Orson Welles
奥逊·威尔斯
American director and actor, 1915–1985. He completed his first film, Citizen Kane, at twenty-five. Several of those that followed were recut by their studios or left unfinished, and he spent his later years raising money independently in Europe.
Career
Welles worked first in theatre and radio; his 1938 broadcast of The War of the Worlds caused public alarm. RKO then signed him to an unusual contract giving him control of script, cast and final cut, and Citizen Kane was made under those terms when he was twenty-five.
He never held equivalent authority again. The Magnificent Ambersons was heavily recut by the studio while he was out of the country, and Touch of Evil was recut and partly reshot after delivery. From the 1950s he raised money in Europe and funded his own projects with acting fees; several, among them a version of Don Quixote, were never finished.
Suggested Viewing Order
- 01
- 02
Films
Films as Actor
- Citizen Kane1941as Charles Foster Kane
- Touch of Evil1958as Hank Quinlan