About

A retrospective of one of the most influential and charismatic figures in North American cinema.

An acclaimed filmmaker, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, Orson Welles worked extensively in radio, theatre, film and television. Hailed as the new 'wunderkind of American theatre' at 23 years of age, he rocketed to international fame for the celebrated 1938 radio adaptation of HG Wells' novel The War of the Worlds (1898). By 25, he'd co-written, directed and starred in Citizen Kane 1941, a virtuosic achievement nominated for nine Academy Awards and listed by critics as one of the greatest films of all time. A singularly creative force, Welles' stormy relationship with the major Hollywood studios saw only 12 feature-length films and two documentaries completed in a career that spanned five decades. This program presents all 12 features as well as his documentary F for Fake 1973, and a selection of Welles' film and television appearances and radio broadcasts.

RADIO
Cinema A
The Australian Cinémathèque presented three radio broadcasts narrated by Orson Welles; The War of the Worlds 1938, The Green Goddess 1939 and The Adventures of Harry Lime 1951.

Best known for his celebrated 1938 radio adaptation of HG Wells' novel The War of the Worlds (1898) Welles rich and intelligent delivery gave dramatic urgency to the radio melodramas raising them above the radio fair of the day. Between 1936 -1941 Welles was involved in over one hundred radio productions as writer, actor and director. With the release of Citizen Kane 1941 Welles focused his energies towards film however he continued to lend his voice to productions through to the early 1950s.

QAGOMA thanks Academy Film Archive, Los Angeles; British Film Institute, London; La Cineteca del Friuli, Gemona; Filmoteca Española, Madrid; National Film and Sound Archive, Australia, Canberra; Svenska Filminstitutet, Stockholm; and UCLA Film and Television Archive, Los Angeles, for providing film materials for this programs. Program curated by Amanda Slack-Smith, Australian Cinémathèque.

List of Works

• Director: Short Films and Features
• The Hearts of Age 1934
• Citizen Kane 1941
• The Magnificent Ambersons 1942
• Journey into Fear 1943
• The Stranger 1946
• The Lady from Shanghai 1947
• Macbeth 1948
• Othello 1952
• Mr Arkadin 1955
• Touch of Evil 1958
• The Trial 1962
• Chimes at Midnight 1965
• The Immortal Story 1968
• Actor
• Jane Eyre 1943 | Director: Robert Stevenson
• Tomorrow is Forever 1946 | Director: Irving Pichel
• The Third Man 1949 | Director: Carol Reed
• Moby Dick 1956 | Director: John Huston
• The Long Hot Summer 1958 | Director: Martin Ritt
• Compulsion 1959 | Director: Richard Fleischer
• A Man for All Seasons 1966 | Director: Fred Zinnemann
• Documentaries
• It's All True: Based on an Unfinished Film by Orson Welles 1993 | Directors: Bill Krohn, Myron Meisel, Orson Welles, Richard Wilson, Norman Foster
• F is for Fake 1973
• Orson Welles: The One-Man Band 1995 | Directors: Vassili Silovic, Oja Kodar
• Theatre, Television and Radio
• Theatre: Too Much Johnson 1938
• Television: Around the World with Orson Welles 1955
• Television: Colgate Theatre: The Foundation of Youth 1958
• Television: Orson Welles: The Paris Interviews 1960 | Director: Allan King
• Radio: The War of the Worlds 1938
• Radio: The Green Goddess 1939
• Radio: H.G. Wells Meets Orson Welles 1940
• Radio: The Adventures of Harry Lime 1951–52 (Ep.37 Man of Mystery)