to Be a Christian"
Christianity Today
. Published 5/19/2009.
Obituary: Sir Peter Ustinov | Media | The Guardian
Orson Welles - Films as actor:, Films as narrator:, Films as director:
Anderegg, Michael:
Orson Welles, Shakespeare and Popular Culture
, Columbia University Press, 1999
Bazin, Andre:
Orson Welles
, Harper and Row, 1978
Benamou, Catherine:
It's All True: Orson Welles's Pan-American Odyssey
, University of California Press, 2007 (forthcoming)
Beja, Morris, ed.:
Perspectives on Orson Welles
, G.K. Hall, 1995
Berg, Chuck and Erskine, Tom, ed.:
The Encyclopedia of Orson Welles
, Checkmark Books, 2003
Bessy, Maurice:
Orson Welles: An investigation into his films and philosophy
, Crown, 1971
Bogdanovich, Peter and Welles, Orson
This Is Orson Welles
, HarperPerennial 1992, ISBN 0-06-092439-X
Brady, Frank:
Citizen Welles
, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1989
Callow, Simon:
The Road to Xanadu
. Jonathan Cape, 1995.
Callow, Simon:
Hello Americans
. Jonathan Cape, 2006.
Carringer, Robert:
The Making of Citizen Kane
, University of California Press, 1985
Carringer, Robert:
The Magnificent Ambersons: A Reconstruction
, University of California Press, 1993
Ciment, Michel: 'Les Enfants Terrible' in
American Film
, December 1984
Comito, Terry, ed.:
Touch of Evil
, Rutgers, 1985
Conrad, Peter:
Orson Welles: The Stories of His Life
, Faber and Faber, 2003
Cowie, Peter:
The Cinema of Orson Welles
, Da Capo Press, 1973.
Toni D'Angela (edited by),
Nelle terre di Orson Welles
, Alessandria, Edizioni Falsopiano 2004.
Davies, Anthony:
Filming Shakespeare's Plays
, Cambridge University Press, 1988
Drazin, Charles:
In Search of the Third Man
, Limelight, 2000
Estrin, Mark:
Orson Welles Interviews
, University Press of Mississippi, 2002
Feder, Chris Welles:
In My Father's Shadow: A Daughter Remembers Orson Welles
, Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, 2009
France, Richard, ed.:
Orson Welles on Shakespeare
, Routledge, 2001
France, Richard: "The Theatre of Orson Welles", Bucknell University Press, 1977
Garis, Robert: "The Films of Orson Welles", Cambridge University Press, 2004
Gosling, John: "Waging the War of the Worlds", McFarland & Company, Inc, 2009
Gottesman, Ronald, ed.:
Focus on Citizen Kane
, Prentice Hall, 1971
Gottesman, Ronald, ed.:
Focus on Orson Welles
, Prentice Hall, 1976
Greene, Graham:
The Third Man
, Faber and Faber, 1991
Heyer, Paul:
The Medium and the Magician: Orson Welles, The Radio Years
, Rowman and Littlefield, 2005
Heylin, Clinton.
Despite the System: Orson Welles Versus the Hollywood Studios
, Chicago Review Press, 2005.
Higham, Charles:
The Films of Orson Welles
, University of California Press, 1970
Higham, Charles: "Orson Welles: The Rise and Fall of an American Genius", St. Martin's Press, 1985
Howard, James: "The Complete Films of Orson Welles", Citadel Press, 1991
Ishaghpour, Youssef:
Orson Welles, cinéaste, une caméra visible
, éditions de la différence, 2001 (in French)
Jorgens, Jack J.:
Shakespeare on Film
, Indiana University Press, 1977
Leaming, Barbara:
Orson Welles
, Viking, 1985
Lyons, Bridget Gellert, ed.:
Chimes at Midnight
, Rutgers, 1988
Mac Liammóir, Micháel.
Put Money in Thy Purse: The Filming of Orson Welles's Othello
, Virgin, 1994
McBride, Joseph:
Orson Welles
, Harcourt Brace, 1977
McBride, Joseph:
Orson Welles
, Da Capo Press, 1996.
Mulvey, Laura:
Citizen Kane
Naremore, James.
The Magic World of Orson Welles
, Southern Methodist University Press, 1989.
