CineMata's Movie Madness
  • Homepage
  • Guest Reviews
    • Rhapsody in August
  • Cine's Closeup
    • The Pale Blue Eye
    • The Munsters 2022
    • Hello, My Name is Doris
    • In Praise of Family
    • Venom 2
    • Ophelia
    • Mank
    • Macbeth 2015
  • Pioneering Feministas
    • Janet Green: Tapping into the Dark Side
    • Women Make Film
    • Alice Guy-Blache
    • Auteur Directors
  • Star Spot
    • Juanita Moore
    • Raisin in the Sun 3
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
  • The Woman's Voice
    • Blonde 2022
    • Women Warriors
    • The Divine Order
    • Twilight: A Primal Call for Patriarchal Dominance
    • The Fierce Women of Summer
    • Martha Fiennes' ONEGIN
    • The Dressmaker
    • Sofia Coppola and The Silent Woman
    • Thelma and Louise
    • Bridesmaids 2011
    • Mildred Pierce HBO
    • Dragonwyck
    • Cousin Bette
    • Stage Beauty
  • About Cine
  • Top Ten Faves
    • 'Tis the Season for Murder
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2020
    • The Best Film Experiences of 2017
    • Female Villains to Die For
    • 10 Remakes to Remember
    • We Heart the Bad Boys
    • 12 Days of Cinematic Christmas 2014
    • Most Memorable Moms
    • Cult Film Faves
  • Contact Cine
  • Hollywood Notables
    • Fiona Shaw
    • Viola Davis
    • Elizabeth Banks
    • Shia LaBeouf
  • Rave Reviews
    • Best of Netflix 2017
    • Mayhem
    • Dave Made a Maze
    • Lavender
    • Hail Caesar!
    • Spy
    • Gravity
    • Inception 2010
    • Black Swan 2010
    • Flight
    • Moonrise Kingdom
    • Lincoln
    • Looper
    • Lawless
  • Telegenic Static
    • Wednesday
    • Cine's 2018/19 Seasonal Faves
    • The Highwaymen
    • Cine's New Year Resolution: Watch More Netflix!
    • TCM : A Class Act
    • Best of TV * 2017
    • Female Detectives on TV
    • Neo-Renaissance TV: Feud & Big Little Lies
    • True Detective Navigates Noirland
    • Texas Rising
    • 2014/2015 TV Season Highlights
    • 2013-2014 TV Favorites
  • British Film & TV
    • The Banshees of Inisherin
    • Doc Martin
    • Song of the Swan
    • Death in Paradise
    • Miss Scarlet and the Duke
    • The Stranger
    • Sanditon
    • Collateral
    • Handsome Devil
    • Love & Friendship
    • Victorian Slum House
    • 45 Years
    • Anonymous
    • Appropriate Adult
    • Sherlock Holmes: Many Faces
    • Philomena
    • British Feminista TV
    • Brassed Off
  • The Golden Age
    • Gone with the Wind
    • Cleopatra 1934
    • Elizabeth Taylor: The Passing of an Icon
  • Who You Callin' Crazy?!
    • Cine's Walk of Fame Tour
    • Count Bela: Nosferatu & Vampyr
    • Post Awards with Ida Lupino
    • The Duke: Cowboys/Aliens vs WWZ
    • Liberace Dishes
    • Elizabeth Taylor Visits Cine
  • Noir Greats
    • Nightmare Alley
    • The Big Heat
    • Femme Fatales: Crime is My Career
    • Femme Fatales: Honey, I'm Home!
    • Crime of Passion
    • The Loves of Carmen
    • The Many Faces of Noir
    • In Order of Disappearance
    • Boss - 2011/12 series
    • Pepe le Moko 1937
    • Mystery Street 1950
    • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
    • The Barefoot Contessa: A Noir Bridge to Nowhere
    • They Won't Believe Me
    • Dan Duryea Nails Noir
    • What Is Film Noir?
    • They Drive By Night
  • Commentaries
    • Award Season 2019 Redux
    • #OscarsSoTarnished
    • Orson Welles Independent Film Tribute
    • Oscar 2016: The Politics of Segregation
    • Hollywood Director's Club: For Men Only
    • Poliwood and the Hollywood Blacklist
    • Cine Mata's 2015 Picks and Pans
    • The Unbearable Whiteness of Emmy Hosting
    • Oscar's Dodge
  • Drive-By Reviews
    • Dark Phoenix
    • Nola Circus
