The Tragic Life of Orson Welles: A Creative Genius Betrayed

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[@AgeOfVintage]

Thank you all for watching the videos and a HUGE THANK YOU for those who support the channel on Patreon. Just as little as $5 a month helps the channel tremendously!!! click here: www.patreon.com/ageofvintage Thank you! 🙂

[@eckankar7756]

I met Orson in the 1970s, his daughter, Bea, had a Christmas Store here in Sedona, Az and he would visit. He was huge, walked around with this tiny tea cup poodle in his arms. He was pleasant, his daughter wasn't.

[@j1st633]

Why?

[@jimbomoosio2184]

His talent outpaced Hollywood's need to make money. A great man who didn't know how to play the game

[@stelladonaconfredobutler9459]

he didnt care to play the game.

[@dalebaker9109]

I always liked Orson. He was a great director, and could be an astounding actor, also a master magician. Unfortunately, he never had the best of luck. A genius who constantly run out of luck. Thanks for this wonderful and entertaining video.

[@nealgrey6485]

In October, 1985, a new york tabloid published two obituaries on the sane day- in the same newspaper. One obit was of Orson Wells, which was a cold recital of the career of a talented but failed genius. The other was of Yul Brenner. The difference could not have been more stark. There was warmth and love in Yul Brenner’s obit.

[@sallyclay1974]

He was an intellectual, He got very heavy in his old age. Crazy about his movies

[@paulakpacente]

Orson Welles was indeed a genius.

[@sallykohorst8803]

Yes Orson Wells was a genuus.

[@Monkofmagnesia]

I think the studio system did not like him not because he thought he knew it all, but because he did know it all. The way he was treated reminds me of the teacher who would fail you because, "You got the answer right but you did not do it my way." First video of yours I saw (YT recommended it to me). I Subscribed and gave you a thumb up.

[@TT_1221]

I agree. Welles could write, direct, produce and star in movies and this made him a huge threat to the industry. The studio system was designed to make money and keep fat cats in fat jobs with fat salaries. Welles said that movie direction could easily be learned in a day and a half. He had to go!

[@ksranji]

A very interesting biography but no mention of The Third Man.

[@stelladonaconfredobutler9459]

I KNOW...what's with that?

[@Tordogor]

'The Third Man', 'Citizen Kane' with Welles, plus 'The Searchers' by John Ford are my three absolute favorite movies! And probably of many other people.

[@j1st633]

Along the PCH in CA the cliff side restaurant was owned by Rita and Orson.

[@Jenifer_G]

Read once he publicibly abused his then wife, Rita Hayworth, in public. I see him as a rude pig.

[@stelladonaconfredobutler9459]

I think you maybe confusing that with Thelma Todd? "Thelma Todd's Sidewalk Cafe is located on Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, California. The Mediterranean style building was constructed in 1927 as a community center for the Castellammare neighborhood, which rises directly behind it on the hillside."

[@russian13973]

I thought Wells was targeted throughout his lifetime by William Randolph Hearst after portraying him in Citizen Kane??

[@lizriveratoro8729]

And you are right... 👋🏼

[@MegaJackpinesavage]

We sell no WHINE before its time? Where would Hollywood be without its tragic legends? I can't feel too sorry for some poor stiff who's married to Rita Hayworth... Orson dreed his sensational weird with great flare and style -- off-putting perhaps, but a truly great man --- living Welles is the best revenge.

[@HairHoFla]

Grandson of Gideon Wells...founder of Wells Fargo

[@julieb737]

Thanks

[@AgeOfVintage]

Thank you so much Julie! 🙂

[@TT_1221]

Welles could write, direct, produce and star in movies and this made him a huge threat to the industry. The studio system was designed to make money and keep fat cats in fat jobs with fat salaries. Welles said that movie direction could easily be learned in a day and a half. He had to go!

[@jamesmiller4184]

Gees, I like your unique style! Well done on poor Welles! While marvelous creatively and as an actor, he was for some strange reason self- defeating.Terribly sad that.

[@cindycross4644]

I bet he had A D D

[@robbyblackwell7247]

Please please please open comments 🙏

[@AgeOfVintage]

Thanks Robby! 🙂 What do you mean open comments? I read comments when I have the time, but if you have anything urgent, feel free to email me. My email is in every video description 🙂

[@alancrisp1582]

🤔 I have met a few genius masterminds in my life, and I am talking very smart clever people. Most all had mental health issues!. Just my personal experience with them.......😢

[@robertgiles9124]

Mozart was a genius....the term used to mean something. It's tossed around now like a frisbee. Orson must have been tone deaf because his Irish accent in Shanghai was atrocious. Anyone who has heard a real Irish accent can tell it was fake and irritating. Lucky Charms cereal did it better. He ruins what could have been an excellent pot boiler. No one dared mention to him at the time? Kane was ruined by the part of the woman doing a version of Marian Davis. Even Orson admits he was wrong there. But it was a film about a rich guy who we never get the really know, except as a charming egomaniac, which is what Hearst was ...but we also know some of the evil things he did too like starting a war with Spain to sell papers. Fancy camera work cannot replace substance and a good story.

[@FordFourD-aka-Ford4D]

And nitpicking a few details that don't bother the vast majority of cinema fans doesn't suddenly detract from Citizen Kane's story. Nor does it detract from its substantial substance. I really think you don't know what you're looking for when you see a movie. It's not radio or a novel. Film is a *visual* medium. Orson's genius was in combing camera work with stellar performances. He was la talented director both on set and stage. Furthermore, he was a genius. He had a scholarship to Harvard at the age of 15. He accomplished a tremendous amount in the theatre and radio that would have made for a memorable career all BEFORE he ever did a film. If you don't understand his genius, that is no fault of his prodigious and substantive oeuvre. It merely means you are blind to just how prolific he truly was.

[@robertgiles9124]

@@FordFourD-aka-Ford4D H You confused me with someone who might care about your haughty Film Lecture. Hissy Fit much?