Orson Welles

Orson Welles

Born: May 6, 1915
Died: October 10, 1985
in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985), best known as Orson Welles, was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Welles's long career in film is noted for his struggle for artistic control in the face of pressure from studios. Many of his films were heavily edited and others left unreleased. He has been praised as a major creative force and as "the ultimate auteur."

After directing a number of high-profile theatrical productions in his early twenties, including an innovative adaptation of Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock, Welles found national and international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds performed for the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was reported to have caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was occurring. Although these reports of panic were mostly false and overstated, they rocketed Welles to instant notoriety.

Citizen Kane (1941), his first film with RKO, in which he starred in the role of Charles Foster Kane, is often considered the greatest film ever made. Several of his other films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), and F for Fake (1974), are also widely considered to be masterpieces.

In 2002, he was voted the greatest film director of all time in two separate British Film Institute polls among directors and critics, and a wide survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives calls him the most acclaimed director of all time. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. Well known for his baritone voice, Welles was also an extremely well regarded actor and was voted number 16 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the greatest American film actors of all time. He was also a celebrated Shakespearean stage actor and an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety shows in the war years.

Movies for Orson Welles...

Coney Island Baby
Title: Coney Island Baby
Released: February 24, 2024
Type: Movie
While on vacation In the light and in the dark Could you hear dogs bark
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AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special
Title: AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 30, 2023
Type: Movie
TCM host Ben Mankiewicz hosts this 50th anniversary special, with archival footage from 50 years of tributes to various legends in film by the American Film Institute, which began its awards in 1973.
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Othelo, O Grande
Title: Othelo, O Grande
Character: Ele Mesmo (Imagem de Arquivo)
Released: October 13, 2023
Type: Movie
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From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
Title: From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
Character: Falstaff
Released: April 9, 2023
Type: Movie
A strobing deconstruction of Orson Welles' Chimes at Midnight.
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It's Pretty, but is it Art?
Title: It's Pretty, but is it Art?
Character: Self (voiceover)
Released: March 2, 2023
Type: Movie
As Orson Welles, I might say: Art is the grand illusion, a mirror reflecting the complexities of the human soul. It's a symphony of ideas, emotions, and truths, played on the canvas of our shared humanity.
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Looking Back Before You Leap
Title: Looking Back Before You Leap
Character: General Zaroff (voice)
Released: January 31, 2023
Type: Movie
A collection of memories from a tumultuous time at University.
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Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Title: Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 13, 2022
Type: Movie
The portrait of the last cowboy Hollywood legend dives into the 65 years of an extraordinary career in Hollywood, highlighted iconic films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, as well as Million Dollar Baby, Mystic River and Gran Torino all the way to Cry Macho in 2021. It is no small task to cover more than 60 years of cinema history, especially when it is trying to surveyed with such breadth and diversity: TV star, international star, controversial icon, contested director, filmmaker with a capital F, Eastwood has been through it all, experienced it all, and it is first of all this romantic trajectory, this true American pastoral that the documentary wants to tell with all the passion it possibly can.
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Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Title: Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Character: Self (archive Footage)
Released: October 27, 2022
Type: Movie
An intimate and revealing look at the world-changing musician, presented through a lens of archival footage and never-before-heard home recordings and personal conversations. This definitive documentary honors Armstrong's legacy as a founding father of jazz, one of the first internationally known and beloved stars, and a cultural ambassador of the United States.
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American: An Odyssey to 1947
Title: American: An Odyssey to 1947
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 20, 2022
Type: Movie
In the early 1930s, Orson Welles ascends to unprecedented stardom while President Franklin Delano Roosevelt navigates a nation in crisis. As WWII begins, an American boy visits abroad, and an American soldier enlists in the army.
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The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
Title: The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
Character: Himself (Archive footage)
Released: July 1, 2022
Type: Movie
A documentary film detailing the hunt for the holy grail of cinema: the legendary lost director's cut of Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons.
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The Welles Raft
Title: The Welles Raft
Character: Himself (Archive Footage)
Released: June 23, 2022
Type: Movie
The raft man Manuel Jacaré was swallowed by the sea when Orson Welles was filming It's All True in 1942. The fact evokes memories of the dictatorship of the Estado Novo, of World War II, of Ceará fishermen's struggle for labor rights and housing in their traditional space - target of real estate speculation.
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Tall Tales: The Ireland of Orson Welles
Title: Tall Tales: The Ireland of Orson Welles
Character: Self
Released: October 17, 2021
Type: Movie
The story of famous actor and director Orson Welles is told through his two visits to the Republic of Ireland; first in his youth as a promising young actor and finally in later years as a washed up icon of the silver screen.
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Parkinson at 50
Title: Parkinson at 50
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: August 28, 2021
Type: Movie
Sir Michael Parkinson looks back over his 50 years as a broadcaster, revealing some tricks of the interview trade and remembering some of his favourite encounters.
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Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Title: Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: April 23, 2021
Type: Movie
Take a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most influential children's show in television history. From the iconic furry characters to the classic songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed the world.
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The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
Title: The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
Character: Himself (archive footage)
Released: March 30, 2021
Type: Movie
In 1946, Isaac Woodard, a Black army sergeant on his way home to South Carolina after serving in WWII, was pulled from a bus for arguing with the driver. The local chief of police savagely beat him, leaving him unconscious and permanently blind. The shocking incident made national headlines and, when the police chief was acquitted by an all-white jury, the blatant injustice would change the course of American history. Based on Richard Gergel’s book Unexampled Courage, the film details how the crime led to the racial awakening of President Harry Truman, who desegregated federal offices and the military two years later. The event also ultimately set the stage for the Supreme Court’s landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which finally outlawed segregation in public schools and jumpstarted the modern civil rights movement.
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A Life for Movies: Lotte Eisner
Title: A Life for Movies: Lotte Eisner
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: November 1, 2020
Type: Movie
Born in Berlin in 1896, Lotte Eisner became famous for her passionate involvement in the world of both German and French cinema. In 1936, together with Henri Langlois, she founded the Cinémathèque Française with the goal of saving from destruction films, costumes, sets, posters, and other treasures of the 7th Art. A Jew exiled in Paris, she became a pillar of the capital's cultural scene, where she promoted German cinema.
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Hopper/Welles
Title: Hopper/Welles
Character: Self
Released: September 9, 2020
Type: Movie
Captures a 1970 meeting between the movie industry titan Orson Welles and the then-rising star Dennis Hopper, who had just made Easy Rider.
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Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Title: Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 27, 2020
Type: Movie
Explore the personal and professional triumphs and challenges of actor Natalie Wood, which have often been overshadowed by her premature death.
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Emergency: Donald Trump’s
Title: Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
Character: (archive footage)
Released: February 21, 2019
Type: Movie
An essay on how could Welles' Touch of Evil and his story about the border between USA and Mexico influence Trump's imagination.
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The Other Side of the Wind
Title: The Other Side of the Wind
Character: Journalist (uncredited)
Released: November 2, 2018
Type: Movie
Surrounded by fans and skeptics, grizzled director J.J. "Jake" Hannaford returns from years abroad in Europe to a changed Hollywood, where he attempts to make his innovative comeback film. This film was started in 1970 but never completed during Welles lifetime.
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The Great Buster: A Celebration
Title: The Great Buster: A Celebration
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 5, 2018
Type: Movie
A celebration of the life and career of one of America's most influential and celebrated filmmakers and comedians—Buster Keaton—whose singular style and fertile output during the silent era created his legacy as a true cinematic visionary.
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They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
Title: They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: August 31, 2018
Type: Movie
As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.
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The Eyes of Orson Welles
Title: The Eyes of Orson Welles
Character: Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Released: August 17, 2018
Type: Movie
A poetic journey into the visual world of the legendary filmmaker and actor Orson Welles (1915-85) that reveals a new portrait of a unique genius, both of his life and of his monumental work: through his own eyes, drawn by his own hand, painted with his own brush.
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Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
Title: Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
Character: Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Released: April 2, 2018
Type: Movie
An account of the life of actress Jeanne Moreau (1928-2017), a true icon of the New Wave and one of the most idolized French movie stars.
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The Magic History of Cinema
Title: The Magic History of Cinema
Released: August 30, 2017
Type: Movie
The Magic History Of Cinema is an international documentary showcasing magic and movies long continued history and explores how the origins of cinema are closely linked to the conjurors and illusionists of the early 20th century and how those ties continue with todays top filmmakers and magicians.
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Embers & Dust
Title: Embers & Dust
Character: Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
Released: November 16, 2016
Type: Movie
Embers and Dust focuses on the perspective of a young farm boy and his family, and how the night of Orson Welles' dramatic broadcast of War of The Worlds unfolded for them.
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This Is Orson Welles
Title: This Is Orson Welles
Character: Self
Released: May 21, 2015
Type: Movie
Misunderstood genius, superstar, Hollywood’s fallen angel... Orson Welles left his indelible mark on the 20th century.
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Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Title: Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Character: Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Released: December 12, 2014
Type: Movie
The extraordinary life of Orson Welles (1915-85), an enigma of Hollywood, an irreducible independent creator: a musical prodigy, an excellent painter, a master of theater and radio, a modern Shakespeare, a magician who was always searching for a new trick to surprise his audience, a romantic and legendary figure who lived only for cinema.
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Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
Title: Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: September 10, 2014
Type: Movie
After the war, almost by chance, Alfonso Sansone starts to produce documentary films and moves from Palermo to Rome, the city of film.
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Too Much Johnson
Title: Too Much Johnson
Character: Keystone Kop
Released: October 9, 2013
Type: Movie
This film was not intended to stand by itself, but was designed as the cinematic aspect of Welles' Mercury Theatre stage presentation of William Gillette's 1894 comedy about a New York playboy who flees from the violent husband of his mistress and borrows the identity of a plantation owner in Cuba who is expecting the arrival of a mail order bride. The film component of the performance was ultimately never screened due to the absence of projection facilities at the venue. Long-believed to be lost, a workprint was discovered in 2008 and the film had its premiere in 2013.
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Jodorowsky's Dune
Title: Jodorowsky's Dune
Character: Self (Archival Footage)
Released: August 30, 2013
Type: Movie
Shot in France, England, Switzerland and the United States, this documentary covers director Alejandro Jodorowsky (El Topo, Holy Mountain, Santa Sangre) and his 1974 Quixotic attempt to adapt the seminal sci-fi novel Dune into a feature film. After spending 2 years and millions of dollars, the massive undertaking eventually fell apart, but the artists Jodorowsky assembled for the legendary project continued to work together. This group of artists, or his “warriors” as Jodorowsky named them, went on to define modern sci-fi cinema with such films as Alien, Blade Runner, Star Wars and Total Recall.
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Title: Talking Pictures
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 5, 2013
Type: TV
A look back at television appearances by legends of the silver screen, using archive footage to tell the story of their lives and careers.
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The Shadow Knows
Title: The Shadow Knows
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: May 4, 2012
Type: Movie
This exhaustive documentary covers the history and legacy of Walter B. Gibson's character, THE SHADOW, from the pulps to radio and beyond.
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Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
Title: Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
Character: (archive footage)
Released: February 4, 2012
Type: Movie
A film where anything can happen - the hero and the heroine changes their faces, age, look, names, and so on. The only same thing: The love between man and woman... in an archetypical love story cut from 500 classics from all around the world.
