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
Citizen Kane
Charles Foster Kane
A Man for All Seasons
Cardinal Wolsey
The Magnificent Ambersons
Narrator (voice)
Chimes at Midnight
Falstaff
The Third Man
Harry Lime
Touch of Evil
Police Captain Hank Quinlan
The Transformers: The Movie
Unicron (voice)
History of the World: Part I
Narrator
Moby Dick
Father Mapple
Catch-22
Brigadier General Dreedle
Twelve Plus One
Markan
The Trial
Albert Hastler
The Lady from Shanghai
Michael O'Hara
Is Paris Burning?
Konsul Nordling
The Stranger
Prof. Charles Rankin
And Then There Were None
Voice on Tape
House of Cards
Leschenhaut
Journey into Fear
Colonel Haki
Treasure Island
Long John Silver
Jane Eyre
Edward Rochester
Don Quixote
Self
Casino Royale
Le Chiffre
Waterloo
Louis XVIII
The Battle of Neretva
Četnik
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi
Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
Macbeth
Macbeth
Butterfly
Judge Rauch
The Long, Hot Summer
Will Varner
Compulsion
Jonathan Wilk
The Vikings
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
F for Fake
Self
The V.I.P.s
Max Buda
Napoleon
Sir Hudson Lowe
The Southern Star
Plankett
Mr. Arkadin
Gregory Arkadin
Tomorrow Is Forever
John Andrew MacDonald
The Black Rose
Bayan
Prince of Foxes
Cesare Borgia
Three Cases of Murder
Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
The Kremlin Letter
Bresnavitch
Malpertuis
Cassavius
The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Presenter / Narrator (voice)
Othello
Othello
Royal Affairs in Versailles
Benjamin Franklin
Orson Welles: The One-Man Band
Self (archive footage)
The Biggest Battle
Narratore
The Secret Life of Nikola Tesla
J.P. Morgan
Tepepa
Colonel Cascorro
A Safe Place
The Magician
Slapstick (Of Another Kind)
Aliens' Father (voice)
Hot Tomorrows
Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
Trent's Last Case
Sigsbee Manderson
Ten Days' Wonder
Théo Van Horn
The Immortal Story
Charles Clay
Voyage of the Damned
José Estedes
The Late Great Planet Earth
Self
David and Goliath
King Saul
Black Magic
Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
It's All True
Self
Ferry to Hong Kong
Captain Hart
Ro.Go.Pa.G.
The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
Future Shock
Narrator
Get to Know Your Rabbit
Mr. Delasandro
The Fountain of Youth
the narrator
The Force Beyond
Himself (archive footage)
The Spanish Earth
Narrator (voice)
Marco the Magnificent
Akerman, Marco's Teacher
It Happened One Christmas
Henry F. Potter
Filming Othello
Host
Mysterious Castles of Clay
Narrator
I'll Never Forget What's'isname
Jonathan Lute
Trouble in the Glen
Sanin Cejador y Mengues
Where Is Parsifal?
Klingsor
Tudo é Brasil
Self (archive footage)
Return to Glennascaul: A Story That Is Told in Dublin
Narrator
Too Much Johnson
Keystone Kop
The Road to Bresson
Self
The Tartars
Burundai
Is It Always Right to Be Right?
Narrator
Hot Money
Sheriff Paisley
Man, Beast and Virtue
Captain Perella, the Beast
Someone to Love
Danny's Friend
The Fight for Rome
Justinian
King Lear
King Lear
Centinelas del Silencio
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Narrator
The Greatest Adventure--The Story of Man's Voyage to the Moon
Narrator
The Sailor from Gibraltar
Orson Welles in Spain
Himself
To Build a Fire
Narrator (voice)
Crack in the Mirror
Hagolin / Lamerciere
The Roots of Heaven
Cy Sedgewick
The Muppet Movie
Lew Lord
The Battle Over Citizen Kane
Self (archive footage)
Ten Days That Shook the World
Narrator
Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Flame of Persia
Narrator
A King's Story
Narrator
Tut: The Boy King
Himself - Host
The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh
himself
Upon This Rock
Michelangelo (voice)
This Is Orson Welles
Self
Vienna
Himself
Swiss Family Robinson
Opening Narrator
The Merchant of Venice
Shylock
The Hearts of Age
Death
Who's Out There?