Naremore, James, ed.:
Orson Welles's Citizen Kane: A Casebook
, Oxford University Press, 2004
Noble, Peter:
The Fabulous Orson Welles
, Hutchinson and Co., 1956
Perkins, V.F.:
The Magnificent Ambersons
Rosenbaum, Jonathan: 'Orson Welles's Essay Films and Documentary Fictions', in "Placing Movies", University of California Press, 1995
Rosenbaum, Jonathan: 'The Battle Over Orson Welles', in
Essential Cinema
, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004
Rosenbaum, Jonathan: 'Orson Welles as Ideological Challenge' in
Movie Wars
, A Capella Books, 2000
Rosenbaum, Jonathan:
Discovering Orson Welles
, University of California Press, 2007
Shakespeare Bulletin
, Volume 23, Number 1, Spring 2005: Special Welles issue.
Simon, William G., ed.:
Persistence of Vision: The Journal of the Film Faculty of the City University of New York
, Number 7, 1988: Special Welles issue
Simonson, Robert.
"Orson's Shadow Talkback Series Continues May 4 with Welles's Daughter."
3 May 2005
Taylor, John Russell:
Orson Welles: A Celebration
, Pavilion, 1986
Taylor, John Russell:
Orson Welles
, Pavilion, 1998
Walsh, John Evangelist:
Walking Shadows: Orson Welles, William Randolph Hearst and Citizen Kane
, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2004
Walters, Ben:
, London: Haus Publishing, 2004 (Paperback: ISBN 978-1-904341-80-2).
Welles, Orson:
Les Bravades
, Workman, 1996
Welles, Orson and Bogdanovich, Peter:
This is Orson Welles
, Da Capo Press, 1998.
Welles, Orson:
Mr. Arkadin
, Harper Collins, 2006
Welles, Orson:
The Big Brass Ring
, Black Spring Press, 1991
Welles, Orson:
The Cradle Will Rock
, Santa Teresa Press, 1994
Welles, Orson: "The Other Side of the Wind",
Cahiers du cinéma
/ Festival International du Film de Locarno, 2005
White, Rob:
The Third Man
Wood, Bret:
Orson Welles: A Bio-Bibliography
, Greenwood blue, 1990
External links
The Orson Welles Web Resource
Orson Welles bibliography
(via UC Berkeley Media Resources Center)
a British site devoted to the work of Orson Welles
War of the Worlds
history of the
War of the Worlds
radio broadcast and additional historical material on
War of the Worlds
Mercury Theatre on the Air
website provides MP3 and Real Audio files of Welles's radio dramas
The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus
, New York City, January 8, 1937
Production notebook, Conductor's Score, and related documents from the digital collection The New Deal Stage at the
Library of Congress
Retrieved on 8/25/2009
Nazi Eyes On Canada
, starring Orson Welles
, 1942 CBC war loan series
The Unseen Welles
a guide to Welles's unfinished and unreleased projects
The Orson Welles collection
at the Lilly Library, Indiana University
Senses of Cinema: Great Directors Critical Database
Orson Welles biography
1985 interview from
The Times
New York Times
Orson Welles - The One Man Band
(German documentary, 1995)
Full.avi download
Orson Welles The Wisconsin Historical Society
The Museum of Orson Welles
comprehensive collection of radio shows
A Film Maker with a Sound Background
An essay on Welles' extensive radio work and its innovative influence on filmmaking via Citizen Kane.
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text:
Serbia Djindjic assassination: Suspect held in Spain
A man suspected of involvement in the 2003 killing of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic has been arrested in Spain, local police have announced.
They say Luka Bojovic was detained in a restaurant in the city of Valencia on Thursday.
He is also wanted over 20 murders in Serbia, the Netherlands and Spain.
Mr Bojovic is suspected of being a member of the western Balkans' notorious Zemun clan.
Twelve men were convicted in 2007 of roles in the Djindjic killing, but several of these remain at large after going on the run.
Mr Bojovic was not among those being sought by Interpol over the assassination.
One of those who was jailed, Sretko Kalinic, made an abortive attempt to escape from prison on Tuesday.
The reformist prime minister was killed by a sniper as he was about to enter the government building in the Serbian capital, Belgrade.
The prosecution portrayed his killing as a conspiracy aimed at halting pro-Western reforms - most importantly co-operation with the International War Crimes Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Arsenal de Metz
|The Arsenal
Arsenal Ney
The Arsenal on the Esplanade garden
|General information
|Music venue
|Architectural style
|Military architecture; Post-modern
|Avenue Ney, Metz, France, Europe
|Construction started
|Municipality of Metz
|Technical details
|Floor area
|10,000 m2
|Design and construction
|Ricardo Bofill
The Arsenal Concert Hall is a cultural venue dedicated specially to classical and art music and located near the Esplanade garden in Metz, capital of the Lorraine region, France. The Arsenal is home to the Orchestre National de Lorraine and almost 200 events are spread over the season period between September and June. The Arsenal has gained wide recognition as one of the most beautiful concert halls in the world.[1]
The Arsenal is part of a cultural complex along with the chapel of the Knight Templars, from the 13th century, and ancient basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains, a Roman basilica of the 4th century, refurbished as showroom and concert hall for the Gregorian chant, respectively.