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Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
Title: Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
Character: Himself
Released: August 26, 2011
Type: Movie
In 1987, Eddie Lee Sausage and Mitch Deprey recorded the nightly squabbles of their over-the-top neighbors, homophobic Raymond Huffman and proudly gay Peter Haskett, and the chronicle of the pair's bizarre existence soon took on a life of its own. This darkly funny documentary checks in with former punks Eddie and Mitch, who detail their late-'80s Lower Haight surroundings, and surveys the tapes' influence on an array of underground artists.
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Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Title: Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Character: Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
Released: May 5, 2010
Type: Movie
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
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Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
Title: Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
Character: Himself
Released: April 1, 2010
Type: Movie
A vintage interview captures the artist reflecting on Citizen Kane and expounding on directing, acting and writing and his desire to bestow a valuable legacy upon his profession. The scene is a hotel room in Paris. The year 1960. The star, Orson Welles. This is a pearl of cinematic memorabilia.
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Lucifer et moi
Title: Lucifer et moi
Character: (archive footage 1982)
Released: February 4, 2009
Type: Movie
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The Deep
Title: The Deep
Character: as Russ Brewer
Released: July 8, 2007
Type: Movie
A couple's honeymoon trip aboard a yacht leads to a claustrophobic drama when another vessel runs into their voyage, apparently drifting. Shot in a piecemeal fashion between 1966 and 1969 and plagued with production problems, this film never completed principal photography and never entered post-production. The original negatives are now considered to be lost, and the film only exists in two incomplete workprint versions (one color and one black-and-white), which have received isolated public screenings since 2007.
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Edge of Outside
Title: Edge of Outside
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: June 11, 2006
Type: Movie
An hour-long documentary designed to celebrate the spirit of the independent filmmaker from D.W. Griffith to Quentin Tarantino. Interview footage and film clips are blended together to form a chronological approach to the subject matter.
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Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
Title: Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: July 17, 2005
Type: Movie
How the cinema industry does not respect the author's work as it was conceived, how manipulates the motion pictures in order to make them easier to watch by an undemanding audience or even how mutilates them to adapt the original formats and runtimes to the restrictive frame of the television screen and the abusive requirements of advertising. (Followed by “Filmmakers in Action.”)
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The Other Side of Welles
Title: The Other Side of Welles
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: June 3, 2005
Type: Movie
Film The Other Side of Welles portrays the life, work and intellectual heritage of Orson Welles in Yugoslavian federal unit "Socialist Republic of Croatia". Through the period of 25 years, he appeared as actor in several co productions made in Croatia (David and Goliath, Tartars, Austerlitz) - acted in few Yugoslavian film (Battle of Neretva, The Secret of Nicola Tesla) and directed two of his own film: The Trial and The Deep. As a Hollywood maverick, in Croatia he often found his shelter. Through the never before seen archive materials and the interviews with the people who worked with him, directors of this film, in the 90th anniversary of his birth and 20th of his passing, reveal the other side of Orson Welles
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The Well
Title: The Well
Released: March 11, 2005
Type: Movie
Tracing Orson Welles time in Spain.
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The Hitch Hiker
Title: The Hitch Hiker
Character: Ronald Adams
Released: August 11, 2004
Type: Movie
A haunting visual adaptation of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre radio performance. We are introduced to Ronald Adams: a man who, during a cross country trip, is slowly driven to madness.
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Rita
Title: Rita
Character: (archive footage)
Released: September 9, 2003
Type: Movie
Biography of 1940's sex goddess Rita Hayworth.
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The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
Title: The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: April 12, 2003
Type: Movie
In 1956, Orson Welles directed 'The Tragedy of Lurs', an episode of the television series 'Around the World' that was inspired by the murder of a British family near the Dominici farm. The film was unfinished, but the French director Christophe Cognet recovered his materials and reconstructed the documentary.
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Lost in La Mancha
Title: Lost in La Mancha
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: February 11, 2002
Type: Movie
Fulton and Pepe's 2000 documentary captures Terry Gilliam's attempt to get The Man Who Killed Don Quixote off the ground. Back injuries, freakish storms, and more zoom in to sabotage the project.
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A Huey P. Newton Story
Title: A Huey P. Newton Story
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: June 18, 2001
Type: Movie
The story of how the radical Huey P. Newton developed the Black Panther Party based on his 10-point program for social reform.
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The Paranormal Peter Sellers
Title: The Paranormal Peter Sellers
Character: Self (Archive footage)
Released: January 1, 2001
Type: Movie
This documentary revealed Peter Sellers obsession with the occult. Sellers was a highly superstitious man who consulted fortune tellers, clairvoyants and mediums to help him make key decisions in his life and work. Many of Sellers important decisions were influenced by Maurice Woodruff - a clairvoyant and astrologer based in London. Advice from the other side was taken on his marriage to Britt Ekland, accepting film roles such as Inspector Clouseau and dealing with his near fatal heart attack.
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NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3
Title: NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 2001
Type: Movie
What if other life was out there? Join us as we try to answer that most-asked question.l With millions of stars the possibility is more than that, it is a very high probability! Follow Pioneer 10 as is flies by our largest planet, the massive giant Jupiter, and learn the message Pioneer 10 carries as it leaves our solar system.. just in case!
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Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
Title: Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
Character: Self (Archive footage)
Released: November 5, 2000
Type: Movie
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Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Title: Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 24, 2000
Type: Movie
Lon Chaney, the silent movie star and makeup artist, renowned for his various characterizations and celebrated for his horror films, becomes the subject of this documentary.
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Moby Dick
Title: Moby Dick
Character: Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
Released: May 1, 2000
Type: Movie
Moby Dick is an unfinished film by Orson Welles, filmed in 1971. It is not to be confused with the incomplete (and now lost) 1955 film Welles made of his meta-play Moby Dick—Rehearsed, or with Moby Dick (1956 film), in which Welles played a supporting role. The film consists of readings by Welles from the book Moby Dick, shot against a blue background with various optical illusions to give the impression of being at sea. It was made during a break in the filming of The Other Side of the Wind. There is some ambiguity about what Welles intended to do with the footage, and how he was going to compile it. It remained unedited in his lifetime.
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According to Occam's Razor
Title: According to Occam's Razor
Released: January 1, 1999
Type: Movie
A mockumentary look at the myths and realities surrounding aliens and UFOs. A hybrid of genres on the UFO subject.
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The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Title: The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Character: Self - Roaster (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1998
Type: Movie
Video series spotlighting memorable moments and roasts hosted by Dean Martin. "Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts" were periodic specials aired in the 1970s and 1980s, which roasted (or honored) such stars as Lucille Ball, Muhammad Ali and Johnny Carson; guests then recalled comedic moments they shared. Comedian Rich Little (a regular on the "Roast" specials) served as pitchman for the videos in a series of TV infomercials
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Tudo é Brasil
Title: Tudo é Brasil
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: September 18, 1997
Type: Movie
A film essay about Brazil discovered through Orson Welles' eyes during the shooting of It's All True.
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Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Title: Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: July 8, 1997
Type: Movie
Hailed by some as a cinematic genius, a feminist voice and a true maverick of American cinema, dismissed by others as a voyeuristic fraud and the "world's worst director," Henry Jaglom obsessively confuses and abuses the line between life and art. Featuring scores of interviews (including Orson Welles, Dennis Hopper, Milos Forman and Peter Bogdanovich) and rare behind-the-scenes footage, this hilarious documentary explores the fascinating question of Who Is Henry Jaglom?
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Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
Title: Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1997
Type: Movie
"Portraits and excerpts from Brazilian films from all times. Actors, directors and images that affirm cinema."
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The Battle Over Citizen Kane
Title: The Battle Over Citizen Kane
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 29, 1996
Type: Movie
Documentary about the battle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over Welles' Citizen Kane (1941). Features interviews with Welles' and Hearst's co-workers also acts as a relatively complete biograph of Hearst's career.
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Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
Title: Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 8, 1995
Type: Movie
Orson Welles' archives of unfinished/never released movies and the last years of his life from the perspective of Oja Kodar (life and artistic partner of Orson Welles in his last years).
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A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
Title: A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
Character: Self
Released: May 21, 1995
Type: Movie
Martin Scorsese celebrates American movies from the silent classics to the Hollywood of the seventies.
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La Classe américaine
Title: La Classe américaine
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 31, 1993
Type: Movie
George Abitbol, the classiest man in the world, dies tragically during a cruise. The director of an American newspaper, wondering about the meaning of these intriguing final words, asks his three best investigators, Dave, Peter and Steven, to solve the mystery. (Sixteen French actors dub scenes from various Warner Bros. films to create a parody of Citizen Kane, 1941.)
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It's All True
Title: It's All True
Character: Self
Released: October 17, 1993
Type: Movie
A documentary about Orson Welles's unfinished three-part film about South America.
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Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles
Title: Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles
Released: September 8, 1993
Type: Movie
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Working with Orson Welles
Title: Working with Orson Welles
Character: Himself (Archive Footage)
Released: January 1, 1993
Type: Movie
"Working with Orson Welles" is a low-budget production put together by Gary Graver, who worked as a cameraman for Welles in the last 15 years of his life.
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Don Quixote
Title: Don Quixote
Character: Self
Released: April 20, 1992
Type: Movie
Don Quixote, accompanied by Sancho Panza, wander the roads of Spain protecting the weak and doing good deeds in the name of his beloved Dulcinea.
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With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
Title: With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: February 5, 1990
Type: Movie
A two-and-a-half hour documentary retrospective on the career of Orson Welles.
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Rita Hayworth: Dancing Into the Dream
Title: Rita Hayworth: Dancing Into the Dream
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1990
Type: Movie
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Welles' Language
Title: Welles' Language
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 1, 1990
Type: Movie
Orson Welles acted in Brazilian culture and music by deeply researching Brazil's historical geology, consciously completing a legendary cultural mission. Although being turned down by Hollywood producers, he developed a triumphantly accomplished mission in the language domain - three friends of Welles' testified his love for cinema, his passion for Brazilian music and people and his obstinate endurance against formidable pressures coming from inside and outside Hollywood regarding his unfinished "It's All True".
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Someone to Love
Title: Someone to Love
Character: Danny's Friend
Released: September 11, 1987
Type: Movie
A Hollywood film director assembles a group of friends and strangers for a social gathering on Valentines Day in a deserted movie theater where he interviews each one on their opinions on love and loneliness.
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It's Not All True
Title: It's Not All True
Character: Himself (archive footage)
Released: August 22, 1986
Type: Movie
Orson Welles goes to Brazil to shoot his documentary It's All True.
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The Transformers: The Movie
Title: The Transformers: The Movie
Character: Unicron (voice)
Released: August 8, 1986
Type: Movie
The Autobots must stop a colossal planet-consuming robot who goes after the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. At the same time, they must defend themselves against an all-out attack from the Decepticons.
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The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
Title: The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 21, 1986
Type: Movie
For the first time in their careers, all the Muppets (except the ones that couldn't make it, like the Doozers, Gorgs and most of the Fraggles) have gathered together in one place to celebrate their thirtieth anniversary and honor the one who brought them together: Kermit the Frog (and by doing so, Jim Henson).
