So...anyone make it to this?

[Jeff Wilson]

Beatrice speaks

[tonyw]

Somebody in this area has to go and ask certain questions.

[ToddBaesen]

By a curious coincidence, in January I was in Arizona and visited Sedona. Its towering red rock mesa's and mountains make for a fabulous setting for the small town that is nestled beneath these natural wonders. Too bad I couldn't have been there in Feb for Beatrice's talk!

I actually wanted to go there just to see the locations that were used in Nick Ray's JOHNNY GUITAR. But Welles also lived in Sedona for some time in the seventies, and it's really an incredible place to visit. Strangely, as fabulous as the red rock mesas are, they are really nothing when compared to the fabulous scenery and mesa's of Monument Valley, towards the Utah border. That is like a place where time has stood still, as indeed it has. There it nothing here to indicate the presence of man, except for a dusty dirt road. In fact, the incredible landscapes of STAGECOACH are exactly like they were in 1939, when John Ford first filmed them, and of course STAGECOACH served as the great inspiration for Orson Welles while he was shooting CITIZEN KANE. There are also very few visitors here, unlike the hordes of tourists that descent on Grand Canyon, which is not to far to the south. So here, there is very little to distract form the beautiful scenery. I was visiting with a friend from New York, and we spent the whole day driving trough the Navajo Tribal park, stopping every five or ten minutes to see some new and incredible view. From John Ford point, you can see the exact place where Jeffrey Hunter goes down to invade the Commanche camp in THE SEARCHERS. And at the Goulding's Trading post, you can still see the Cabin they built where John Wayne lived in SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON.

After we finished a long day drive through the park, my friend from Manhattan, who does not know John Ford movies, said to me, "This is the most incredible place I've ever been to in the United States." I'd have to agree. There's an overwhelming sense of majesty - of spirit - of nature - of sheer beauty here. It' obviously something that comes through in John Ford's many Westerns, but really, even that feeling pales when you are able to stand here and view these magnificent monuments in person. It's a truly transcendent experience! Anyone who ever has the chance to visit here, should certainly make the effort to do so.

[tonyw]

Todd, I visited the area twice during 1988 and 1989 and agree with you. I suppose we must keep the item on topic by mentioning that STAGECOACH was one of the many films Welles saw. But who is going to Beatrice's talk and ask some very telling questions?

[Alan Brody]

What questions would you want her to answer, Tony? Maybe she reads this forum occasionally.

[RayKelly]

The Sedona (Arizona) Gallery Association has several events slated for April 4, 5 - 8 p.m. This one might interest some here:

Goldenstein Gallery premieres "The Profound Palette," a scintillating series which explores in depth both local and regional art and the artist behind their work. Meet featured artists including Marlys Mallet and Rafe Terry.
Experience Handbag Couture by Beatrice Welles, daughter of the famous film auteur Orson Welles.
Watch Gaden Shartse Monks creating a Tibetan Sand Mandala in the gallery. Enjoy live music by Jack Reeves.

[tonyw]

Although one does not want to be too light-hearted in such a situation, I wonder whether anybody present will ask Beatrice about parallels between her handbagging of Welles projects and the notorious symbolic use Mrs Thatcher made of her political handbag tactics during the 1980s?

[LamontCranston]

Beatrice Welles is a milf?! Who knew!

[Glenn Anders]

You might want to tune into this item:

http://verdenews.com/main.asp?SectionID ... leID=24770

Fitting rather nicely, ironically, bizarrely, into your discussion (and others going on now about THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS and THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND), this slightly unctious web-item from the January 13, 2008, Verde Independent, "Wildcat Roundup in Sedona," recounts how Beatrice Welles discovered over Christmas 2007 that her former housekeeper (presumably a Latina) was suffering from terminal cancer in a 30 year-old trailer park on the outskirts of Sedona. The trailer park had been sold to make way for development, and the residents were being sent on their way, the article implies, mostly South of the Border. Ms. Welles brought her personal doctor, hospice people, and held a birthday party for the former housekeeper. It was then that she noticed a considerable number of feral cats living under the trailers, and a new crusade was born.

The article has a nice picture of Beatrice, and a number of revealing remarks -- such as one about how she usually prefers to be "the man behind the curtain" in these matters.

Shades of Orson Welles!

Check it out.

But we still don't have a report about her proposed talk in the sun-burned flesh that began the thread.

Glenn