Magic Lantern Video & Book StoreOrson Welles
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short profile
links Books By Orson Welles
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Orson Welles entry at Wikipedia
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Orson Welles won a shared Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay for "Citizen Kane" [1941] and an Honorary Oscar® in 1971 |
four awards (1952-66) at Cannes
a Peabody Award for "The Fountain of Youth" [1958]
the Venice Film Festival Career Golden Lion Award (1970)
the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award (1975)
the Donatello/Visconti Award (1983)
the D.G.A. Lifetime Achievement Award (1984)
and has a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
and was listed by The Atlantic Monthly among America's Most Influential Filmmakers [Dec 2006]
Links
Orson Welles credits at Internet Movie Database
Orson Welles entry at Wikipedia
browse Orson Welles on DVD at Amazon
Orson Welles books catalog at Amazon.com
Orson Welles movie posters at AllPosters.com
Orson Welles photo posters at AllPosters.com
Wellesnet: The Orson Welles Web Resource
Books By Orson Welles
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"Orson Welles: Interviews" [2002] Edited by Mark W. Estrin Univ Press of MS 9x6 pb [3/2002] for $14.00 Univ Press of MS 9x6¼ hardcover [4/2002] for $46.36 |
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"This Is Orson Welles" [1992 autobiography] by Orson Welles & Peter Bogdanovich Da Capo Press 8¼x5¼ pb [4/98] for $16.32 HarperCollins 9½x6½ hardcover [9/92] out of print/used |
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"Orson Welles On Shakespeare: The W.P.A. & Mercury Theatre Playscripts" [1990] Edited by Richard France, Foreword by Simon Callow Routledge 9x6 pb [9/2001] for $29.95 Greenwood Press 9¾x6½ hardcover [12/90] for $68.95 |
Books About Orson Welles
Movies About Orson Welles
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"A.F.I. Lifetime Achievement Award: Orson Welles" [1975] Republic color VHS [2/98] out of stock/used show credits from IMDb |
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American Experience "The Battle Over Citizen Kane" [PBS/WGBH 2-hour tv documentary special Jan 1996] Co-directed by Michael Epstein & Thomas Lennon; interviewees include William Alland, Peter Bogdanovich, Frank Mankiewicz, Thomas Anderson & Ruth Warrick; Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature WGBH color DVD [11/2000] for $17.99 WGBH color VHS [9/2000] for $18.95 full credits from IMDb P.B.S. official movie site |
"R.K.O. 281" tv movie
[H.B.O./WGBH airdate Nov 1999]
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The title is the production number for the filming of "Citizen Kane". After Wm. Randolph Hearst learned that Orson Welles was making a feature film that was a thinly-disguised and unflattering look at Hearst's life, the publishing tycoon and presidential hopeful used his power and influence to bury the picture.
Directed by Benjamin Ross; starring Liev Schreiber {as Welles}, James Cromwell, Melanie Griffith, John Malkovich & Roy Scheider; nominated for 13 Emmy Awards, including Best TV Movie, Best Direction & Best Script, won 3 minor Emmies; won WGA Award for Best TV Script (tied)
H.B.O. Home Video color DVD [4/2000] for $12.99 H.B.O. Home Video color VHS [3/2001] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"Fade To Black"
[Ealing/U.K. Europe 2006, not yet USA]
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After the breakup of his marriage to Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles is hired for a film in post-World War II Italy. When a member of the crew is murdered, Orson and his driver are then drawn into a dangerous web of intrigue, murder & politics. Written & directed by Oliver Parker, based on a 1994 book by Davide Ferrario; starring Danny Huston (as Orson), Diego Luna, Paz Vega, Christopher Walken, Anna Galiena & Violante Placido
video/DVD not available; full credits at IMDb Ealing Studios film site • official moviw site on MySpace Film |
"Me and Orson Welles" [set for 2009 release] 
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New York City in 1937: A teenager bluffs his way into the role of Lucius in a production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" at the off-Broadway Mercury Theater, directed by the dynamic young genius Orson Welles.
