Othello (1951)

 First, let me say that with the exception of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth, Julius Caesar, and Henry V,   I personally think Shakespeare reads better than he plays.  After all, the glory of Shakespeare lies in his language, and not his plots.  So, my less than enthusiastic review grows from my own eccentric view of the original play.

Second, its a good thing Welles cuts the original play down to 90 minutes, and that's with Welles adding a long opening funeral.  I don't think I could have taken 2 hours of the muddied soundtrack, or Welles voice.  Normally, I love Orson's voice, but here Welles talks too fast,  and the words get lost in his Baritone rumble and mumble.  He also plays Othello wrong,  almost as a dimwit,  thereby leading you to believe Othello's downfall was less due to unreasoning jealousy and more about being  thick. (Compare to Olivier's far superior interpretation). 

Third, Welles shoots some incredible, striking B&W images, all on a low budget.  Welles gets more out of 20 people, one camera, and a few props than most directors get from a $million$ and a cast of hundreds. 

Fourth, the supporting actors, especially Michael MacLimmoir as Iago are excellent. And Suzanne Cloutier is quite lovely as Desdemona - too bad her role isn't bigger. 

Summary:  If you can only watch one Othello movie, this isn't it.  Olivier's 1965 version is much better and truer to Shakespeare.  But if you're a Welles fanatic, or a Shakespeare fan, you might give this a whirl.  Rating ***