Orson Welles - his cigar was always there for him.

I think a few people already know that I really, really like Orson Welles. I saw Citizen Kane for the first time when I was a sophomore in high school. I didn't become obsessed with the movie until my junior year. Somewhere in between those two years, I came to love Orson Welles. One of the many things that I love to talk about Orson Welles is his career. Here's a little bit about some  of his career.

"When I'd left the worst that could be said for me was that I was some kind of artist. When I came back I was some kind of lunatic. No story was too wild - the silliest inventions were believed. The friendliest opinion was this: "Sure, he's talented, but you can't trust him. He throws money around like a madman; when he gets bored he walks away. He's irresponsible." -Orson Welles

Sad isn't? It's sad how someone so talented could become blacklisted in Hollywood. All because ofCitizen Kane.  Citizen Kane was probably one of the more controversial films of that era. Orson always denied the similarities between Charles Foster Kane and newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst. It didn't matter what Orson said, it only mattered that Hearst believed that Kane was 100% based on his life - and he hated that. Hearst tried to have Citizen Kane blacklisted and have the negatives burned. Orson likes to tell the story of how he saved Citizen Kane.

"....And I got a rosary, put it in my pocket, and when the running was over, in front of Joe Breen, a good Irish Catholic, I stood up and dropped my rosary on the floor and said,  'Oh, excuse me.' and picked it up and put it back in my pocket. If I hadn't done that, there would be no Citizen Kane."

So, Orson saved Citizen Kane by dropping a rosary - or at least that's how his story goes. Later on in his life, I'm inclined to believe that he would much rather them burn the negatives. Citizen Kane was his least favorite topic to talk about durning interviews. The first and [probably] last time he watched the film was the final cut before it was released. He would've much rather talked about his other films like Mr. Arkadin or The Trial. He never understood why everyone was so hung up about Citizen Kane. It's like Ingrid Bergman and Casablanca. She never understood why all everyone wanted to talk to her about was Casablanca when she had been in so many other great films.

The saddest part of Orson's career was not that he had failed, but that no one allowed him to succeed. No one would fund his films because of the rumours of Orson's irresponsible and spontaneous behaviour. In order to continue to make films he had to cameo in a ridiculous amount of films [and commercials...] and play ridiculous characters.  Orson Welles never had the stability that other directers of his time had, like Alfred Hitchcock and John Houston.

That's why Orson's last interview, the one that Matthew shared, is so heartbreaking. He's spent the majority of his life trying to prove that he's not irresponsible and that he's not a "one-hit wonder". He's spent his whole life running around a Hollywood, a town that despises him, trying to get jobs and find money.  When Orson says that he should have quit the movie business and Hollywood... it's him accepting his defeat.  Then eight days after that interview, he dies. His funeral is mostly empty with a few people filling a few cheap metal chairs.

Orson Welles was born in the wrong time period. He was born a romantic when it seemed everyone else in the movie business was a realist. He was born a renaissance man when everyone else thrived in one talent. Orson Welles' story is a sad one, but yet he managed to accomplish so much in his life. Radio, scripts, editing, directing, producing, plays, magic, drawing... you name it Orson probably did it.

And that is just a little bit of the reason why I enjoy reading about Orson Welles so much. He's so interesting and complex.

The End.