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Almonds and Raisins
Title: Almonds and Raisins
Character: Narrator
Released: August 9, 1985
Type: Movie
This documentary examines the dozens of Yiddish-language talking films made in the United States and Europe between the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927 and the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939.
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Title: Scene of the Crime
Released: April 14, 1985
Type: TV
Suspense anthology series hosted by Orson Welles who asks the audience to solve the crime presented in the first part of each episode. The second part is a separate horror or thriller story with a twist.
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Title: Moonlighting
Character: Orson Welles
Released: March 3, 1985
Type: TV
After being duped and going bankrupt, model Maddie is convinced by David to become a partner in a detective agency. Together they solve various cases, while getting comfortable with each other.
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The Dreamers
Title: The Dreamers
Character: Marcus Kleek
Released: February 5, 1985
Type: Movie
Footage shot for Orson Welles' unfinished and unreleased film project, edited into a short documentary.
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Orson Welles' Magic Show
Title: Orson Welles' Magic Show
Character: Self
Released: January 24, 1985
Type: Movie
Welles had a lifelong interest in magic, having been taught his first magic tricks by Harry Houdini in the 1920s, when Welles was still a boy. In this unfinished television special, filmed between 1976 and 1985, Welles performs various magic tricks for the camera, promising that no trick photography is used.
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The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon
Title: The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon
Released: December 7, 1984
Type: Movie
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The Road to Bresson
Title: The Road to Bresson
Character: Self
Released: May 13, 1984
Type: Movie
A Dutch documentary about legendary French filmmaker Robert Bresson.
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The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail
Title: The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail
Character: Narrator
Released: May 9, 1984
Type: Movie
Neil Hollander sailed a ten-meter sailboat nearly 25,000 miles meeting and working alongside those men who still earned their livings using sailboats. This book recalls the authors' experiences with eight surviving craft, all representative of distinct cultures or geographic locations.
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In Our Hands
Title: In Our Hands
Character: Himself
Released: February 16, 1984
Type: Movie
One million people. One voice: stop the nuclear arms race. The largest peace demonstration in history, a magical day when even the police were on the side of the marchers.
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The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
Title: The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
Character: himself
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
Orson Welles sits in his chair behind his typewriter where he sends a message out to his dying friend Bill Cronshaw: a passage from the journal of Charles Lindbergh.
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Where Is Parsifal?
Title: Where Is Parsifal?
Character: Klingsor
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
Tucked away in his castle, a hypochondriac inventor plays generous host to a revolving cast of wacky guests. But to pay off his mounting debts, he must sell either a powerful businessman or a rich gypsy on his latest creation: a laser skywriter.
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The Witching
Title: The Witching
Character: Mr. Cato
Released: November 25, 1983
Type: Movie
This is Gordon's re-edit of his 1972 horror film Necromancy starring Orson Welles and Pamela Franklin. This version features brand new scenes (mostly to up to exploitation factor) filmed in 1983 and added by Gordon himself. It also features a brand new score and other changes and the whole thing differs greatly from the original 82-minute theatrical version.
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The Psychic Connection
Title: The Psychic Connection
Character: Narrator
Released: August 18, 1983
Type: Movie
Visual observation of psychic phenomena including psychic surgery, prior life regressions, skin vision, metal bending, and tongue skewing.
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King Penguin: Stranded Beyond the Falklands
Title: King Penguin: Stranded Beyond the Falklands
Character: Self - Narrator
Released: June 22, 1983
Type: Movie
In March 1982, two wildlife photographers became stranded on South Georgia Island in the southern Atlantic Ocean during the Falklands War between the United Kingdom and Argentina.
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Orson Welles at the Cinémathèque Française
Title: Orson Welles at the Cinémathèque Française
Character: Himself
Released: February 28, 1983
Type: Movie
On April 24th, 1982, when Orson Welles was invited to Paris to receive the Légion d'honneur from François Mitterand, a lively filmed interview took place inside the French Cinémathèque.
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Notre Dame de la Croisette
Title: Notre Dame de la Croisette
Character: Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Released: February 23, 1983
Type: Movie
A woman goes to Cannes and, lost in its chaos and unable to obtain tickets, ends up watching it on television from her hotel room.
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Hot Money
Title: Hot Money
Character: Sheriff Paisley
Released: January 1, 1983
Type: Movie
Burt, a clever ex-con, has changed his identity and has managed to land a job as a deputy in small town in upstate New York. On the 4th of July, while the drunken Sheriff Paisley is busy with the local parade and festivities, Burt quietly steals a million dollars in cash from the cellar safe in the local rich old widow's house. Unsuspected, Burt makes plans to live the rest of his life in the lap of luxury in a far off place with his attractive girlfriend, local hash house waitress Jeanette. But when a crisis of conscience hits him like a wave of ice cold water, he starts to think twice about his dastardly deed, and how that purloining of the old lady's money is wrongly affecting his friends as well as innocent locals. But will Burt do the right thing?
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Slapstick (Of Another Kind)
Title: Slapstick (Of Another Kind)
Character: Aliens' Father (voice)
Released: December 9, 1982
Type: Movie
A rich, beautiful couple give birth to deformed alien twins who, when their heads are together, are the smartest kids on the planet.
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Wagner e Venezia
Title: Wagner e Venezia
Character: Richard Wagner (voice)
Released: December 3, 1982
Type: Movie
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Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
Title: Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
Character: Self
Released: August 16, 1982
Type: Movie
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Baryshnikov in Hollywood
Title: Baryshnikov in Hollywood
Character: Self - Narrator
Released: April 21, 1982
Type: Movie
The famed dancer encounters various characters in a busy day at work on a movie studio lot.
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Genocide
Title: Genocide
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: March 14, 1982
Type: Movie
The mass murder of Jewish people by the Nazi regime is chronicled, with a warning that anti-Semitism is on the rise and the events of the Holocaust could happen again. The history of European Jewish culture and events before and during the Holocaust are seen in newsreels, photographs, and animated segments. The words of the victims of the era are read, and footage from the liberation os a concentration camp is shown.
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Night of 100 Stars
Title: Night of 100 Stars
Character: Self
Released: March 8, 1982
Type: Movie
The most glittering, expensive, and exhausting videotaping session in television history took place Friday February 19, 1982 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. The event, for which ticket-buyers paid up to $1,000 a seat (tax-deductible as a contribution to the Actors' Fund) was billed as "The Night of 100 Stars" but, actually, around 230 stars took part. And most of the audience of 5,800 had no idea in advance that they were paying to see a TV taping, complete with long waits for set and costume changes, tape rewinding, and the like. Executive producer Alexander Cohen estimated that the 5,800 Radio City Music Hall seats sold out at prices ranging from $25 to $1,000. The show itself cost about $4 million to produce and was expected to yield around $2 million for the new addition to the Actors Fund retirement home in Englewood, N. J. ABC is reputed to have paid more than $5 million for the television rights.
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Doug Henning's World of Magic
Title: Doug Henning's World of Magic
Character: Self - Special Guest
Released: February 14, 1982
Type: Movie
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Butterfly
Title: Butterfly
Character: Judge Rauch
Released: February 5, 1982
Type: Movie
Jess Tyler lives a quiet life next to an abandoned mining factory by himself in the desert. His life is turned upside down when a sexually provocative young woman comes to visit him and tells him she's his daughter. Jess finds it hard to adapt to his newly found parenting role, as a mutual attraction grows between them.
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Let Poland Be Poland
Title: Let Poland Be Poland
Character: Self
Released: January 31, 1982
Type: Movie
Broadcast live via satellite around the world on January 31, 1982, this special produced by the US International Communication Agency protesting the then recent imposition of martial law in Poland. Hosted by Charlton Heston, Max von Sydow, and Glenda Jackson, the program features multiple celebrity appearances, speeches by 21 world leaders, and several contributions Polish artists and intellectuals.
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Magic with the Stars
Title: Magic with the Stars
Character: Host
Released: January 17, 1982
Type: Movie
Hollywood celebrities assist magicians in a program of magic and illusion.
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The Quest for Fire Adventure
Title: The Quest for Fire Adventure
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1982
Type: Movie
Orson Welles explains the creation process of a unique motion picture, a first of its kind, with contributions from the diverse range of worldwide talents who made it possible.
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A Gift of Harvest
Title: A Gift of Harvest
Character: Narrator
Released: December 10, 1981
Type: Movie
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Brasil
Title: Brasil
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 5, 1981
Type: Movie
João Gilberto receives Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Maria Bethânia during the recording of his album Brasil.
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Search for the Titanic
Title: Search for the Titanic
Character: Himself (host)
Released: December 3, 1981
Type: Movie
American Documentary Narrated by Orson Welles
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The Enchanted Journey
Title: The Enchanted Journey
Character: Pippo
Released: October 10, 1981
Type: Movie
Enthralled with tales of the Great North Forest conveyed to him by friendly carrier pigeon Pippo, young chipmunk Glikko leaves the safety of his comfortable cage to explore the world. Stars Jim Backus and Orson Welles.
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The New Deal for Artists
Title: The New Deal for Artists
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: July 6, 1981
Type: Movie
The Arts Project of the Work Projects Administration (1935-1942) was a USA government agency established to support writers, theater people, painters, sculptors, and photographers.
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Shogun
Title: Shogun
Character: Narrator
Released: June 17, 1981
Type: Movie
An English navigator becomes both pawn and player in the deadly political games in feudal Japan.
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History of the World: Part I
Title: History of the World: Part I
Character: Narrator
Released: June 12, 1981
Type: Movie
An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.
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Title: Tales of the Klondike
Character: Narrator
Released: May 16, 1981
Type: TV
Jack London's Tales of the Klondike is a Canadian television miniseries which aired on CBC Television in 1981.
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Filming 'The Trial'
Title: Filming 'The Trial'
Character: Self
Released: February 1, 1981
Type: Movie
In 1981, Welles gave a 90-minute question-and-answer session at the University of Southern California after a screening of The Trial. He had his cinematographer Gary Graver film the session with a view to editing highlights of the footage into the projected film. Graver observed, "A lot of people were there in the audience that day who are successful filmmakers now", as well as several noted film critics such as Joseph McBride and Todd McCarthy. However, Welles never got round to editing the raw footage. Its only use in Welles' lifetime was by BBC journalist Leslie Megahy for his 1982 Arena documentary on Welles. The documentary features a young man asking Welles whether he would agree he has been persecuted by The Establishment and the capitalist system, and Welles being somewhat bemused by the question.
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The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Title: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Character: Presenter / Narrator (voice)
Released: January 9, 1981
Type: Movie
Hosted by Orson Welles, this documentary utilizes a grab bag of dramatized scenes, stock footage, TV news clips and interviews to ask: Did 16th century French astrologer and physician Nostradamus actually predict such events as the fall of King Louis XVI, the rise of Napoleon, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy? And are there prophecies that have yet to come true?
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Title: Magnum, P.I.
Released: December 11, 1980
Type: TV
A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at a swank bar, and charms attractive women in peril - that's the lifestyle of Thomas Magnum, aka Magnum, P.I.
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park
Title: Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park
Character: Narrator
Released: December 10, 1980
Type: Movie
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Title: Shogun
Character: Narrator
Released: September 15, 1980
Type: TV
An English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in complex political games in feudal Japan.
