Welles and Night Gallery

[MartynH]

Just got on the Night Gallery site and seen below

'SILENT SNOW, SECRET SNOW. A young boy's fascination with snow draws him into a beautiful fantasy world. Narrated by Orson Welles'

It was a Rod Serling (also did Twilight Zone) series - very good - I used to watch it in the 70's. Has anybody seen this episode?

[Roger Ryan]

Interesting to note that Serling wanted Welles to narrate the TWILIGHT ZONE series (at least the first seaon), but Welles wanted too much money. Serling ended up doing it himself (marvelously). I had not heard that Serling got Welles to narrate a NIGHT GALLERY episode a decade later.

[MartynH]

found the clip on you tube of Silent snow secret snow - there's even a clear ref to Kane. Welles is used quite a lot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Fq3Y_Tc ... re=related

[kipling71]

My GOD that's gorgeous! Hadn't seen this one until now.

Does the show freeze every couple minutes for anyone else? I don't think it's my connection - the counter keeps rolling but image and sound stop for a few seconds at random points.

Still, STUNNING piece of work.

[Glenn Anders]

From comments left on Youtube, it would seem that the periodic glitch is part of the Night Gallery transfer, kipling71.

As you may know, MartynH, when Conrad Aiken was eleven, his physician father, possibly a victim of schizophrenia, murdered his mother and shot himself. Aiken found the bodies, was later raised by others, and there is considerable evidence that "Silent Snow, Secret Snow," published in 1934, was inspired by Aiken's brooding on his family legacy. [In those days, it was thought that mental illness was mainly a matter of heredity.] His poetry, stories and novels are shot through with insights and illustrations of Freudian thought.

He would have been working for the WPA Writers Project at the time "Silent Snow, Secret Snow" was published, and might well have had some contact with Welles who, working in the Theater Wing, would have been an impressionable 19. Both artists would have shared the loss of their mothers, and a history of mental illness in their families.

Orson Welles, of course, saw his mother die within a day or two of his Ninth Birthday, and it has been occasionally suggested that he held his Father, Dick Welles, in some way accountable for her death. He also had an older brother, Richard Ives Welles, also 19 when their Mother died, who was institutionalized for much of his life. He seems to have been a secret hardship and responsibility for Welles, who supported his brother modestly until the older man's death.

It has been so long since I've read "Silent Snow, Secret Snow that I don't remember if a "Rosebud-type" globe figures in Aiken's original story or not. But it is possible that these other factors helped draw Welles to Rod Serling's Night Gallery adaptation.

Thank you for turning this video up for us, MartynH, and welcome to Wellesnet.

Glenn

[Roger Ryan]

Yes, the picture-freeze glitch happened for me as well - quite frustrating!

Unlike some blatant references to KANE (I'm thinking of asides included in Hickenlooper's BIG BRASS RING), the snowglobe in this NIGHT GALLERY episode is a perfect metaphor for the subject matter and it wouldn't surprise me if it was in place prior to Welles being hired. Despite the 70s TV look (all of the NIGHT GALLERY episodes suffered from this whereas TWILIGHT ZONE often had the look of theatrical films), this is excellent work and features one of the finer Welles narrations.

[atcolomb]

Night Gallery season 2 has been released with the episode Silent Snow Secret Snow narrated by Orson. I will put in in my Netflix queue!!

[katewatson]

Hey friend, Thanks for that nice information. Hadn't seen this one until now. Just seen its trailer of 2 minutes on youtube and seems really interesting show so i just want to ask "Does this show available online?"

[RayKelly]

Hi Kate,
You can watchthe episode online at hulu.com
Here is the direct link >>> http://www.hulu.com/watch/58804/night-gallery-the-phantom-farmhousesilent-snow-secret-snow
It starts at the 34-minute mark

[tulip]

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