Co-produced & directed by Richard Linklater; co-produced & adapted by Holly Gent Palmo & Vincent Palmo Jr., based on the novel by Robert Kaplow {below}; starring Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay {as Orson Welles}, Eddie Marsan, Kelly Reilly & James Tupper
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available; full credits at IMDb based on the New York Times bestselling 2003 novel by Robert Kaplow Penguin movie tie-in mass pb [8/2009] for $11.20 
Penguin 7x5 pb [6/2005] for $11.20 MacAdam/Cage 7¼x5½ hardcover [10/2003] for $18.50 |
"Citizen Kane" [Mercury/R.K.O. May 1941]
Generally considered the 'Best Film of All Time'
"Citizen Kane" entry at Wikipedia The film premiered at the R.K.O. Palace Theatre in New York City on 1 May 1941, but was unsuccesful in its first run. Due to threats to industry members by [purported] subject Wm. Randolph Hearst [1863-1951], each mention of the film at the 1942 Academy Awards ceremony was roundly booed by the audience. Nonetheless, the film won an Oscar for Best Original Script, having been also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor [Welles], Best B&W Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Sound & Best Music Score.
Release in Europe in 1946 brought much acclaim, followed by re-release in the U.S.A. in the 1950s; the film was restored by Turner Entertainment in 1991. "Citizen Kane" is number one on the Top 100 List of the American Film Institute, listed on the National Film Registry (1989), and listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (5/2005)
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Produced, co-written & directed by Orson Welles; co-written by Herman J. Mankiewicz; cinematography by Gregg Toland; music by Bernard Herrmann; co-starring Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead, Ruth Warrick, Ray Collins, Erskine Sanford, Everett Sloane, William Alland, Thomas Anderson, Paul Stewart & George Coulouris
Turner b&w DVD [9/2001] 2 disks for $16.97 Turner b&w VHS [8/96] out of prodn/many used Varese Sarabande soundtrack CD [11/99] for $16.18 full credits from IMDb |
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"Citizen Kane" screenplay [2002] by Orson Welles & Herman J. Mankiewicz includes the essay "Raising Kane" by Pauline Kael Methuen Drama pb [5/2002] for $18.42 |
more details (synopsis, books, posters, links) on
Magic Lantern's "Citizen Kane" 1941 Movie Page
Other Films of Orson Welles
"The Stranger" [R.K.O. May 1946]
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An investigator for the War Crimes Commission releases one suspect in hope of following him to a mastermind of the Holocaust. The suspect is killed in a small town in Connecticut, and the investigator's only clue is the mastermind's fascination with antique clocks.
Directed by & starring Orson Welles; also starring Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Philip Merivale, Richard Long, Konstantin Shayne, Byron Keith & Martha Wentworth Delta b&w DVD [6/2002] for $7.99 Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [2/94] for $12.34 full credits from IMDb |
"Macbeth" [Mercury/Republic Oct 1948]
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An 11th-century Scottish nobleman, under pressure by his ruthless wife, murders his soveriegn, is proclaimed king in his stead, then is undone by his own character flaws.