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The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla
Title: The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla
Character: J.P. Morgan
Released: February 19, 1980
Type: Movie
Life and times of Nikola Tesla, famous scientist whose inventions were stolen, but whose greatest contribution to mankind remain a mystery to this day.
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A Step Away
Title: A Step Away
Character: English Narrator
Released: January 2, 1980
Type: Movie
Focuses on the performance of various elite athletes during the PanAmerican Games held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1979. Athletes showcased in the documentary include USA team swimmer of Puerto Rican origin Jesse Vassallo; legendary Cuban track and field athlete Alberto Juantorena; Mexican diver Carlos Girón; American diver Greg Louganis; and the Puerto Rico national basketball team, among others. At the end of the film, the athletes expressed their hopes of being "a step away" from the 1980 Olympics Games; however, these hopes were shattered by the political crisis and the eventual USA-led boycott to the Olympic Games held in Moscow in 1980.
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The Greenstone
Title: The Greenstone
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: January 1, 1980
Type: Movie
Living on the edge of the woods, a young boy (Joseph Cory) dedicates himself to finding a magical rock. Narrated by Orson Welles.
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Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
Title: Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
Character: Narrator
Released: December 29, 1979
Type: Movie
A documentary about surrealist artist Salvador Dali, narrated by Orson Welles.
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The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
Title: The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
Character: Narrator
Released: December 17, 1979
Type: Movie
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Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Title: Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Character: Self
Released: December 13, 1979
Type: Movie
Gala tribute to the Chairman of the Board.
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To Try Again... and Succeed
Title: To Try Again... and Succeed
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: December 4, 1979
Type: Movie
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The Muppet Movie
Title: The Muppet Movie
Character: Lew Lord
Released: June 22, 1979
Type: Movie
A Hollywood agent persuades Kermit the Frog to pursue a career in Hollywood. On his way there he meets his future muppet crew while being chased by the desperate owner of a frog-leg restaurant!
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The Double McGuffin
Title: The Double McGuffin
Character: Narrator
Released: June 1, 1979
Type: Movie
Some school kids stumble across a briefcase full of money, when they go back for it, they find a body instead. When they bring the police, neither is there, and the police refuses to believe them. Later they discover both were part of an assassination plot. Now they have to figure out how to stop the plot and put the bad guys in jail.
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The Orson Welles Show
Title: The Orson Welles Show
Character: Self
Released: February 1, 1979
Type: Movie
Unsold pilot for a talk show hosted by Orson Welles.
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The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
Title: The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
Character: Narrator
Released: January 2, 1979
Type: Movie
The planning and implementation of the first flight to the moon, narrated by Orson Welles.
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The Late Great Planet Earth
Title: The Late Great Planet Earth
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1979
Type: Movie
The Late, Great Planet Earth is the title of a best-selling 1970 book co-authored by Hal Lindsey and Carole C. Carlson, and first published by Zondervan. The book was adapted in 1979 into a movie. The Late, Great Planet Earth is a treatment of literalist, premillennial, dispensational eschatology. As such, it compared end-time prophecies in the Bible with then-current events in an attempt to broadly predict future scenarios leading to the rapture of believers before the tribulation and Second Coming of Christ to establish his thousand-year (i.e. millennial) Kingdom on Earth.
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Title: A Woman Called Moses
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: December 11, 1978
Type: TV
A television miniseries based on the life of Harriet Tubman, the escaped African American slave who helped to organize the Underground Railroad, and who led dozens of African Americans from enslavement in the Southern United States to freedom in the Northern states and Canada.
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Title: The Magic of David Copperfield
Released: October 27, 1978
Type: TV
The annual specials of magic featuring the world's leading illusionist. David Copperfield weaves a narrative with exceptional music in each of his stage illusions, often recorded before a live audience.
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Filming Othello
Title: Filming Othello
Character: Host
Released: July 10, 1978
Type: Movie
Filming Othello is a 1978 documentary film directed by and starring Orson Welles about the making of his award-winning 1952 production Othello. The film, which was produced for West German television, was the last completed feature film directed by Welles.
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The Biggest Battle
Title: The Biggest Battle
Character: Narratore
Released: February 7, 1978
Type: Movie
A story of how World War II affected the lives of a German family and an American family, both of whom had sons and fathers fighting in the war.
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Caesar's Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles
Title: Caesar's Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1978
Type: Movie
A movie made for closed circuit television to be played in Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Orson Welles explains the rules of various gaming,. Depictions of the talent and amenities at the hotels are also shown.
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Tut: The Boy King
Title: Tut: The Boy King
Character: Himself - Host
Released: January 1, 1978
Type: Movie
Review the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 with archival photographs and reviews the highlights of the treasure trove with anecdotal stories and conjecture about the Boy King's life and death.
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Mysterious Castles of Clay
Title: Mysterious Castles of Clay
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1978
Type: Movie
Mysterious Castles of Clay is a 1978 film about a termite colony; filmed in Kenya by film-makers Joan and Alan Root, and narrated by Orson Welles. (narration replaced by Derek Jacobi, in a later release titled "Castles of Clay")
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It Happened One Christmas
Title: It Happened One Christmas
Character: Henry F. Potter
Released: December 11, 1977
Type: Movie
It's Christmas Eve 1944 in the small town of Bedford Falls, New York. A despondent and suicidal Mary Bailey Hatch is praying for guidance on what to do about an incident no fault of her own which threatens her name and the community standing of her longtime family business, the Bailey Building and Loan, which she took over after the passing of her father. What Mary does not know is that most in town, including her husband George Hatch and their children, are also praying for her. All the prayers are heard by Joseph, God's gatekeeper of prayers. As there are no other angels available on such a busy day, Joseph assigns Clara Oddbody, angel second class (i.e. she has yet to receive her wings), to Mary's case, which he reluctantly does as Clara has never been assigned a case on her own in the two hundred years she's been in heaven for good reason.
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The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed
Title: The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed
Character: Narrator
Released: December 3, 1977
Type: Movie
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The Force Beyond
Title: The Force Beyond
Character: Himself (archive footage)
Released: December 2, 1977
Type: Movie
Speculative "documentary" about alien visitations on Earth, UFO sightings and how aliens are responsible for pretty much every conspiracy theory, paranormal encounter and cryptozoological sighting in history. (Also Jesus. No, really.)
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Hot Tomorrows
Title: Hot Tomorrows
Character: Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
Released: April 1, 1977
Type: Movie
A portrait of a young man, Michael, so obsessed with death that he decorates his room with a life-size Grim Reaper. One night Michael's closest buddy, Louis, joins him for an adventure in Hollywood on Christmas Eve.
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From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural
Title: From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1977
Type: Movie
Explores the history of the woolen textile industry from earliest times until the present day.
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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Title: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1977
Type: Movie
Orson Welles reads the poem especially for this film by Larry Jordan, which is dedicated to the late Wallace Berman, and is made possible by a grant from The National Endowment Of The Arts.
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Voyage of the Damned
Title: Voyage of the Damned
Character: José Estedes
Released: December 22, 1976
Type: Movie
A luxury liner carries Jewish refugees from Hitler's Germany in a desperate fight for survival.
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NBC: The First Fifty Years
Title: NBC: The First Fifty Years
Character: Self / Narrator
Released: November 21, 1976
Type: Movie
A celebration of 50 years of NBC broadcasting in radio and television, since first going on the airwaves on 15 November 1926.
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Title: Doug Henning's World of Magic
Character: Self
Released: December 26, 1975
Type: TV
Doug Henning's World of Magic was the first of seven annual prime-time television specials starring magician Doug Henning, which aired live on NBC Friday, December 26, 1975. Bill Cosby was the show's special guest, along with Gene Kelly (who introduced the special) and musical guest Lori Lieberman.
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Bugs Bunny: Superstar
Title: Bugs Bunny: Superstar
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: December 19, 1975
Type: Movie
Animator Robert Clampett presents a history of "Termite Terrace," the little shack on the Warner Brothers studio lot which in the 1930's and 1940's housed the animation unit which gave birth to Porky Pig, Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny. Includes color and black-and-white home-movie-type footage shot at the time showing such animation greats as Clampett, Tex Avery and Chuck Jones. Also featured are nine complete Warner cartoons.
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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Title: Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: August 6, 1975
Type: Movie
Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.
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Orson Welles - The Marketed Genius
Title: Orson Welles - The Marketed Genius
Character: Self
Released: May 11, 1975
Type: Movie
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Magnificent Monsters of the Deep
Title: Magnificent Monsters of the Deep
Character: Narrator
Released: April 27, 1975
Type: Movie
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Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Title: Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Character: Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
Released: January 9, 1975
Type: Movie
Rikki is a young mongoose who is adopted by a human family after nearly drowning in the river. He returns the favour by protecting them from two murderous cobra.
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Who's Out There?
Title: Who's Out There?
Character: Host
Released: January 1, 1975
Type: Movie
Orson Welles — with contributions from scientists George Wald, Carl Sagan, and others — examines the possibility and implications of extraterrestrial life. In examining our perceptions of alien 'martians' from his "War of the Worlds" broadcast, to then-modern explorations of Mars, this film from NASA provides a unique glimpse at life on earth, and elsewhere in the universe.
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The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
Title: The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
Character: Narrator
Released: December 5, 1974
Type: Movie
The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art is a 1974 American documentary film directed by Herbert Kline. The film shows footage of great modern artists in their studios creating and commenting on their work, with narration and commentary by Orson Welles. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
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A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles
Title: A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles
Released: December 1, 1974
Type: Movie
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And Then There Were None
Title: And Then There Were None
Character: Voice on Tape
Released: September 24, 1974
Type: Movie
Ten people are invited to a hotel in the Iranian desert, only to find that an unseen person is killing them one by one. Could one of them be the killer?
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Power and Corruption
Title: Power and Corruption
Character: Himself
Released: December 1, 1973
Type: Movie
Short educational film about Macbeth
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Kelly Country
Title: Kelly Country
Character: Narrator
Released: October 1, 1973
Type: Movie
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Title: The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Character: Self
Released: September 14, 1973
Type: TV
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts is a NBC television special show hosted by entertainer Dean Martin from 1974 to 1984. For a series of 54 specials and shows, Martin would periodically "roast" a celebrity. These roasts were patterned after the roasts held at the New York Friars' Club in New York City. The format would have the celebrity guest seated at a banquet table, and one by one the guest of honor was affectionately chided or insulted about his career by his fellow celebrity friends. In 1973, The Dean Martin Show was declining in popularity. The final season of his variety show would be retooled into one of celebrity roasts, requiring less of Martin's involvement. For the 1973–1974 season, a new feature called “Man of the Week Celebrity Roast" was added to try to pick up the ratings. The roasts seemed to be popular among television audiences and are often marketed in post-issues as part of the official Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts and not The Dean Martin Show. After The Dean Martin Show was cancelled in 1974, NBC drew up a contract with Martin to do several specials and do more roast specials. Starting with Bob Hope in 1974, the roast was taped in California and turned out to be a hit, leading to many other roasts to follow.
