Orson Footage from where??

[Orson&Jazz]

I don't know if this was brought up already or not, but I recently saw this cool clip and I was wondering where the Orson footage was from?

Magic Trick

[Roger Ryan]

This has been discussed here at least twice, but it's nice to be able to actually view it again (thanks to YouTube). It has been determined that the Welles footage was shot in 1953 exclusively for the use of magician Dick Himber (notated in Jonathan Rosenbaum's chronology of Welles events in "This Is Orson Welles"). Copperfield bought the footage and had an impersonator dub in "Dave" in place of "Dick" when Welles would refer to the magician by name. Also, the "Yabba, Dabba, Doo" was dubbed in as well since the Flintstones wouldn't have made that phrase popular for another ten years (a pretty lame gag which makes me wonder what Welles originally said - persumably something dated which warranted the redubbing).

Nicely staged for this program; I especially like the real confetti falling from the screen when Welles tosses it in the film. Thanks Orson & Jazz for posting the link.

[Orson&Jazz]

You're most welcome. I had just seen the clip for the very first time on the day I posted the question. I found it rather amusing so I thought to provide a link to the clip.

I liked seeing Orson perform magic. Makes me wish I could go back in time to see him perform it live and in person. Well, most of what Welles did makes me want to go back in time to meet him in person.

Thanks for the help identifying the footage. I looked into my copy of This Is Orson Welles, and I noticed the info you provided. It was June 6th, 1953. So does that mean he filmed it in 1951 but it didn't come out until 1953?

I also noticed it said that "other" magicians, not just Copperfield, have used this same footage as well. That is interesting. I too wish I saw the original footage of what Orson had originally had said instead of Yabba Dabba Do.

[Roger Ryan]

Thanks for the help identifying the footage. I looked into my copy of This Is Orson Welles, and I noticed the info you provided. It was June 6th, 1953. So does that mean he filmed it in 1951 but it didn't come out until 1953?

I was just going off my (increasingly faulty) memory when I stated 1951, so thanks for the correction (I've modified my above post).

[mteal]

Thanks for the link, Orson & Jazz. I finally found a computer that would download it. A cute and very clever trick by Orson, and Copperfield does a good job of presenting it.

There are some other amusing little films at that site as well. PORK CALLING ORSON is a slightly longer version of the infamous drunken Paul Masson outtakes, and the picture quality seems better then what I've seen before. And there's a nice little video of THE WHITE STRIPES' Citizen Kane song THE UNION FOREVER. Also, CITIZEN KANE REMIX is pretty funny, with young CFK as a budding rapper and Thatcher as a record studio exec.

[Orson&Jazz]

No problemo mteal. The first time I was on YouTube, I saw some other interesting clips of Orson. I did indeed see the other clips you had mentioned mteal.

I did enjoy the one clip of Orson on the Dean Martin show. I thought it was very funny.

Dean Martin Show


Off the topic of Orson, but interesting nonetheless, I found a great commerical by Buster Keaton.

Buster Commercial

[mteal]

That's priceless.

Also, another interesting thing on there is a widescreen trailer for TEPEPA, a good spaghetti western that Welles did in 1968. I'll have to keep an eye on You Tube. Can those films be downloaded to disc?