Architecture and urbanization[edit]
In 1978, the municipality of Metz decided to launch a project of a concert hall, and the site reserved was the citadel, on which is situated the ancient Arsenal Ney. Built from 1859 under Napoleon III, the Arsenal Ney was a store for weapons and ammunition. It preserved this function until the end of World War II . The realization of the concert hall was the subject of an international competition, started in 1983. In 1985, the project was awarded to the Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. The work began in May 1987 and the inauguration took place in February 1989 with a performance of Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who stated that the venue was "an instrument of music on its own."
The arsenal was originally arranged as a quadrangle. Architect Ricardo Bofill removed one of its sides and opened a vast terrace in the rear which established a meeting area, also for both other ancient edifices, Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains and the chapel of the Knight Templars. Under the square created between the aisles of the building, the concert hall is located, three-quarters buried. The regular lines of the arsenal were preserved. Windows open in a classic frame in Jaumont's stone put on by a Roman arch decorated with a stony key. Facades are plated by an Italian honey-colour stone, joints are in brass, and roofs are in lacquered bronze-like metal. The warm colors of the interior decoration with wooden beech and sycamore classic pilasters were chosen to evoke the furniture of marquetry or ancient musical instruments. For the tenth anniversary of the Arsenal's inauguration, the terrace was adorned with a sculpture, La Sentinaile, which is an artwork of Antoine Poncet.
Size and acoustic[edit]
The facility consists of a concert hall with 1,500 places (the Grande Salle), a room with 350 places (the Esplanade hall), two reception rooms (Governor and Orangerie halls), an exhibition gallery, a shop selling art, and a restaurant. The dimensions are placed next to those of Musikverein of Vienna and the volume of the room is about 13,600 cubic meter. Ceilings were established by boxes in staff finalized by the acousticians. Since its inauguration, the Arsenal has gained wide recognition for the quality of its musical acoustics.
Performance and cultural policy[edit]
Numerous reputed musicians have performed in the venue, including Yevgeny Svetlanov, Sergiu Celibidache, Lorin Maazel, Evgeny Kissin, William Christie, Philippe Herreweghe, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Jordi Savall, Philippe Jaroussky, Lang Lang, or Grigory Sokolov. Dances take equally part to the programing and emblematic figures of contemporary dance have performed there, such as Angelin Preljocaj, Sasha Waltz, Merce Cunningham, or Trisha Brown.
The music venue was used in several artistic productions, such as the soundtrack of the film, Farinelli, or the Live At the Arsenal in Metz album of Michel Petrucciani. The concert hall held in 2009 the Victoires de la Musique Classique, the annual French award ceremony that recognises the Classical musicians.
See also[edit]
- ^ Classica magazine, Special Issue, September 2010
External links[edit]
|Wikimedia Commons has media related to Arsenal de Metz.


text:
Ice is the ancestral greatsword of House Stark. It is made of Valyrian steel.[1]
- See also: Images of Ice
Ice is a greatsword, as wide across as a man's hand and taller than an adolescent Robb Stark. Its Valyrian steel blade has a dark and smokey appearance.[2]
The name "Ice" is a legacy from the Age of Heroes, and predates the current sword. About four hundred years before King Robert I Baratheon's reign, the Valyrian steel greatsword was spell-forged in Valyria and acquired by House Stark, who named it after that legacy.[1]
In 50 AC Lord Walton Stark used Ice to execut Ser Olyver Bracken who rebelled against the Night's Watch.[3]
Lord Cregan Stark used Ice to behead Ser Gyles Belgrave and Lord Larys Strong in King's Landing during the Hour of the Wolf.[4]
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
Lord Eddard Stark uses Ice to execute Gared, a deserter from the Night's Watch.[2] Ned then cleans the blade in the godswood of Winterfell.[1]
After Eddard is arrested for treason in King's Landing, Ser Ilyn Payne, the King's Justice, uses the blade to execute Eddard himself at the Great Sept of Baelor.[5]
A Storm of Swords
Ilyn carries the blade until Lord Tywin Lannister takes it from him and has Tobho Mott re-forge Ice into two longswords, Widow's Wail, and the longsword later called Oathkeeper.[6][7]
Known wielders
- Lord Walton Stark[3]
- Lord Cregan Stark[4]
- Lord Eddard Stark[1]
- Ser Ilyn Payne[5]
- Brienne Tarth, wielder of Oathkeeper the first half of the re-forged Ice[7]
- King Joffrey I Baratheon, wielder of Widow's Wail the second half of the re-forged Ice[8]
The blade was Valyrian steel, spell-forged and dark as smoke. Nothing held an edge like Valyrian steel.[2]—thoughts of Bran Stark
What has Ser Ilyn done with my father's sword?[9]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 2, Catelyn I.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 1, Bran I.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fire & Blood, A Surfeit of Rulers.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Fire & Blood, Aftermath - The Hour of the Wolf.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 65, Arya V.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 32, Tyrion IV.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 72, Jaime IX.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 59, Sansa IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 60, Tyrion VIII.