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Title: Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
Character: Self - Host
Released: September 1, 1973
Type: TV
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries was a British television series The series was an anthology of different tales. Each episode was introduced by Orson Welles, who was the only regular actor in the series. In the opening titles, Welles would be shown in silhouette as he walked through a hallway towards the camera, smoking a cigar and outfitted in a broad-brimmed hat and a huge cloak, the outfit itself being a nod to his having provided the voice of The Shadow in the radio program. When he actually appeared on-screen to introduce the episodes, his face would be all that would be shown, in extreme close-up and very low lighting.
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F for Fake
Title: F for Fake
Character: Self
Released: September 1, 1973
Type: Movie
Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works of art by painters like Picasso and Matisse. Irving was infamous for writing a fake autobiography of Howard Hughes. Welles moves between documentary and fiction as he examines the fundamental elements of fraud and the people who commit fraud at the expense of others.
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The Battle of Sutjeska
Title: The Battle of Sutjeska
Character: Winston Churchill
Released: July 3, 1973
Type: Movie
The headquarters of the Marshal Tito's Liberation Army are surrounded by Axis forces. The Partisans have no choice but to fight their way out of the encirclement and face the enemy on the plains of Sutjeska.
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Title: The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Character: Self
Released: April 2, 1973
Type: TV
In 1973 the American Film Institute initiated its Life Achievement Award, to be presented to a yearly recipient whose talent has fundamentally advanced the film art; whose accomplishments have been acknowledged by scholars, critics, professional peers and the general public; and whose work has stood the test of time.
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The Cave
Title: The Cave
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1973
Type: Movie
Carried by a rich narration from Orson Welles, this rarely seen 1973 animated adaptation of Plato’s 'allegory of the cave' populates the tale with haunting human figures, bringing retro-surreal life to the parable.
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The Man Who Came to Dinner
Title: The Man Who Came to Dinner
Character: Sheridan Whiteside
Released: November 29, 1972
Type: Movie
Lecturer and broadcaster Sheridan Whiteside has been invited to dinner at the home of a pompous small-town bigwig. But he stays rather longer than anyone expects.
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Treasure Island
Title: Treasure Island
Character: Long John Silver
Released: October 1, 1972
Type: Movie
Young Jim Hawkins finds himself serving with pirate captain Long John Silver in search of a buccaneer's treasure, in this short adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale.
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Necromancy
Title: Necromancy
Character: Mr. Cato
Released: September 22, 1972
Type: Movie
After Lori Brandon suffers a stillbirth, her husband Frank obtains a job with a toy company in northern California. Frank's new boss, the mysterious Mr. Cato, explains that Frank's position will involve magic. Cato, who seemingly holds enormous influence over the town, is pursuing the power of necromancy and believes that Lori holds the key that will help him resurrect his own dead son.
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Get to Know Your Rabbit
Title: Get to Know Your Rabbit
Character: Mr. Delasandro
Released: June 7, 1972
Type: Movie
A young businessman goes to a magic expert to learn hardness and skill with his cynical and greedy collaborators. He becomes a very good tap dancer, but will he be able to get free of his old boss?
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Future Shock
Title: Future Shock
Character: Narrator
Released: February 22, 1972
Type: Movie
“Our modern technology has achieved a degree of sophistication beyond our wildest dreams. But this technology has exacted a pretty heavy price. We live in an age of anxiety, a time of stress. And with all our sophistication we are in fact, the victims of our own technological strength. We are the victims of shock … of future shock.” No, this isn’t a quote from a Huffington Post column on the Facebookization of modern communication. Nor is it pulled from an academic treatise on the phenomenologies of post-industrial existence. This statement was made by Orson Welles in the 1972 futurist documentary Future Shock, and, unlike some of the more dated elements of 1970s educational films, Future Shock remains shockingly current in verbalizing the concerns and anxieties that come along with rapid societal and technological change. (Indiana University Libraries Moving Image Archive)
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Vive le cinema!
Title: Vive le cinema!
Released: January 1, 1972
Type: Movie
Jeanne Moreau, filmed by Jacques Rozier, meets with Jerry Lewis, Barbet Schroeder and Orson Welles, among others.
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London
Title: London
Character: Winston Churchill / George Bernard Shaw
Released: December 31, 1971
Type: Movie
Five comedy vignettes: 1) Churchill, 2) Swinging London, 3) Four Clubmen, 4) Stately Homes, 5) Tailors.
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Ten Days' Wonder
Title: Ten Days' Wonder
Character: Théo Van Horn
Released: December 1, 1971
Type: Movie
Charles Van Horn, son of rich and powerful Théo Van Horn, calls upon his former teacher Paul Régis to help him solve the mystery of his recurring bouts of amnesia.
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A Safe Place
Title: A Safe Place
Character: The Magician
Released: October 1, 1971
Type: Movie
Noah, a young woman who lives alone in New York, is dating two very different men, Fred and Mitch, at the same time. However, she realises that neither man can totally fulfil her needs.
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Directed by John Ford
Title: Directed by John Ford
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: September 6, 1971
Type: Movie
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
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Title: The Silent Years
Released: July 1, 1971
Type: TV
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Title: V.I.P. Schaukel
Character: Self
Released: May 9, 1971
Type: TV
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Centinelas del Silencio
Title: Centinelas del Silencio
Released: May 1, 1971
Type: Movie
Sentinels of Silence is a 1971 short documentary film on ancient Mexican civilizations. The film was directed and written by Mexican filmmaker Robert Amram, and is notable for being the first and only short film to win two Academy Awards.
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Flame of Persia
Title: Flame of Persia
Character: Narrator
Released: January 2, 1971
Type: Movie
Documentary film about the 2,500 year celebration of the Persian Empire.
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Malpertuis
Title: Malpertuis
Character: Cassavius
Released: January 1, 1971
Type: Movie
Malpertuis is the name of an old, rambling mansion which is in reality a labyrinth where characters from Greek mythology are imprisoned by the bedridden Cassavius. He manages to keep them, as well as his nephew and niece, prisoners even after his death, through a binding testament. As Jan, the nephew, unravels the mystery, he discovers that he cannot escape the house because Malpertuis is far more significant than he was led to believe.
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Freedom River
Title: Freedom River
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1971
Type: Movie
Uplifting modern day parable about mankind getting along together. Narrated by Orson Welles. Animation directed by Sam Weiss.
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An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Title: An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
Released: December 31, 1970
Type: Movie
In October 1970, at his Hollywood home, Welles recorded voice-overs for short stories intended for use on special screens at the Sears chain stores. Numerous 16mm films were sent to Sears, but only one film was preserved; however, as it was not complete, it could not be used. In 2003, the Munich cinémathèque museum restored the film, which narrates a Ring Lardner short story. The missing parts were filled in from a radio play recorded in 1946.
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Title: Night Gallery
Released: December 16, 1970
Type: TV
Rod Serling narrates an anthology of fantasy, horror and sci-fi stories from a set resembling a macabre museum. A chilling work of art serves as the connective link between the stories.
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Salvador Dalí: A Soft Self-Portrait
Title: Salvador Dalí: A Soft Self-Portrait
Character: Narrator
Released: December 1, 1970
Type: Movie
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Title: An Evening with Orson Welles
Released: December 1, 1970
Type: TV
An Evening with Orson Welles is a series of six short films created in 1970 by Orson Welles, for the exclusive use of Sears, Roebuck & Co. Welles produced the recitations of popular stories for Sears's Avco Cartrivision machines, a pioneering home video system. Five of the films are regarded as lost; footage from one, The Golden Honeymoon, is known to exist.
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Is It Always Right to Be Right?
Title: Is It Always Right to Be Right?
Character: Narrator
Released: October 31, 1970
Type: Movie
The world is divided into factions, on opposite sides of issues; each side is, of course, right. And so the gap between the people grows, until someone challenges the absolutist view of what's "right."
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Waterloo
Title: Waterloo
Character: Louis XVIII
Released: October 26, 1970
Type: Movie
After defeating France and imprisoning Napoleon on Elba, ending two decades of war, Europe is shocked to find Napoleon has escaped and has caused the French Army to defect from the King back to him. The best of the British generals, the Duke of Wellington, beat Napolean's best generals in Spain and Portugal, but now must beat Napoleon himself with an Anglo Allied army.
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The Enemy Before Us
Title: The Enemy Before Us
Character: Narrator
Released: October 16, 1970
Type: Movie
Jeff Dillon decides to revisit the scenes of his impoverished youth, and learns sadly that "you can't go home again".
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Catch-22
Title: Catch-22
Character: Brigadier General Dreedle
Released: June 24, 1970
Type: Movie
A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation.
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Start the Revolution Without Me
Title: Start the Revolution Without Me
Character: The Narrator
Released: February 4, 1970
Type: Movie
An account of the adventures of two sets of identical twins, badly scrambled at birth, on the eve of the French Revolution. One set is haughty and aristocratic, the other poor and somewhat dim. They find themselves involved in palace intrigues as history happens around them. Based, very loosely, on Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities," Dumas's "The Corsican Brothers," etc.
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The Kremlin Letter
Title: The Kremlin Letter
Character: Bresnavitch
Released: February 1, 1970
Type: Movie
When an unauthorized letter is sent to Moscow alleging the U.S. government's willingness to help Russia attack China, former naval officer Charles Rone and his team are sent to retrieve it. They go undercover, successfully reaching out to Erika Kosnov, the wife of a former agent, now married to the head of Russia's secret police. Their plans are interrupted, however, when their Moscow hideout is raided by a cunning politician.
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Upon This Rock
Title: Upon This Rock
Character: Michelangelo (voice)
Released: January 1, 1970
Type: Movie
Drama describing the story of the building of Saint Peter's Cathedral, Vatican, Rome.
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A Horse Called Nijinsky
Title: A Horse Called Nijinsky
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1970
Type: Movie
Documentary, narrated by Orson Welles, about the legendary race horse Nijinsky, one of the greatest and most successful race horses in history and after his retirement from the racetrack in 1970 an important sire of thoroughbred horses.
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The Merchant of Venice
Title: The Merchant of Venice
Character: Shylock
Released: December 1, 1969
Type: Movie
A short film directed by Orson Welles based on William Shakespeare's play of the same name. While actually completed, it is frequently cited as an unfinished film, though better described as a partially lost film due to the loss of film negatives. A restored and reconstructed version of the film, made by using the original script and composer's notes, premiered at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival alongside Othello as part of the pre-opening ceremonies.
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Twelve Plus One
Title: Twelve Plus One
Character: Markan
Released: October 7, 1969
Type: Movie
Mario, a young philanderer, receives 13 antique chairs in a bad state by inheritance and decides to sell off them to get some money. Afterwards he gets to know that one of them contains documents worth a lot of money. So he begins an adventurous trip to regain possession of the chair. On the way he meets many strange people who would like to help or to swindle him.
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The Battle of Neretva
Title: The Battle of Neretva
Character: Četnik
Released: October 7, 1969
Type: Movie
In January 1943 the German army, afraid of an Allied invasion of the Balkans, launched a great offensive against Yugoslav Partisans in Western Bosnia. The only way out for Partisan forces and thousands of refugees was the bridge on the river Neretva.
