"Mercury Man..."

“I have always been more interested in experimentation that in accomplishment…” - Orson Welles
　
Personal debate on the genius of Orson Welles could fill many pages of many books, but no matter what your personal opinion dictates, he was a genius when it came to his vision for the films he created.

He was no one-hit wonder.

I recently went back and viewed two of his early films and was once again riveted to the plot and the acting prowess let alone his inventive camera angles and master direction.

He managed to command all three areas of the media: radio, theater and film. In his early twenties he wrote, produced, acted and directed his productions from the early days at the Mercury Theater (1937), where he honed his craft and groomed his key players.

Most remember him for his “War of The Worlds” radio broadcast which sent a good portion of the nation into total panic. Its still a great Halloween creep fest if you’re so inclined to cue it up for a listen.

When he finally made it to Hollywood, the studios were not very receptive to having this young upstart in town. It took more time than anticipated for him to be able to start with his first film.

“CITIZEN KANE” , 1941. Cinematic genius on celluloid.

His filmography is a cinephile’s dream “to-do list”. Do yourself a favor and check off a few for your own enjoyment and education.

His experimentation in all things visual for the audience has been a cornerstone of all directing styles throughout the decades. You can find his techniques still used today and many directors accredit his experiments as the defining reasons they decided to make films.

Welles never stopped experimenting his entire life. He was a scrappy Midwestern kid who at the age of ten, decided to run away from home only to be found a week later performing on a street corner. Traveling to Europe as a young teen, he performed on stage to great acclaim which eventually brought him back to the US and Broadway. He was an accomplished Shakespearean actor (see “Othello” & “Macbeth”) and even a magician.

He was brash, gregarious, relentless and tenacious to a fault. When one endeavor was accomplished, a new one was discovered for the conquest.

All too often we fail to recognize or don’t have the privilege of seeing a genius at work, thankfully in the case of Orson Welles, we only have to sit back and watch…
 　
　

That’s a wrap!
    


　

-Hollie Wood