    • Comfort
    • ATOMICA
    • Innuendo
    • My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
    • Film Franchise Meltdown
    • The Woman in Black
    • Girls with Guns 3.0
    • Coriolanus
    • Lady Scarface 1941
  • International Films & TV
    • My Pandemic Marathon Diaries
    • The Twelve
    • Mr. Sunshine
    • The World of International Noir
    • Romance of Our Parents
    • The Grand Hotel Saga
    • Don't Be Bad
    • The Handmaiden
    • Caramel / Sukkar banat
    • Morning for the Osone Family 1946
    • Fritz Lang's M
    • La Bete Humaine
  • Political Rx
    • Rebellion
    • Women in the White House
    • The Ides of March
    • By The People: The Election of Barack Obama
  • Culture Centric Cinema
    • Horror Noire
    • Self Made
    • Little
    • Hidden Figures
    • Fences
    • #Whiterose: Identity, Secrecy & BD Wong
    • Imitation of Life 1934
    • Frazzled Hair Wars
    • Soul Men
  • Indie Films
    • Scotland, PA
    • Adrift in Soho
    • H4
    • Paint It Red
    • HAMLET in the Golden Vale
    • Trouble is My Business
    • The Browsing Effect
    • Indie Films 2018 >
      • Clara's Ghost
      • Cold War
      • To Dream
      • The New Romantic
      • Here and Now
      • Unlovable
      • The Landing
      • I CAN I WILL I DID
      • Choosing Signs
      • Iron Brothers
      • Across the River
      • Josephine Doe
      • Sunset
      • SUNSET: Interview
      • The Forgiven
      • Kill Order
      • Midnighters
      • Half Magic
      • Looking Glass
      • Entanglement
      • Crazy Famous
      • Stratton
      • As You Like It
      • Hunter
  • eau de cinematic clunker
    • Avatar 2: The Way of Water
    • The Irishman
    • Almost Friends
    • The Osiris Child
    • Bushwick
    • Pilgrimage
    • Fun Mom Dinner
    • Once Upon A Time in Venice
    • Aaron's Blood
    • Black Rose
    • Lucy 2014
    • Transcendence 2014
  • Book Reviews
    • Conversations with Ray Bradbury
    • A Woman's View
    • Dark Dames
    • Auntie Mame's Favorite Son: Patrick Dennis
    • I'm A Lebowski, You're A Lebowski
  • Documentary Picks & Pans
    • Black Ballerina
    • Leftover Women
    • Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
    • Unrest
    • Be Natural
    • Farmsteaders
    • Bombshell : Hedy Lamarr
    • Jungle
    • Who the F**k is that Guy?
    • The Man in the Camo Jacket
    • Spirit Game: Pride of a Nation
    • Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe
    • Listen to Me Marlon
    • I Am Not Your Negro
    • The Girls in the Band
    • TCM's Trailblazing Women in Film
    • The Honor Diaries
    • Side By Side
    • American Masters : Salinger
    • The Story of Film
  • LGBTQ pov
    • Making Sweet Tea
    • Drag Queens & Trannies
    • Milk 2009
  • Silent Classics
    • Charles Epting: Silent Film Historian
    • Hollywood's Silent Film Grave Huntress
    • La Boheme 1926
    • The Blot 1921
    • Pandora's Box
    • Don Juan
  • Art House Flicks
    • Birth
    • I'm Not There
  • Kid's Korner
    • Pokemon Detective Pikachu
    • Hotel Transylvania 3 : Summer Vacation
    • The Incredibles 2
    • Sherlock Gnomes
    • Paddington 2
    • Lego Batman: A Super Hero in Crisis
    • SING: Cine's 2017 Oscar Pick
    • Summer Flicks 2016
    • Kung Fu Panda 3 / 2016
  • Cine's Friends
  • Hollywood Award Shows
    • Cine's Fantasy Golden Globes 2021
    • Oscar 2020
    • For Your Consideration 2018
    • For Your Consideration 2017
    • 50 Shades of Oscar 2016
    • 2016 Golden Globes
    • 2015 Emmys Redux
    • 2014 Oscars: Plantation Politics
    • 2014 Emmys : A Dash of Racism
    • 2013 Emmys : Hold the Mayo
  • Archives
An Orson Welles Independent Film Tribute 