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The Southern Star
Title: The Southern Star
Character: Plankett
Released: March 4, 1969
Type: Movie
Comedy adventure based on a Jules Verne novel about the ups and downs of jewel thieves in the wilds of Africa circa 1900. George Segal is the appealing hero-heel and Ursula Andress is visually stunning as the lady in the proceedings. Orson Welles has a small role.
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The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
Title: The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
Character: Justinian
Released: February 21, 1969
Type: Movie
The devious general Cethegus plays the Byzantine and Gothic forces against each other for his own gain.
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Tepepa
Title: Tepepa
Character: Colonel Cascorro
Released: January 31, 1969
Type: Movie
The Mexican guerilla leader Tepepa and his gang fight against the chief of police, Cascorro.
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To Build a Fire
Title: To Build a Fire
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: January 1, 1969
Type: Movie
A man travels by foot in the snow with his dog.
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The Fight for Rome
Title: The Fight for Rome
Character: Justinian
Released: December 17, 1968
Type: Movie
A Roman noble, Cethegus, tries to start a war, setting the Ostrogoths and their Queen, Amalasuntha, against the Byzantine Emperor Justinian; Cethegus wants to swoop in after they have destroyed each other and create a new Roman Empire from their combined kingdoms; however, he does not factor into his plans the vagaries of love and the personal integrity of the people in both kingdoms.
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Title: One Man Band
Released: December 1, 1968
Type: TV
One Man Band, also known as London and Swinging London is an unfinished short film made by Orson Welles between 1968 and 1971. The film started life as a part of a 90-minute TV special for CBS, entitled Orson's Bag, consisting of Welles' 40-minute condensation of The Merchant of Venice, and assorted sketches around Europe. This was abandoned in 1969 when CBS withdrew its funding over Welles' long-running disputes with US authorities regarding his tax status, and Welles continued to fashion the footage in his own style.
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Title: The Name of the Game
Character: Narrator
Released: September 20, 1968
Type: TV
The Name of the Game is an American television series starring Tony Franciosa, Gene Barry, and Robert Stack that ran from 1968 to 1971 on NBC, totaling 76 episodes of 90 minutes. It was a pioneering wheel series, setting the stage for The Bold Ones and the NBC Mystery Movie in the 1970s. The show had an extremely large budget for a television series.
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House of Cards
Title: House of Cards
Character: Leschenhaut
Released: September 16, 1968
Type: Movie
In 1960s Paris, an American boxer stumbles upon an international fascist conspiracy that aims to create a new world order.
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Around the World of Mike Todd
Title: Around the World of Mike Todd
Character: Self - Narrator
Released: September 8, 1968
Type: Movie
"Around the World with Mike Todd" serves as a summarization of the Todd's career, and his role in producing 'Around the World in 80 Days'. Numerous behind-the-scenes footage from the film.
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Title: The Dick Cavett Show
Character: Self - Guest
Released: June 6, 1968
Type: TV
The Dick Cavett Show has been the title of several talk shows hosted by Dick Cavett on various television networks.
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Portrait: Orson Welles
Title: Portrait: Orson Welles
Character: Self
Released: June 1, 1968
Type: Movie
Excerpts and fragments from different interviews with Orson Welles making a statement to journalists in fluent French about his career and his conception of life.
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Oedipus the King
Title: Oedipus the King
Character: Tiresias
Released: June 1, 1968
Type: Movie
This classic Greek tale tells how a noble youth accidentally marries his own mother, kills his own father and ends up paying a terrible price for invoking the wrath of the Gods.
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The Immortal Story
Title: The Immortal Story
Character: Charles Clay
Released: June 1, 1968
Type: Movie
An aged, wealthy trader plots with his servant to recreate a maritime tall tale, using a local woman and an unknown sailor as actors.
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Vienna
Title: Vienna
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1968
Type: Movie
Orson Welles talks fantasy and magic in this short Vienna travelogue.
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I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Title: I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Character: Jonathan Lute
Released: December 18, 1967
Type: Movie
Advertising golden boy Andrew Quint is fed up with his fabulously successful life. In very dramatic fashion, he quits his job to return to writing for a small literary magazine. He wants to leave his former life behind, going as far as saying good-bye to his wife and mistresses. He finds, however, that it's not so easy to escape the past.
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Beggars Would Ride
Title: Beggars Would Ride
Character: Narrator
Released: December 1, 1967
Type: Movie
Crime film directed by a 24-year-old Gary Graver.
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Title: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Character: Self
Released: September 9, 1967
Type: TV
An American sketch comedy television program hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin.
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Disorder Is 20 Years Old
Title: Disorder Is 20 Years Old
Character: Self
Released: June 6, 1967
Type: Movie
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Casino Royale
Title: Casino Royale
Character: Le Chiffre
Released: April 13, 1967
Type: Movie
Sir James Bond is called back out of retirement to stop SMERSH. In order to trick SMERSH, James thinks up the ultimate plan - that every agent will be named 'James Bond'. One of the Bonds, whose real name is Evelyn Tremble is sent to take on Le Chiffre in a game of baccarat, but all the Bonds get more than they can handle.
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Ten Days That Shook the World
Title: Ten Days That Shook the World
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1967
Type: Movie
An epic presentation of the turbulent days leading to the Russian Revolution. Based on the classic work by John Reed, this important documentary makes use of rare footage and little-known information, stirringly narrated by Orson Welles.
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The Sailor from Gibraltar
Title: The Sailor from Gibraltar
Released: January 1, 1967
Type: Movie
Alan, after quarreling with his girlfriend Sheila, becomes intrigued by Anna, a mysterious widow who's searching for a sailor she had known many years before. Alan and Anna begin the search on board a yacht bound for Greece, but they don't find the sailor. After a stop in Africa, Louis de Mozambique joins the party and suggests that the sailor may never have existed other than in Anna's mind.
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A Man for All Seasons
Title: A Man for All Seasons
Character: Cardinal Wolsey
Released: December 13, 1966
Type: Movie
A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.
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Is Paris Burning?
Title: Is Paris Burning?
Character: Konsul Nordling
Released: October 26, 1966
Type: Movie
Near the end of World War II, Gen. Dietrich von Choltitz receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if he cannot maintain control of the city. After much contemplation Choltitz decides to ignore his orders, enraging the Germans and giving hope to various resistance factions that the city will be liberated. Choltitz, along with Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling, helps a resistance leader organize his forces.
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Orson Welles in Spain
Title: Orson Welles in Spain
Character: Himself
Released: June 1, 1966
Type: Movie
Orson Welles pitches to potential investors his vision of a largely improvised bullfighter movie about an existential, James Dean type troubadour who sets himself apart from other matadors. In front of an audience of wealthy arts patrons, Welles pontificates on the state of cinema, the filmmaking process, and the art of bullfighting.
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Chimes at Midnight
Title: Chimes at Midnight
Character: Falstaff
Released: December 23, 1965
Type: Movie
Henry IV usurps the English throne, sets in motion the factious War of the Roses and now faces a rebellion led by Northumberland scion Hotspur. Henry's heir, Prince Hal, is a ne'er-do-well carouser who drinks and causes mischief with his low-class friends, especially his rotund father figure, John Falstaff. To redeem his title, Hal may have to choose between allegiance to his real father and loyalty to his friend.
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Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
Title: Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
Character: Self - Narrator (voice)
Released: December 22, 1965
Type: Movie
Jane Goodall has spent five years observing the chimps in Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika), Africa. One of her discoveries is that they use primitive tools. The film shows the life of the chimps. Retrospective note: This documentary features remarkable historical footage of Goodall, her original camp, and the Gombe chimpanzees. It shows the early years of Goodall establishing the site before it went on to become a world-renowned research center.
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Title: National Geographic Specials
Character: Narrator
Released: September 10, 1965
Type: TV
National Geographic Specials
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Marco the Magnificent
Title: Marco the Magnificent
Character: Akerman, Marco's Teacher
Released: August 6, 1965
Type: Movie
Young Marco Polo travels to China to help Kublai Khan fight against rebels, headed by his own son, with a new invention: gunpowder.
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A King's Story
Title: A King's Story
Character: Narrator
Released: January 1, 1965
Type: Movie
A King's Story is a 1965 British documentary film directed by Harry Booth about the life of King Edward VIII, from his birth until abdication in 1936. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
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The Finest Hours
Title: The Finest Hours
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: September 29, 1964
Type: Movie
A biography of Winston Churchill, shown through re-creations and actual film footage and told by Orson Welles.
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Title: In the Land of Don Quixote
Character: Himself
Released: January 1, 1964
Type: TV
Italian-language documentary travelogue series about Spain, made by Orson Welles.
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Title: Hollywood and the Stars
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: September 30, 1963
Type: TV
Each 30 minute show concentrated on a Hollywood genre, film or legendary star.
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The V.I.P.s
Title: The V.I.P.s
Character: Max Buda
Released: September 1, 1963
Type: Movie
Wealthy passengers fogged in at London's Heathrow Airport fight to survive a variety of personal trials.
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Ro.Go.Pa.G.
Title: Ro.Go.Pa.G.
Character: The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
Released: February 19, 1963
Type: Movie
Four short films by four different directors dealing with the principles of modern life.
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The Trial
Title: The Trial
Character: Albert Hastler
Released: December 21, 1962
Type: Movie
Josef K wakes up in the morning and finds the police in his room. They tell him that he is on trial but nobody tells him what he is accused of. In order to find out about the reason for this accusation and to protest his innocence, he tries to look behind the façade of the judicial system. But since this remains fruitless, there seems to be no chance for him to escape from this nightmare.
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River of the Ocean
Title: River of the Ocean
Character: Narrator (English)
Released: December 9, 1962
Type: Movie
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Title: The Merv Griffin Show
Character: Self
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show, starring Merv Griffin. The series ran from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963 on NBC, September 20, 1965 to August 15, 1969 in first-run syndication, from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972 at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986.
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Title: The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Character: Self
Released: October 1, 1962
Type: TV
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson is a talk show hosted by Johnny Carson under The Tonight Show franchise from 1962 to 1992. It originally aired during late-night. For its first ten years, Carson's Tonight Show was based in New York City with occasional trips to Burbank, California; in May 1972, the show moved permanently to Burbank, California. In 2002, The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson was ranked #12 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Lafayette
Title: Lafayette
Character: Benjamin Franklin
Released: February 16, 1962
Type: Movie
The story of Lafayette, the 19 year old pacifist who takes the side of the Colonials during the American war of Independence.
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Title: Tempo
Released: October 15, 1961
Type: TV
Arts programme.
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King of Kings
Title: King of Kings
Character: Narrator (Voice)
Released: October 11, 1961
Type: Movie
Who is Jesus, and why does he impact all he meets? He is respected and reviled, emulated and accused, beloved, betrayed, and finally crucified. Yet that terrible fate would not be the end of the story.
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The Tartars
Title: The Tartars
Character: Burundai
Released: April 1, 1961
Type: Movie
The Tartars and the Vikings maintain a fragile peace in the harsh landscape of the Russian Steppe. When the leader of the Vikings, Oleg, declines to accompany the Tartars on a campaign against the Slavs, there is an explosion of violence. After Oleg kills the Tartar leader and kidnaps his daughter, the dead man's brother, Burandai, retaliates by holding Oleg's wife, Helga, hostage. The stalemate can be resolved only on the battlefield.