Produced, adapted & directed by & starring Orson Welles; based on the 1606 play by Wm. Shakespeare [1564-1616]; co-starring Jeanette Nolan, Dan O'Herlihy, Roddy McDowall, Edgar Barrier & Erskine Sanford Republic b&w DVD [1/98] out of prodn/used Republic b&w VHS [1/98] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"The Third Man" [British Lion U.K. Sept 1949; USA Feb 1950]
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Offered a job in post-war Vienna, an American novelist arrives to find that his employer has been killed in a peculiar traffic accident; further investigation leads to conflicting stories, so he sets out to uncover the truth. Directed by Carol Reed; script by Graham Greene from his novella; starring Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Bernard Lee & Wilfrid Hyde-White; zither music by Anton Karas; won Oscar for Best Cinematography {Robert Krasker}, Oscar & DGA noms for Best Director, won BAFTA for Best British Film; listed on the B.F.I. 100 Best British Films Ever (1999-2000)
Criterion b&w DVD [11/99] for $29.85 Homevision b&w VHS [7/95] out of prodn/used Jasmine Music Anton Karas CD [11/2002] for $13.99 full credits from IMDb |
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"The Third Man" [1950 novella] by Graham Greene Penguin 7¾x5¼ pb [5/99] for $10.01 Audio PartnersUNABR audio CD [7/98] for $11.67 white 11"x17" poster available at AllPosters.com
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"The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice"
[France 1952, U.S.A. 1955; restored in 1991]
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Filmed over four years, using Welles' own money, on location in Morocco & Italy. Co-written & directed by & starring Orson Welles; based on the circa 1603 play by Wm. Shakespeare [1564-1616]; also starring Micheál MacLiammóir, Robert Coote & Suzanne Cloutier; tied for Palme D'Or Prize at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival
Image Ent. b&w DVD [8/99] out of stock/used Kino Video b&w VHS [yr=?] out of stock/used Academy b&w VHS [yr=?] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb |
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"Put Money In Thy Purse" by Micheál MacLiammóir, Foreword by Orson Welles Details of the lengthy and complicated filming of Welles' 1952 "Othello" by the actor who portrayed Iago. Virgin Books pb [4/94] out of print/rare |
"Moby Dick" [1956]
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Directed by John Huston; script by Ray Bradbury, John Huston & Norman Corwin, based on the epic 1851 novel; starring Gregory Peck, Richard Basehart, Leo Genn, Royal Dano & Orson Welles
MGM/UA VHS video [8/99] for $13.99 MGM/UA DVD [6/2001] for $16.99 full credits from IMDb |
"The Long, Hot Summer" [Fox April 1958]
Directed by Martin Ritt; based on William Faulkner's stories "Barn Burning" & "The Spotted Horses", and his 1940 novel
"The Hamlet"; starring Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick & Angela Lansbury
full credits from IMDb
"Touch of Evil"
[Universal April 1958; restored version Sept 1998]
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A narcotics officer from Mexico, honeymooning in a U.S. Border town, gets caught up in a battle against a 'justice at any cost' police chief and Mexican gangsters. Highlights include one of the longest continuous shots in film history, and nighttime location filming in 'downtown' Venice, California.
Written & directed by & starring Orson Welles; based on the Whit Masterson novel; music by Henry Mancini; co-starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Marlene Dietrich, Joanna Cook Moore, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver & Zsa Zsa Gabor; listed in the National Film Registry in 1993
Universal restored b&w widescreen DVD [10/2000] for $10.99 Universal restored b&w VHS [10/2000] out of prodn/used Universal b&w 1958 version VHS [3/92] out of prodn/many used Varese Sarabande soundtrack CD [4/93] out of prodn/rare full credits from IMDb color 11"x17" poster (at left) from Amazon for $9.99 11"x17" b&w poster (at top) from Amazon for $9.99 |
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1956 novel {orig "Badge of Evil"} by Whit Masterson
Carroll & Graf mass pb [10/92] out of print/used "Touch of Evil: Orson Welles, Director" [1985] critical text by Terry Comito Rutgers Univ Press 8x6 pb [11/85] for $24.95 Rutgers Univ Press hardcover [7/85] out of print/rare |
"Chimes At Midnight"
aka "Campanadas a Medianoche" [Spain 1965]
 | A connected tale molded from "Henry IV" & other plays by Wm. Shakespeare [1564-1616] following Sir John Falstaff's career – bawdy drinking companion to Prince Hal (later crowned Henry V), crafty wartime hero, rejected friend of the newly-crowned king – and his off-screen death.
