Sand ...sand ...sand

May 6, 2016 11:56 AM

Celebrate Orson Welles 101th birthday with this collection of his commercial work (and famous outakes), an episode of You Must Remember This on his relationship with Rita Hayworth and the Mercury Wonder show (original flyer) or listen to him narrate a bonkers documentary commissioned by the then Shah of Iran 'Eternal Light' .
posted by The Whelk (4 comments total)

His work can be seen as a high water mark in film work and invention during the last century, look close and we can still see the glow of genius. I suspect he is playing poker with Harry Cohn and enjoying a cigar [on Harry's tab!].
posted by Freedomboy at 4:58 PM on May 6, 2016 [1 favorite]

And the fact that he DIDN'T accept every offer to do a commercial voiceover gig resulted in a major source of income for Paul Frees. (of course now that both of them have passed away, we have Maurice LaMarche)
posted by oneswellfoop at 5:06 PM on May 6, 2016

The Shadow is a great appreciation of Welles from the New Yorker's Alex Ross. It's a pity he's seen by many as a foolish figure because of the commercials. He truly was a revolutionary artist and an uncompromising figure in the face of unrelenting commercial pressures.
posted by Omon Ra at 6:00 PM on May 6, 2016

As much as I love the Paul Masson Wine commercials, one of my favorite bits of "lesser" Welles is the pelote part of his documentary series "Around the World with Orson Welles". The scene where he asks for a cherry from a couple kids in a tree cracks me up every time.
posted by Ashwagandha at 7:18 AM on May 9, 2016