text:
While Qatar shone bright as France snatched the title in 2015 in Doha, one cannot ignore Germany's resurgence and its 2016 European title, as well as Denmark's gold medal in Rio last summer, meaning that this year's tournament will see unprecedented intensity.
Championship history
The World Handball Championship returns to France following a 16-year absence and the country's second world title. 16 years ago in France, Arab teams began posting improved results, as Egypt became the first Arab and African team to reach the semifinal, followed by Tunisia in 2005. Qatar stole the spotlight in the 2015 tournament, becoming the first Arab and non-European team to reach the final.
The first World Handball Championship took place in 1938, and 11 different nations have won the title since then, including West Germany. France sits comfortably at the top with 5 world titles, followed by Sweden and Romania (four each), Germany, Russia, and Spain (two each), and Croatia, Czechoslovakia, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and West Germany (one each).
Other national teams that failed to nab gold but managed to guarantee a spot on the podium include Denmark (three silver medals and one bronze), East Germany (2 silver and two bronze), Poland (one silver and three bronze), Austria, Hungary, and Qatar (one silver), and Serbia (two bronze).
The 2017 championship will be marked by Romania's continued absence (since their last appearance on the world stage in 2011), and Norway – which eliminated France from last year's European Championship's quarterfinals – needing a wild card to make its way to France.
Host Cities
Matches will be played in eight cities that were chosen to host the championship: Lille, Paris, Nantes, Montpellier, Albertville, Rouen, Metz, and Brest. Stade Pierre-Mauroy will be the tournament's largest venue with a capacity of 27,500, while Brest Arena will be the smallest with a capacity of 4000.
First round matches will be played in Nantes (except the opening match featuring France v/s Brazil in Paris), while Metz will host the second round, Rouen will host the third, and Paris will host the fourth. Placement matches 24 through 17 will be played in Brest, while the round of 16 and quarterfinals will be hosted by Albertville, Lille, Paris, and Montpellier, and the Capital city will host the semifinals and the final.


text: As the popularity of outdoor rooms and spaces have grown so have pergolas. I have built several for my clients. Pergolas are a great way to make the space more comfortable as the posts and open ceiling provide just enough structure to make a large space more quaint. They do a great job at creating a ceiling and the perception of walls really do become the defining element of a space. I also love how pergolas can be personalized.


text:
IDFC MF launches "IDFC Fixed Term Plan Series -59"; NFO to close on Dec 30
IDFC Mutual Fund has launched a new close ended income scheme named "IDFC Fixed Term Plan Series -59" with maturity period of 370 days from the date of allotment.
The New Fund Offer (NFO) price for the scheme is Rs 10 per unit. The NFO opened for subscription today and will close on December 30.
According to the offer document filed with SEBI, the entry load is nil and since the scheme is planned to be listed on the Stock Exchange or any other exchange, the exit load charge will not be applicable. This suggests that the investors wishing to exit may do so through the stock exchange mode.
The minimum application amount is Rs 10000 and in multiples of Rs 10 thereafter. The options available under the Plan of the Scheme are Growth and Dividend option.
The performance of the scheme will be benchmarked against CRISIL Short Term Bond Fund Index. Harshal Joshi will be the Fund Manager of the scheme.
The asset allocation of scheme will be in such a way that the objective of the scheme to generate income will be met by investing in a portfolio of Debt / Money Market Instruments. Hence, the scheme will allocate 0 to 100 per cent of asset in debt and money market instruments.


text:
Rainforest to Gold Rush Classic
- Vancouver
- Whistler
- Quesnel
- Jasper (or reverse)
Nestled within a rolling pastoral landscape, Quesnel is a golden nugget of charm complete with a treasure trove of heritage buildings that will make any visitor a history lover. Wander along the peaceful Riverfront Trail System and cross the world's longest wooden truss bridge as the sun sets over the river. Watch out though, your romantic stroll may be photobombed by Quesnel's many deer who walk through the area.