Adapted & directed by & starring Orson Welles {as Falstaff}; co-starring John Gielgud, Keith Baxter, Jeanne Moreau, Margaret Rutherford, Jeremy Rowe, Fernando Rey & Michael Aldridge
Continental b&w DVD [yr=?] out of stock/used Movies Unlimited b&w VHS [yr=?] out of stock/used full credits from IMDb |
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"Chimes at Midnight: Orson Welles, Director" [1989] critical text by Bridget Gellert Lyons Rutgers Univ Press 9x6 pb [2/89] for $22.00 Rutgers Univ Press 8½x6¼ hardcover [2/89] out of print/used |
"Catch-22" [Filmways/Paramount June 1970]
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Based on the best-selling Joseph Heller novel. Captain Yossarian (Alan Arkin) tries deperately to get grounded so he will not have to fly any more bombing missions over Hitler's Europe: anyone who goes to war is crazy, but if he asks to be grounded for being crazy, then he's not crazy anymore and he has to keep flying – 'catch 22'. A gut-wrenching satire.
Directed by Mike Nichols; screenplay by Buck Henry; all-star cast including Orson Welles Paramount widescreen DVD [5/2001] for $17.99 Paramount color VHS [8/2001] for $9.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Ten Days' Wonder" {aka "La Décade Prodigieuse"}
[France Dec 1971, USA April 1972]
 | A young sculptor wakes up in a hotel room, hands bloodied and not knowing how he got there. He recruits a college professor to go with him to his father's country chateau, where they find family intrigue, adultery, and blackmail.
Directed by Claude Chabrol; based on a 1948 Ellery Queen novel; starring Orson Welles, Michel Piccoli, Anthony Perkins & Marlène Jobert
Pathfinder dubbed color DVD [5/2003] for $17.99 Pathfinder dubbed color VHS [5/2003] for $19.98 Vivendi subtitled color VHS [5/93] for $18.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Treasure Island" [National General Oct 1972]
 | Directed by John Hough; based on the classic 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson [1850-94]; co-written by Wolf Mankowitz; co-written by & starring Orson Welles {as Long John Silver}; also starring Kim Burfield, Walter Slezak, Rik Battaglia, Lionel Stander, Ángel del Pozo, Jean Lefebvre & Maria Rohm
Region 1 DVD not available; Warner color VHS [9/98] out of prodn/rare full credits from IMDb see also "Treasure Island" Movies [1912-2010] Page |
"It Happened One Christmas"
[Universal/NBC-TV Dec 1977]
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A gender-reversed reworking of Frank Capra's 1947 classic "It's A Wonderful Life"; a woman whose life is coming apart wishes that she had never been born, so an angel is sent to Earth to grant her wish after showing her how her never having been born would have affected everyone else.
Directed by Donald Wrye; adapted by Lionel Chetwynd; co-produced by & starring Marlo Thomas, also starring Orson Welles, Wayne Rogers, Cloris Leachman & Barney Martin
DVDs were produced, but not available via Amazon (2009) full credits from IMDb |
"The Muppet Movie" [Henson/A.F.D. June 1979]
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A frog, a bear and a pig head for Hollywood, while trying to elude a greedy fast-food magnate. On their way to fame & fortune, the characters get an agent, meet with a studio bigwig (Welles), and confront other dangers.
Created by Jim Henson & Frank Oz; Directed by James Frawley; starring Kermit The Frog, Fozzie Bear, The Great Gonzo, Miss Piggy, Rowlf The Dog, Charles Durning, Steve Martin, Orson Welles, Carol Kane, Milton Berle, Mel Brooks, James Coburn & Dom DeLuise
Disney color DVD [11/2005] for $13.99 Disney color VHS [3/93] out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster from Amazon for $9.99 27"x40" poster from Amazon for $19.99 |
"The Secret of Nikola Tesla" [Croatia 1980]
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Directed by Krsto Papic, starring Petar Bozovic as inventor Nikola Tesla & Orson Welles as J.P. Morgan
UFO TV 105-minute color DVD [11/2003] for $26.99 UFO Central 105-minute color VHS [10/2001] for $28.45 2-hr video not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Don Quijote de Orson Welles" [Spain 1992]
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"The Lost Dream Project" Welles worked on this film much like an author might work on a novel, off and on for thirty years from 1955, and it was not entirely finished at his death in 1985. The release of 1992 that was cobbled together by Jesus Franco & Javier Mina is far from Welles's intentions, and is missing major dequences, with other sequences filmed by them. (The bottom line is that this is currently the only way that the public can see any of Welles's footage.)
