Orson Welles Films

90. The Stranger (1946) Welles. Orson stars as an ex-Nazi war criminal living in a Small US Town. Loretta Young plays his wife and Edgar G. Robinson is hot on his trail. Welles later called it his worst movie, done only for money - and I agree. The high praise from others is simply puzzling. Young over-emotes and hams it up, Robinson lacks charisma and is too subdued, and Welles just plays Orson Welles. Welles is simply unconvincing as a Nazi war criminal - the 30 year old baby-faced Welles - sports a phony mustache & doesn't even attempt an accent. To indicate "evil" Welles alternates between looking shifty and glaring. The story itself is unbelievable with Young's character behaving like a complete ninny. Among other plot holes, I wondered how the minor Nazi Criminal knew where Welles was, did he send him a postcard? Finally, there is no suspense - we know Welles' character will be caught and Robinson's character telegraphs every plot point. Pros: Welles lights the film well and the final clock scene is exciting. Rating **
91. The Trial (1962) Welles. Based on the Kafka Novel. Perkins stars as the accused while Welles shows up as the "Advocate". The producers gave Welles the choice of filming any number of public domain novels and he picked Kafka's "The trial". Bad choice Orson. Psychological novels rarely make good films and this is no exception. Welles provides some excellent -sometimes surreal - direction, but he can't save the movie. The sets are cheap, the story drab, Perkins wooden, and whole thing seems pointless. And at 2 hours its too long. Welles' never had a Box Office hit for many reasons. One reason was his desire to be interesting, dark, and edgy - rather than good or entertaining. "The Trial" certainly has some "interesting" moments but I didn't find it enjoyable or profound at any level. Not a bad movie - but I have no desire to see it again.Rating **

92. F for Fake (1973) Welles. Documentary about fakes and fakery. A natural for Welles who often gave Magic shows in Las Vegas and LA. Sometimes surreal and often scattered, Welles' main focus is on two men - Irving who wrote a fake Howard Hughes autobiography and De Hoy who painted fake Masterpieces. Welles uses a lot of zooms, jump edits, and razzle dazzle to keep things interesting. I enjoyed it - and at 85 minutes it moves along - but the subject is of no real importance. Rating **1/2

93. Macbeth (1948) Welles. This was Orson's low-budget stab at the great play with himself in the title role.. As you might expect, there's striking imagery and Welles does an excellent job with the cheap sets - primarily by using a lot of Fog and Darkness. Acting Welles is certainly a charismatic Macbeth - but lacks any depth of emotion. The supporting cast is made up of Hollywood contract actors like Jeanette Nolan and Rody McDowell - who do a good to adequate job. Summary Macbeth has never been my favorite Shakespeare play, the story is a little too bleak and Welles doesn't lighten things up - just the opposite. However, given the low budget and lack of great supporting actors- its a good try. Rating **1/2

94. Mr. Arkadin (1955) Welles. In postwar Europe, an American adventurer investigates the past of the mysterious tycoon Arkadin. Stars Robert Arden as the investigator - Welles plays Mr. Arkadin. "Touch of Evil" has been described as the greatest "B" movie of all time, but this Welles effort is just a "B" movie. Of course, it has some clever Welles' touches and some good/interesting cine-photography but its not a coherent movie and the leads (Arden and Medina) are nothing more than adequate. The production values are low & the sound in particular is bad at times. In summary, a Bad Radio Script with good camera work. For Welles completists only. Rating **