Wander along the expansive Riverfront Trail System and cross the Fraser River Walking Bridge, the world's longest wooden truss footbridge.
Get some fresh air and sunshine touring the "Little People" painted on 23 fire hydrants throughout downtown Quesnel.
Wander through Louis LeBourdais Park, home to the Quesnel Visitor Centre, Quesnel & District Museum, and the Heritage Rose Garden.
1806 - Simon Fraser names a tributary of the Fraser River after clerk Jules Maurice Quesnel.
1859 - Prospectors pan for gold.
1862 - Billy Barker strikes gold in Quesnel!
1990 - The scenic Riverfront Trail System opens.


text:
To John Adams from John Paul Jones, 13 May 1779
From John Paul Jones
L'Orient May 13th. 1779
You will confer on me a singular Obligation by favoring me with your Opinion and Advice respecting the unhappy misunderstanding which I am told prevails on board the Alliance. I ask your advice because, tho I am determined to preserve Order and Disciplin where I command, yet I wish to reprove with moderation and never to punish while there remains a good Alternative. It appears that there is a fault at least in one of the parties, and I wish much to know where the fault lies, for without harmony and general good will among the officers I cannot proceed with a good prospect.
I beseech you to favor me with an Answer as soon as possible.1 When I have the honor of seeing you Ashore I will put into your hands a letter2 which I have received—in the meantime if you require it I will promise to keep your Answer a Secret.
I have the honor to be with sentiments of great respect Sir Your very Obliged very Obedient humble Servant
Jno. P. Jones
RC (Adams Pacers).
1. Jones, at Lorient preparing for the planned assault on the English and Irish coasts (see Benjamin Franklin to JA, 24 April, note 1, above), lost no time in consulting JA, who had arrived on the previous day in the Alliance (JA, Diary and Autobiography description begins Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, ed. L. H. Butterfield and others, Cambridge, 1961; 4 vols. description ends , 2:369). JA indicated that he continued to hold the opinion expressed in his letter to Benjamin Franklin of 13 April (above) and then stated that "these little unhappinesses appear to me to be so little essential, that I fancy the shortest and surest way to cure them is to get to Sea, and find something else to think of." (JA to Jones, 13 May, offered for sale by Anderson Galleries, First Editions, Autograph Letters and Manuscripts, cat. 4135, N.Y., 1934, p. 4. The current location of this letter is unknown to the editors.)
2. The letter is unidentified, but Jones may have shown it to JA when the two men dined together on 13 May. JA's Diary entry for that day contains a description of the dinner and a brief character sketch of Jones (Diary and Autobiography description begins Diary and Autobiography of John Adams, ed. L. H. Butterfield and others, Cambridge, 1961; 4 vols. description ends , 2:370–371).


text:
Ma's apple sponge
Growing up, my mother made the best fruit sponges – I remember the excitement as the spoon pierced the golden crust to reveal the fruit at the bottom.
|12 large
|Apples, makes 4-6 cups of stewed fruit
|2 large
|Eggs, at room temperature
|¾ cup
|1 cup
|Flour, sifted
|1 tsp
|Baking powder, sifted
|1 Tbsp
|Butter, melted
|2 Tbsp
|1 tsp
|Vanilla essence
- Stew your apples, addinga small amount of sugar for flavour at the end of the cooking process. By adding it at the end, you always use less sugar.
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- While the fruit is cooking, beat the eggs with the sugar until pale, thick and foamy (approximately 2 minutes). Add the sifted our and baking powder. Fold the flour mixture gently into the egg mixture with fork.
- Melt the butter in the milk and add to the mix. Finally, add the vanilla.
- Pour the hot fruit into a 2L ovenproof dish, followed by the sponge mix. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Test with a skewer.
- Lightly dust the sponge with icing sugar and serve with cream or custard.
Cook's tip
To ensure the best results, make sure your sponge mixture is placed on top of the hot fruit, so make your sponge while the fruit is simmering.


text:
After IT jobs, it's nose jobs for expats in city
What brings expats to the Silicon Valley of India? Not IT jobs. This time, Bangalore has seen a rise in expats from Iran and Arab for Rhinoplasty surgeries, due to which the cosmetology industry witnessed a dramatic growth in the city. Bangalore, April 12, 2018: Bangalore witnessed a 30 per cent increase in the inflow of […]Continue Reading