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Title: Survival
Character: Narrator
Released: February 1, 1961
Type: TV
Classic long-running British nature documentary series featuring different subjects each time.
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The Battle of Austerlitz
Title: The Battle of Austerlitz
Character: Robert Fulton
Released: June 17, 1960
Type: Movie
Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.
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An Arabian Night
Title: An Arabian Night
Character: Storyteller
Released: June 9, 1960
Type: Movie
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Crack in the Mirror
Title: Crack in the Mirror
Character: Hagolin / Lamerciere
Released: May 19, 1960
Type: Movie
Three stars appear in two separate but intertwined stories of romantic triangles gone wrong in this ambitious drama. In the first segment, Hagolin is a loutish construction worker with an unhappy wife, Eponine. The wife becomes involved with a swarthy working man, Larnier, and their passion knows no boundaries of caution or safety. Eventually, Eponine's and Larnier's lust drives them to madness, and they murder Hagolin. The second tale concerns an up-and-coming young lawyer, Claude, whose mentor is a highly successful veteran attorney, Lamerciere, with a beautiful young wife named Florence. Claude finds himself defending Larnier and Eponine, while Lamerciere dies of a heart attack after he discovers that Florence has been unfaithful to him with Claude.
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David and Goliath
Title: David and Goliath
Character: King Saul
Released: January 22, 1960
Type: Movie
When the Philistines attack, the Israelites are hopeless against the fierce giant Goliath and don't know what to do. King Saul takes the advice of the prophets and sends an adolescent shepherd, David, into battle to conquer the oversized Philistine. David is victorious and becomes the King of Israel.
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High Journey
Title: High Journey
Character: Narrator
Released: December 31, 1959
Type: Movie
In this film, ten European countries (France, Italy, Greece, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany and Turkey) are photographed from low-flying aircraft against an evocative soundtrack, revealing the features of their ancient capitals, historical heritage and remarkable landscapes in a new dimension.
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Ferry to Hong Kong
Title: Ferry to Hong Kong
Character: Captain Hart
Released: October 29, 1959
Type: Movie
Mark Conrad, a habitual drunk and troublemaker with a shady past, is expelled by Hong Kong police after one too many bar fights. He's sent to Macao on the Fa Tsan, a ferry owned by Captain Hart. Conrad's papers are out of order and Macao refuses him entry. Unable to go ashore, Conrad is a permanent passenger on the ferry with Hart, who detests him. It's all one long, lazy voyage for Conrad until one fateful trip when an encounter with a typhoon and pirates forces Conrad to choose between an aimless drifter's life and becoming a man again.
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Compulsion
Title: Compulsion
Character: Jonathan Wilk
Released: April 1, 1959
Type: Movie
Two close friends kidnap and murder a young boy and are defended in court by a renowned attorney who makes an impassioned plea against capital punishment.
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Lords of the Forest
Title: Lords of the Forest
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: November 21, 1958
Type: Movie
Documentary about the inhabitants, both human and animal, of the Belgian Congo. Released in 1958.
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The Roots of Heaven
Title: The Roots of Heaven
Character: Cy Sedgewick
Released: October 15, 1958
Type: Movie
In Fort Lamy, French Equitorial Africa, idealist Morel launches a one-man campaign to preserve the African elephant from extinction, which he sees as the last remaining "roots of Heaven." At first, he finds only support from Minna, hostess of the town's only night club, who is in love with him, and a derelict ex-British Army Major, Forsythe. His crusade gains momentum and he is soon surrounded by an odd assortment of characters: Cy Sedgewick, an American TV commentator who becomes impressed and rallies world-wide support; a U.S. photographer, Abe Fields, who is sent to do a picture story on Morel and stays on to follow his ideals; Saint Denis, a government aide ordered to stop Morel; Orsini, a professional ivory hunter whose vested interests aren't the same as Morel's; and Waitari, leader of a Pan-African movement who follows Morel only for the personal good it will do his own campaign.
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The Fountain of Youth
Title: The Fountain of Youth
Character: the narrator
Released: September 16, 1958
Type: Movie
A couple is conflicted when they are offered a chance at youth. Based on John Collier's short story “Youth from Vienna”.
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Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Title: Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Character: Self - Host
Released: September 1, 1958
Type: Movie
1958 documentary film by Orson Welles. It was funded by ABC TV. Around 30 minutes long, it follows a similar style to F for Fake and The Fountain of Youth.
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Title: Colgate Theatre
Released: August 19, 1958
Type: TV
Colgate Theatre
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South Seas Adventure
Title: South Seas Adventure
Character: Narrator
Released: July 16, 1958
Type: Movie
Cinerama takes you on a South Seas Adventure to tropical islands set like sparkling jewels in dreamy cerulean waters. Thrill to the lure of sunbrowned, luscious maidens and a paradise of coconut palms, coral strand and blue lagoons. Enchanted South Pacific archipelagos beckon with all the beauty and color of a painter’s palette. Stepping stones in the vast expanse of far-away seas, they promise romance, adventure, excitement—an irresistible blend of fascinating people and exotic places.
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The Vikings
Title: The Vikings
Character: Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Released: June 11, 1958
Type: Movie
Einar, brutal son of Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with Eric, a wily slave, for the hand of a beautiful English maiden.
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The Long, Hot Summer
Title: The Long, Hot Summer
Character: Will Varner
Released: May 17, 1958
Type: Movie
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
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Touch of Evil
Title: Touch of Evil
Character: Police Captain Hank Quinlan
Released: March 30, 1958
Type: Movie
When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan. When Vargas begins to suspect that Quinlan and his shady partner, Menzies, are planting evidence to frame an innocent man, his investigations into their possible corruption quickly put himself and his new bride, Susie, in jeopardy.
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Man in the Shadow
Title: Man in the Shadow
Character: Virgil Renchler
Released: December 12, 1957
Type: Movie
In effect, modern cow town Spurline is run by Virgil Renchler, owner of the Golden Empire Ranch. One night, two of Virgil's henchmen go a little too far and beat a "bracero" ranch hand to death. Faced with an obvious cover-up and opposition on every hand, sheriff Ben Sadler is goaded into investigating. His unlikely ally: Renchler's lovely, self-willed and overprotected daughter. Will Ben survive Renchler's wrath?
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Out of Darkness
Title: Out of Darkness
Character: Self - Narrator
Released: December 2, 1956
Type: Movie
Three months in the life of a patient at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, CA. Therapy sessions of a young woman with catatonic schizophrenia and her gradual journey to recovery.
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Moby Dick
Title: Moby Dick
Character: Father Mapple
Released: June 27, 1956
Type: Movie
In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.
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Title: The Steve Allen Show
Character: Self
Released: June 24, 1956
Type: TV
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Title: Cinépanorama
Character: Self
Released: February 4, 1956
Type: TV
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The Land of the Basques
Title: The Land of the Basques
Character: Himself
Released: October 7, 1955
Type: Movie
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Title: Around the World with Orson Welles
Character: Self (Host)
Released: October 7, 1955
Type: TV
"Around The World With Orson Welles" (broadcast in France under the title: Le Carnet De Voyage d'Orson Welles) is a series of 6 episodes lasting 26 minutes produced by Louis Dolivet for a new British channel, ITV and dedicated to Orson Welles and following "Orson Welles' Sketch Book". The contract signed in March 1955 with ITV called for an order of 26 episodes, each to be a travelogue. This is Welles' first real work for television (the "Sketch Book" series consists of long fixed shots in the studio). The episode filmed first is the one dedicated to Vienna. Two episodes are devoted to the Basque Country, another to bullfighting, then to a district of Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and finally, the last to retirees from Chelsea (London). The episode dedicated to the Domenici Affair was left partly unfinished, but should have been the first documentary dedicated to this affair which hit the headlines in France in 1952.
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Title: Around the World with Orson Welles
Character: Host: Orson Welles
Released: October 7, 1955
Type: TV
"Around The World With Orson Welles" (broadcast in France under the title: Le Carnet De Voyage d'Orson Welles) is a series of 6 episodes lasting 26 minutes produced by Louis Dolivet for a new British channel, ITV and dedicated to Orson Welles and following "Orson Welles' Sketch Book". The contract signed in March 1955 with ITV called for an order of 26 episodes, each to be a travelogue. This is Welles' first real work for television (the "Sketch Book" series consists of long fixed shots in the studio). The episode filmed first is the one dedicated to Vienna. Two episodes are devoted to the Basque Country, another to bullfighting, then to a district of Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, and finally, the last to retirees from Chelsea (London). The episode dedicated to the Domenici Affair was left partly unfinished, but should have been the first documentary dedicated to this affair which hit the headlines in France in 1952.
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Title: Ford Star Jubilee
Character: Oscar Jaffe
Released: September 24, 1955
Type: TV
Ford Star Jubilee is an American anthology series that aired once a month on Saturday nights on CBS at 9:00 P.M., E.S.T. from the fall of 1955 to the fall of 1956. The series was approximately 90 minutes long, aired in black-and-white and color, and was typically broadcast live. Ford Star Jubilee was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company.
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Mr. Arkadin
Title: Mr. Arkadin
Character: Gregory Arkadin
Released: August 9, 1955
Type: Movie
Claiming that he doesn't know his own past, a rich man enlists an ex-con with an odd bit of detective work. Gregory Arkadin says he can't remember anything before the late 1920s, and convict Guy Van Stratten is happy to take the job of exploring his new acquaintance's life story. Guy's research turns up stunning details about his employer's past, and as his work seems linked to untimely deaths, the mystery surrounding Mr. Arkadin deepens.
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Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Title: Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Character: Self - Host
Released: April 24, 1955
Type: Movie
Orson Welles recounts various stories from his life while drawing sketches of the events.
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Title: Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Character: Himself - Host
Released: April 24, 1955
Type: TV
Orson Welles' Sketch Book is a series of six short television commentaries by Orson Welles for the BBC in 1955. Written and directed by Welles, the 15-minute episodes present the filmmaker's commentaries on a range of subjects. Welles frequently draws from his own experiences and often illustrates the episodes with his own sketches.
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Napoleon
Title: Napoleon
Character: Sir Hudson Lowe
Released: March 25, 1955
Type: Movie
The film follows the life of Napoleon from his early life in Corsica to his death at Saint Helena. The film is notable for its use of location shooting for numerous scenes, especially at the French estates of Malmaison and Fontainebleau, the Palace of Versailles, and sites of Napoleonic battles including Austerlitz and Waterloo.
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Three Cases of Murder
Title: Three Cases of Murder
Character: Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Released: March 15, 1955
Type: Movie
Three stories of murder and the supernatural: A museum worker is introduced to a world behind the pictures he sees every day. When two lifelong friends fall in love with the same woman and she is killed, they are obvious suspects. Is their friendship strong enough for them to alibi each other? When a young politician is hurt by the arrogant Secretary for Foreign Affairs Lord Mountdrago, he uses Mountdrago's dreams to get revenge.