by Paulette Reynolds

June 15, 2013


There's always an inherent danger in reviewing an actor's body of work, especially if they happen to fall in the category of Film Icon. Movie reviewers and fans may find it hard to be objective when faced with an Olivier, Davis, Burton or Crawford. The bond is so intensely personal that we tend to overlook the staged bits of artifice connected to someone like Orson Welles. I find that relating to Welles as though he were a beloved artistically-flawed relative helps me keep my perspective, well - less subjective. 

There is a relentless drive on the part of any artistic soul to exert complete control over their work. Like his spirit's counterpoint, John Cassavetes, the independent film maker will play in the truly great and the horribly awful films just to earn the funds for yet another personal visionary statement. Welles was a bit different in that he played in films but also did a lot of radio and public service work in order to finance his projects, usually working on several projects simutaneously, which impacted each project, for better or worse.

Yet differences between a studio and independently-produced film demand a shift in our appreciation of an artist's work.

After all, the former is a studio vision with the reins firmly in the hands of the Front Office, whose sole purpose is to create another money-maker. The latter is an artist's voice alone, created out of sheer joy. Those of us who love independent films will gladly overlook choppy editing, uneven pacing, and even a poor script, just to see what their favorite auteur is currently creating.

And while a Cassavetes production is strong with solid dialogue and painfully-etched performances, a Welles feature is - well, all about Welles! I sometimes have trouble remembering this fact, but what brings me down to earth is the realization that there is a stark difference between Orson Welles' studio-controlled movies and his free-wheeling independent films.

I will go on record in favor of his studio-produced masterpieces - Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, The Third Man, The Stranger, Touch of Evil, even his minor works such as The Long, Hot Summer and Jane Eyre. His more flamboyant idiosyncrasies are reeled in and toned down, allowing the full brilliance of his cinematic power to flow forth. The independent Welles productions are always entertaining, but often his genius is drowned out by poor costuming and subjective editing choices. More often than not we are fascinated by the Welles performance at the expense of his cast and even story. Yet getting lost in the world that is Orson Welles can be a convoluted conundrum devoutly to be wished. 

TCM recently saluted Orson Welles by featuring his Shakespearean collection of MacBeth, Othello, Chimes at Midnight and his quirky Mr. Arkadin. Now one troubling feature of the Film Icon is that their trademark mannerisms can overshadow even the most brilliant of performances - and nowhere is this more true than with the late and great Orson Welles. His mesmerizing voice, the crafted facial acrobatics and sheer physical presence often divert us from the glaring mixed bag that is his film portfolio. Othello (1952) opens with a stunning funerary prelude, set against an almost white sky. Welles' Othello is a compelling performance, but poor continuity in his makeup and strange use of crowns can be annoying. The weakest link in Shakespeare's duel between good and evil is the choice of Iago in Michael MackLiammour, who labors under a silly wig, never rising to the dramatic level that is required of a man who lives by a personal code of revenge.

MacBeth (1948) for me has always suffered from a choppy beginning, that has the title character winning the king's favor and then immediately plotting against him. (There is speculation by scholars that key opening scenes were lost, which explains the jarring shift in MacBeth's character.) Sparks of true brilliance fire forth, only to fizzle out in uneven pacing, a hammy set of Weird Sisters, the cast laboring under Scottish accents, and the weak interplay between MacBeth and his his co-conspirator Lady, played by Jeanette Nolan, in her first film appearance. Chimes at Midnight (1965) is a more thoughtfully crafted tragicomedy, perhaps because Welles finally gained more experience in the production end of filmmaking. Yet his false nose, frenetic pacing, and the inclusion of Jeanne Moreau in an otherwise superb cast can wear down even the most devoted viewer. 

Mr. Arkadin (1955) is added here simply because it appears on television so rarely - I loved his dialogue and the film's premise captivated me - about a man with such a sordid past that even he was running from it. But half-way through the unnecessary odd bits and the addition of his wife Paola Mori - a poor man's Gina Lollobrigida at best - threatened to put me to sleep. Yet I grimly held onto my remote until the amazing conclusion. 

It can be said that I am more of a fan than this review may indicate, but for me, watching an Orson Welles independent production is a little like watching a home movie: The wistful sentimentality for the players involved is paired with a 20-20 sense of vision.  But the actor is first, foremost, and always, “some kind of man.”

COPYRIGHT 2012/2016. Paulette Reynolds.  All CineMata Movie Madness blog articles, reviews, faux interviews, commentary, and the Cine Mata character are under the sole ownership of Paulette Reynolds.  All intellectual and creative rights reserved.  
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.