Host
A Step Away
English Narrator
The Last Sailors: The Final Days of Working Sail
Narrator
Necromancy
Mr. Cato
Moby Dick
Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
Follow the Boys
Orson Welles (uncredited)
Orson Welles' Magic Show
Self
Lafayette
Benjamin Franklin
Filming 'The Trial'
Self
The Finest Hours
Narrator (voice)
Portrait: Orson Welles
Self
A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies
Self
Directed by John Ford
Narrator (voice)
Rita Hayworth: Dancing Into the Dream
Self (archive footage)
Oedipus the King
Tiresias
King of Kings
Narrator (Voice)
Start the Revolution Without Me
The Narrator
Soft Self-Portrait of Salvador Dali
Narrator
The Fight for Rome II - The Betrayal
Justinian
Freedom River
Narrator
With Orson Welles: Stories from a Life in Film
Self (archive footage)
London
Winston Churchill / George Bernard Shaw
An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon
A Huey P. Newton Story
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Well
From Fiber to Fabric: Wool's a Natural
Narrator
Duel in the Sun
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Show-Business at War
Self
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Self (archive footage)
Rita
(archive footage)
Lost in La Mancha
Self (archive footage)
NASA: A Space Odyssey Vol. 3
Narrator
A Horse Called Nijinsky
Narrator
The Orson Welles Show
Self
The Greenstone
Narrator (voice)
Disorder
Self
They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
Self (archive footage)
The Quest for Fire Adventure
Narrator
Working with Orson Welles
Himself (Archive Footage)
Filmmakers vs. Tycoons
Self (archive footage)
Bugs Bunny Superstar
Narrator (voice)
The Enchanted Journey
Pippo
Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces
Self (archive footage)
The Eyes of Orson Welles
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
The Hitch Hiker
Ronald Adams
The Battle of Sutjeska
Winston Churchill
The Welles Raft
Himself (Archive Footage)
High Journey
Narrator
Orson Welles: The Paris Interview
Himself
Around the World of Mike Todd
Self - Narrator
La Classe américaine
Self (archive footage)
Battle for Survival
Narrator
The Other Side of Welles
Self (archive footage)
Orson Welles at the Cinémathèque Française
Himself
Hopper/Welles
Self
The Cave
Narrator
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
The Challenge... A Tribute to Modern Art
Narrator
The Best of the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self - Roaster (archive footage)
Rosabella - La storia italiana di Orson Welles
Genocide
Narrator (voice)
The Battle of Austerlitz
Robert Fulton
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina
Self - Host
Know Your Ally: Britain
Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
Mexico City, Old and New
Narrator
South Seas Adventure
Narrator
Lords of the Forest
Narrator (voice)
River of the Ocean
Narrator (English)
An Arabian Night
Storyteller
It's Not All True
Himself (archive footage)
Salvador Dalí: A Soft Self-Portrait
Narrator
Kelly Country
Narrator
Power and Corruption
Himself
The Lions of Capitalism: Some Call It Greed
Narrator
The Double McGuffin
Narrator
The Enemy Before Us
Narrator
The Man Who Came to Dinner
Sheridan Whiteside
To Try Again... and Succeed
Narrator (voice)
The New Media Bible: Book of Genesis
Narrator
Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park
Narrator
Search for the Titanic
Himself (host)
A Gift of Harvest
Narrator
In Our Hands
Himself
Almonds and Raisins
Narrator
Wagner e Venezia
Richard Wagner (voice)
The New Deal for Artists
Narrator (voice)
NBC: The First Fifty Years
Self / Narrator
Magnificent Monsters of the Deep
Narrator
Something Else
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Self - Host
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roast: Michael Landon
The Psychic Connection
Narrator
King Penguin: Stranded Beyond the Falklands
Self - Narrator
Natalie - A Tribute to a Very Special Lady
Self
Baryshnikov in Hollywood
Self - Narrator
Doug Henning's World of Magic
Self - Special Guest
Let Poland Be Poland
Self
Out of Darkness
Self - Narrator
Disorder Is 20 Years Old
Self
A Legend a Lifetime: Citizen Welles
Orson Welles - The Marketed Genius
Self
Frank Sinatra: The First 40 Years
Self
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
Self (archive footage)
Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
Self (archive footage)
The Great Buster: A Celebration
Self (archive footage)
The Magic History of Cinema
Embers & Dust
Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
Brasil
Self (archive footage)
Vive le cinema!
