The Hitch-hiker verus The Hitch-hiker - Or Orson Welles vs. Orson Welles

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

i thought when they played the same shows over again on radio, i thought that they had recorded the show, and didn't have everyone they needed, so they just played the recorded version.

i got a copy of the radio show the hitchhiker. funny thing is, i had a recorded copy. when i got the original, i decided to get rid of the copy. well, that was the biggest mistake i ever made. it also had the search for henri le fevre and most dangerous game on it too.

after i tossed the copy, i listened to the original. it was terrible. it was the same show under a different date. i was so use the copy, i figured now that i have the original i don't need it anymore. well, found out the hard way that i do.

i ain't never gonna get rid of donovan's brain though. that would be murder.

compare these to each other. there are two, maybe three of each show. i had the best copies of them too.

aaahhhh!!!

bye now.

[mteal]

O_W_O,
Have you checked out Jeff's radio section of Wellesnet? He's done a nice job on it and it's starting to get more and more thorough. As indicated in the program listings, Welles did THE HITCHHIKER twice: once for Lady Esther in 1941, and again for the Mercury Summer Theatre in 1946. I can't remember offhand which one is on the Theatre of the Imagination compilation, but I thought it was an effective rendering. If you threw out the Lady Esther version, that's too bad. Those are hard to track down. Even the Lilly Library only has 3 or 4 of the programs.

I like THE SEARCH FOR HENRI LEFEVRE too - one of the better of the Summer Theatre shows. Welles and Mercedes McCambridge have a nice hammy chemistry together. Jerry Haendeges, one of the leading OTR dealers on the Net, said he was restoring all of the Summer Theatre shows, but unfortunately he seems to be very slow in his work.

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

mteal, you forgot one. he also did the hitch-hiker on the "suspense" series.

he got to be the one to open the program that time. other than the man in black.

bye now!

[mteal]

Thanks for the correction. I like his appearances on Suspense (I think there were about 8 or 9 of them), especially THE DARK TOWER. And you're right: DONOVAN'S BRAIN is a good one too.

[Welles Fan]

I like the "Theatre of the Imagination" version of The Hitchhiker real well. THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME I have is from "Suspense", and features Keenan Wynn-very enjoyable with Welles in hammy "Colonel Haki" mode, but with a terrible sound effect for the falcon, though. I'm not familiar with THE SEARCH FOR HENRI LEFEBVRE, but will look into it.

[mteal]

Henri Lefevre is available from Radio Spirits website, on a 60-minute cassette (the other side has the Summer Theatre "Hichhiker"). I've ordered from them before, and the sound is usually pretty good.

www.radiospirits.com

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

That's the tape I have. The one from radio spirits. those are the ones that sound the worst to me. i think Orson was trying to outdo himself like he did beautifully in "donvovan's brain". but it just didn't work that way. if you want mine, send me your address and i will be glad to send it to you.

the ones that he sounds wonderful in are the "suspense" versions.

that's where the orson versus orson comes in at.

bye now!

[mteal]

O_W_O,
Thanks for the offer, but I do have both shows already. Maybe someone else here would like to take you up on that. That's interesting that you thought the Summer Theatre HITCHHIKER was bad. In that case, I would very much like to hear the "Suspense" version that you thought was much better, because I thought the Summer Theatre version was actually quite good.

[Obssessed_with_Orson]

i really shouldn't have said i didn't like it, but that the version from "suspense" just sounded better. he can sound suspenseful by just the tone of his voice, but he tried to make it the way he did Donovan's Brain. in that he did a few shakes of his voice. but he just didn't need to do it in the hitch-hiker.

it's kind of like the different versions of other stories too.

for instance, 'i'm a fool'. he did it in his almanac and for the mercury theatre on the air. in the almanac, he sounds as if was in a hurry. and in mtota, he's slow, calm, soothing, etc.

in the most dangerous game, he does one version where he sounds like a young man, and in a hurry. but in another version, he sounds a bit older, and is taking his time. again.

it's seems kind of silly to compare Orson Welles to Orson Welles though.

have you heard the jack benny shows that he subbed? in the final one, where mr. benny is back, ms. livingstone said when she heard his voice she broke out in goosepimples. mr. benny said he didn't care if she broke out in billiard balls.

well, i'm one that when i do hear his voice, the way i like it, i do break out in billiard balls.

bye now!