Written & directed by Orson Welles & Jesus Franco; based on the Cervantes novel published in 1604 & 1614; starring Francisco Reiguera, Akim Tamiroff, José Mediavilla & Patty McCormack, with archive footage of Orson Welles
Image Ent. b&w DVD [8/2008] for $12.99 full credits at IMDb |
Radio & Audio Works of Orson Welles
The Mercury Theatre Online website
"Orson Welles Radio Collection" 341 episodes on 7 CD disks
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"The Complete War of The Worlds" [2001] Edited by Brian Holmsten & Alex Lubertozzi 1897 illustrated edition of H.G. Wells's novel and audio of Orson Welles's Hallowe'en 1938 Mercury Theatre radio broadcast Sourcebooks hardcover {book + audio CD} [4/2001] for $27.17 |
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"The Best of Old-Time Radio Starring Orson Welles" [2001] from Radio Spirits & the Smithsonian Institution Radio Spirits audio cassette & 60-page booklet [4/2001] for $24.98 |
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"The War of the Worlds" Hallowe'en 1938 radio broadcast [2003]
cast includes Dan Seymour, William Alland, Frank Readick, Orson Welles, Carl Frank, Kenneth Delmar, Richard Wilson, Ray Collins, Stefan Schnabel & Carl Frank Radio Spirits audio CD [2/2003] for $4.98 Radio Spirits audio [2/2003] for $4.98 'War of the Worlds' radio show entry at Wikipedia |
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"The Orson Welles Library" [1995] readings include Oscar Wilde's "The Happy Prince", Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart", Joseph Conrad's "The Secret Sharer", "Letter to the Rev. Dr. Hyde", "The Red Room", "Wakefield", Kipling's "Riki Tikki Tavi", Fitzgerald's "Diamond As Big As The Ritz" and many more Dove/Audio Literature on 4 tapes [9/95] out of prodn/used |
"The Shadow" radio program [1931 to 1954]
mostly written by Walter B. Gibson, using the pen name 'Maxwell Grant';
Orson Welles acted the part on radio from 1937-38
'The Shadow' entry at Wikipedia
DR's Shadow fansite
'The Shadow: Master of Darkness' fansite
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Radio Spirits audio CD [1/2006] 3 disks for $29.95 Radio Spirits audio CD box set [2/2003] for $17.98 Radio Spirits audio cassette [1/98] for $34.98 |
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"The Shadow: Greatest Radio Adventures" [2002] from Radio Spirits
total 40 episodes {20 hours}: 8 episodes starring Orson Welles; 15 episodes starring Bill Johnstone; 17 episodes starring Bret Morrison Radio Spirits audio CD box set [7/2002] 20 disks & booklet for $69.98 |
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"The Shadow: The Lost Shows" [2006] from Radio Spirits 1 episode starring Orson Welles; 3 episodes starring Bill Johnstone; 4 episodes starring Bret Morrison; 2 episodes starring Albert Bester Radio Spirits audio CD box set [1/2006] 5 disks for $39.95 |
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"The Shadow Chronicles" [2006] from Radio Spirits
2 episodes starring Orson Welles; 3 episodes starring Bill Johnstone; 2 episodes starring Bret Morrison; 1 episode starring John Archer, plus 1-hour audio documentary Radio Spirits audio CD [1/2006] for $35.96 Radio Spirits audio [9/96] for $18.87 |
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