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Trouble in the Glen
Title: Trouble in the Glen
Character: Sanin Cejador y Mengues
Released: June 15, 1954
Type: Movie
Major Jim "Lance" Lansing, an American ex-pilot of the U.S. Air Corps, returns to Scotland after the war and finds much trouble in the glen where he settles because of the high-handed activities of the local laird, Sandy Mengues, a wealthy South American who, with his daughter Marissa, has returned to the land of his forefathers. Led by Lansing, the people eventually prevail upon Mengues to restore peace to the glen, but not before a brief and unconvincing fight between Lansing and Dukes, the Mengues foreman. Written by Les Adams
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Royal Affairs in Versailles
Title: Royal Affairs in Versailles
Character: Benjamin Franklin
Released: February 10, 1954
Type: Movie
Witty narration follows the history of Versailles Palace; founded by Louis XIII, enlarged by autocratic Louis XIV, whose personal affairs and amours, and those of his two successors, are followed in more detail to the start of the Revolution, after which the story is brought rapidly up to date. A huge cast plays mainly historical persons who appear briefly.
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King Lear
Title: King Lear
Character: King Lear
Released: October 18, 1953
Type: Movie
In this abridged television production, Lear vows revenge against his conniving daughters after they try to take swift control of his power.
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Man, Beast and Virtue
Title: Man, Beast and Virtue
Character: Captain Perella, the Beast
Released: May 9, 1953
Type: Movie
Paolino, a teacher at an elementary school near Naples, appears nervous for a few days and his friends do not know why. The man is the lover of Assunta, the mother of one of his pupils, and he discovers that she has become pregnant.
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Return to Glennascaul: A Story That Is Told in Dublin
Title: Return to Glennascaul: A Story That Is Told in Dublin
Character: Narrator
Released: February 1, 1953
Type: Movie
Orson Welles, taking a break from the filming of "Othello," is driving in the Irish countryside one night when he offers a ride to a man with car trouble. The man relays to Welles a strange tale of an encounter he had once before at the same isolated location.
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Title: Omnibus
Character: King Lear
Released: November 9, 1952
Type: TV
Omnibus is an American, commercially sponsored, educational television series.
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Trent's Last Case
Title: Trent's Last Case
Character: Sigsbee Manderson
Released: September 22, 1952
Type: Movie
When a wealthy business man is found dead reporter Philip Trent is sent to investigate. Against the police conclusions, he suspects the assumed suicide is really a murder, and becomes highly interested in the young widow and the dead man's private secretary.
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Title: Hallmark Hall of Fame
Character: Sheridan Whiteside
Released: December 24, 1951
Type: TV
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The longest-running primetime series in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning during 1951 and continuing into 2013. From 1954 onward, all of its productions have been shown in color, although color television video productions were extremely rare in 1954. Many television movies have been shown on the program since its debut, though the program began with live telecasts of dramas and then changed to videotaped productions before finally changing to filmed ones. The series has received eighty Emmy Awards, twenty-four Christopher Awards, eleven Peabody Awards, nine Golden Globes, and four Humanitas Prizes. Once a common practice in American television, it is the last remaining television program such that the title includes the name of the sponsor. Unlike other long-running TV series still on the air, it differs in that it broadcasts only occasionally and not on a weekly broadcast programming schedule.
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Othello
Title: Othello
Character: Othello
Released: November 28, 1951
Type: Movie
When a secret marriage is planned between Othello, a Moorish general, and Desdemona, the daughter of Senator Brabantio, her old suitor Roderigo takes it hard. He allies himself with Iago, who has his own grudge against Othello, and the two conspire to bring Othello down. When their first plan, to have him accused of witchcraft, fails, they plant evidence intended to make him believe Desdemona is unfaithful.
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Title: I Love Lucy
Character: Orson Welles
Released: October 15, 1951
Type: TV
Cuban Bandleader Ricky Ricardo would be happy if his wife Lucy would just be a housewife. Instead she tries constantly to perform at the Tropicana where he works, and make life comically frantic in the apartment building they share with landlords Fred and Ethel Mertz, who also happen to be their best friends.
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Disorder
Title: Disorder
Character: Self
Released: December 2, 1950
Type: Movie
Variations on the cultural and intellectual explosion in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district in 1946.
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The Black Rose
Title: The Black Rose
Character: Bayan
Released: September 1, 1950
Type: Movie
In the 13th century, Walter of Gurnie, a disinherited Saxon youth, is forced to flee England. With his friend, Tristram, he falls in with the army of the fierce but avuncular General Bayan, and journeys all the way to China, where both men become involved in intrigues in the court of Kublai Khan.
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Title: What's My Line?
Character: Self - Panelist
Released: February 2, 1950
Type: TV
Four panelists must determine guests' occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only "yes" or "no" questions.
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Prince of Foxes
Title: Prince of Foxes
Character: Cesare Borgia
Released: November 11, 1949
Type: Movie
In 1500, Duke Cesare Borgia hopes to marry his sister to the heir apparent of Ferrara, which impedes his conquest of central Italy. On this delicate mission he sends Andrea Orsini, his sister's lover and nearly as unscrupulous as himself. En route, Orsini meets Camilla Verano, wife of the count of Citta' del Monte, and sentiment threatens to turn him against his deadly master, whom no one betrays twice...
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The Third Man
Title: The Third Man
Character: Harry Lime
Released: August 31, 1949
Type: Movie
In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.
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Black Magic
Title: Black Magic
Character: Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
Released: August 19, 1949
Type: Movie
A hypnotist uses his powers for revenge against King Louis XV's court.
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Macbeth
Title: Macbeth
Character: Macbeth
Released: October 1, 1948
Type: Movie
A Scottish warlord and his wife murder their way to a pair of crowns.
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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Title: The Ed Sullivan Show
Character: Self / King Lear
Released: June 20, 1948
Type: TV
The Ed Sullivan Show is an American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the CBS Sunday Night Movie, which ran only one season and was eventually replaced by other shows. In 2002, The Ed Sullivan Show was ranked #15 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.
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The Lady from Shanghai
Title: The Lady from Shanghai
Character: Michael O'Hara
Released: December 24, 1947
Type: Movie
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
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Duel in the Sun
Title: Duel in the Sun
Character: Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Released: December 31, 1946
Type: Movie
Beautiful half-breed Pearl Chavez becomes the ward of her dead father's first love and finds herself torn between her sons, one good and the other bad.
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Battle for Survival
Title: Battle for Survival
Character: Narrator
Released: July 25, 1946
Type: Movie
This is a two-reel short appealing for financial support from Americans to assist in the feeding and resettlement in Palestine of 1.5 million European Jews who in 1946 were "incredibly, alive." Orson Welles' magnificent narration stirs one's soul.
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The Stranger
Title: The Stranger
Character: Prof. Charles Rankin
Released: July 2, 1946
Type: Movie
An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi, who may be hiding out in a small town in the guise of a distinguished professor engaged to the Supreme Court Justice’s daughter.
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Tomorrow Is Forever
Title: Tomorrow Is Forever
Character: John Andrew MacDonald
Released: February 20, 1946
Type: Movie
In 1918, Elizabeth MacDonald learns that her husband, John Andrew, has been killed in the war. Elizabeth bears John's son and eventually marries her kindly boss. Unknown to her, John has survived but is horribly disfigured and remains in Europe. Years later, on the eve of World War II, Elizabeth refuses to agree to her son's request to enlist and is stunned when an eerily familiar stranger named Kessler arrives from abroad and becomes involved.
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Mexico City, Old and New
Title: Mexico City, Old and New
Character: Narrator
Released: December 1, 1945
Type: Movie
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Follow the Boys
Title: Follow the Boys
Character: Orson Welles (uncredited)
Released: May 5, 1944
Type: Movie
During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical numbers and comedy skits, and were meant as morale-boosters to both the troops overseas and the civilians at home. This was Universal Pictures' effort. It features everyone from Donald O'Connor to the Andrews Sisters to Orson Welles to W.C. Fields to George Raft to Marlene Dietrich, and dozens of other Universal players.
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Know Your Ally: Britain
Title: Know Your Ally: Britain
Character: Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
Released: January 1, 1944
Type: Movie
Know Your Ally: Britain was a 45-minute propaganda film made in 1944. It was narrated by Walter Huston and produced by the United States War Department and Signal Corp to solidify Anglo-American solidarity within the ranks as well as counter Nazi propaganda aimed at weakening the Alliance.
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Jane Eyre
Title: Jane Eyre
Character: Edward Rochester
Released: December 24, 1943
Type: Movie
After a harsh childhood, orphan Jane Eyre is hired by Edward Rochester, the brooding lord of a mysterious manor house to care for his young daughter.
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Show-Business at War
Title: Show-Business at War
Character: Self
Released: May 21, 1943
Type: Movie
A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.
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Journey into Fear
Title: Journey into Fear
Character: Colonel Haki
Released: January 7, 1943
Type: Movie
An American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by Nazi agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.
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The Magnificent Ambersons
Title: The Magnificent Ambersons
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: July 10, 1942
Type: Movie
The spoiled young heir to the decaying Amberson fortune comes between his widowed mother and the man she has always loved.
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Citizen Kane
Title: Citizen Kane
Character: Charles Foster Kane
Released: April 17, 1941
Type: Movie
Newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.
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Swiss Family Robinson
Title: Swiss Family Robinson
Character: Opening Narrator
Released: February 8, 1940
Type: Movie
A family setting out for a new life across the sea is shipwrecked on a deserted island. The family members collaborate to create a home for themselves in the jungle environment.
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The Spanish Earth
Title: The Spanish Earth
Character: Narrator (voice)
Released: July 10, 1937
Type: Movie
A propaganda film made during the Spanish Civil War in support of the Republican government against the rebellion by Gen. Francisco Franco's forces who were backed by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. The film would have been seen by those making it as a documentary.
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The Hearts of Age
Title: The Hearts of Age
Character: Death
Released: January 1, 1934
Type: Movie
A colonial scene in the U.S. An old lady sits astride a bell while a man in blackface, wig, and livery pulls the bell rope. From an upper door emerges an old man, dressed as a dandy, who tips his hat to the woman as he walks down stairs grinning. Others leave the same door and walk down the same stairs: a shabby man, a cop, and, several times, the same dandy. The man in blackface hangs himself; the dandy continues to smile. A bell tolls, a grave beckons. In the dark, the dandy plays the piano. Is he Death? The Hearts of Age is the first film made by Orson Welles. The film is an eight-minute short, which he co-directed with William Vance in 1934. The film stars Welles' first wife, Virginia Nicholson, as well as Welles himself. He made the film while attending the Todd School for Boys, in Woodstock, Illinois, at the age of 19.
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Twelfth Night
Title: Twelfth Night
Character: Narrator
Released: May 15, 1933
Type: Movie
The earliest surviving film of Orson Welles, a vignette of his and Roger Hill's production of Twelfth Night at the Todd School for Boys.
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Something Else
Title: Something Else
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
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Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
Title: Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
A Rolls Royce Silver Cloud drove him to airports; the British film industry kowtowed to his power; the great Hollywood studios fawned at his feet.Sir Alexander Korda, one of the world's most flamboyant movie tycoons, rose from obscurity in rural Hungary to become a legendary filmmaker. With him were his brothers, Zoltan and Vincent, all living charmed lives in circles that included H. G. Wells, Sir Lawrence Olivier, Marlena Dietrich, Vivien Leigh, and Merle Oberon, who was soon to be Alex's wife. But along with Alex's flair for success was an equally powerful impulse for destruction.