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
Caesar's Guide to Gaming with Orson Welles
Himself
The Land of the Basques
Himself
The Blinding of Isaac Woodard
Himself (archive footage)
Beggars Would Ride
Narrator
A Life for Movies: Lotte Eisner
Self (archive footage)
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
Self (archive footage)
Night of 100 Stars
Self
The Deep
Russ Brewer
According to Occam's Razor
Welles' Language
Self (archive footage)
Celebração - 100 Anos do Cinema Nacional
Self
The Lost Print: The Making of Orson Welles’ The Magnificent Ambersons
Himself (Archive footage)
American: An Odyssey to 1947
Self (archive footage)
The Dominici Affair by Orson Welles
Self (archive footage)
Emergency: Donald Trump’s "Touch of Evil"
(archive footage)
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Orson Welles in the Land of Don Quixote
Self (Archive footage)
Notre Dame de la Croisette
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Edge of Outside
Self (archive footage)
The Dreamers
Marcus Kleek
Man in the Shadow
Virgil Renchler
Clint Eastwood: The Last Legend
Self (archive footage)
Jodorowsky's Dune
Self (Archival Footage)
Lucifer et moi
(archive footage 1982)
Miss Goodall and the Wild Chimpanzees
Self - Narrator (voice)
From Introduction to Orson Welles’s Falstaff: Chimes at Midnight
Falstaff
Alfonso Sansone: Producer by Chance
Self (archive footage)
The Witching
Mr. Cato
Parkinson at 50
Self (archive footage)
Magic with the Stars
Host
The Cave: a parable told by Orson Welles
Narrator
Tall Tales: The Ireland of Orson Welles
Self
Othelo The Great
Ele Mesmo (Imagem de Arquivo)
Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
Himself
AFI Life Achievement Award: 50th Anniversary Special
Self (archive footage)
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
(archive footage)
The Muppets: A Celebration of 30 Years
Self (archive footage)
It's Pretty, but is it Art?
Self (voiceover)
Looking Back Before You Leap
General Zaroff (voice)
The Other Side of the Wind
Journalist (uncredited)
The Paranormal Peter Sellers
Self (Archive footage)
Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
Self (archive Footage)
Twelfth Night
Narrator
The Shadow Knows
Self (archive footage)
LIFE BEYOND: Visions of Alien Life
Narrator (Archive Sound)
LIFE BEYOND I: The Dawn
Narrator
On the tracks of a filmmaker
Orson Welles
The Battle of Grovers Mill
Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)
Jim Henson Idea Man
Self (archive footage)
Shows
I Love Lucy
Orson Welles
Night Gallery
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Sheridan Whiteside
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
Shōgun
Narrator
The Steve Allen Show
Self
Magnum, P.I.
Moonlighting
Orson Welles
Omnibus
King Lear
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
Orson Welles' Great Mysteries
Self - Host
Scene of the Crime
The Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts
Self
Talking Pictures
Self (archive footage)
Around the World with Orson Welles
Host: Orson Welles
In the Land of Don Quixote
Himself
A Woman Called Moses
Narrator (voice)
V.I.P. Schaukel
Self
Orson Welles' Sketch Book
Himself - Host
Hollywood and the Stars
Self (archive footage)
The Dick Cavett Show
Self - Guest
What's My Line?
Self - Panelist
An Evening with Orson Welles
Colgate Theatre
Tempo
Ford Star Jubilee
Oscar Jaffe
The Name of the Game
Narrator
Tales of the Klondike
Narrator
The Silent Years
Survival
Narrator
One Man Band
The Merv Griffin Show
Self
Doug Henning's World of Magic
Self
The Magic of David Copperfield
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
Self
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self / King Lear
Cinépanorama
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
Around the World with Orson Welles
Self (Host)
National Geographic Specials
Narrator
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self - Guest Host
Star Life
Self (archive footage)