By ROBERT KROLL
The Orson Welles papers purchased in 2015 by the University of Michigan from Oja Kodar are now available to the public. I was astounded with the new materials that I was able to view on a recent visit.
Along with the autobiography fragments discovered last year, there are items from the “Voodoo” Macbeth stage show, more scripts and correspondence for The Other Side of the Wind, an untitled Christmas movie, Todd School for Boys records, Jess Franco’s edit of Don Quixote, photos and brochures for Magic Show routines, and even medical records. There are also many papers specifically related to Kodar, including material about her directorial debut in the 1989 film Jaded and papers pertaining to her rights to Welles’ films and pension.
Total, there are 17 new boxes of material added to the Orson Welles – Oja Kodar Paper University of Michigan Special Collections Library. I looked at four boxes for my first visit. For the most part, I chose boxes that would help me in my current research into Welles’ commercials.
First was Box 31, which primarily contained materials about F for Fake. A stand-out in this box is a complete draft script of the film. A raw look at how the film was constructed, the pages are mostly transcripts of the interview footage with plenty of Welles’ hand-written notes. Many pages with only two or three lines each were inserted into the draft. These inserts were on paper that felt thinner than Bible pages.
Next was Box 35. I was looking forward to this box most because it had material about Welles’ G&G Nikka Whiskey campaign. The majority of the letters are from Tadao Iwaoka, account supervisor in charge of Nikka for Jima Dentsu Advertising, along with responses from Welles.
Welles was riding a crest of popularity in Japan as the Nikka ads started airing in 1975. The Nikk campaign began as a re-release of The Third Man started a roadshow tour in Japan (which is probably why The Third Man Theme is played in some of the commercials). A May 13, 1976 letter from campaign art director Akio Fukuoka pointed out that people called up Nikka and asked, “Who is that person with a magnificent face?” in the ads. Fukuoka also expressed concern that Nikka posters featuring Welles were being stolen from public places, but this was considered evidence of Welles’ newly-found popularity. Letters in the files show that Jima Dentsu and Nikka tried to see what other Welles films could be brought to Japan. One letter showed the delicacy in how Nikka could sponsor a run of Orson Welles’ Great Mysteries on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) without coming off as an extended advertisement, while the last page of an incomplete three page letter shows that Nikka may have considered funding the Magic Show for TBS.
Because Nikka wanted to air the other spots Welles made right away instead of rolling them out over a year, they gave Welles control over making further ads for Nikka. Welles made three test ads of him performing magic, with one of these tests (likely) seen in the 1995 documentary Orson Welles: The One Man Band. After the tests were filmed, Welles was apparently told that magicians were not highly regarded in Japan. In a letter to Iwaoka dated July 12, 1976 from Welles, “Your statement that ‘in Japan magic… is not considered highly interesting’ comes as a most unpleasant surprise. I cannot refrain from pointing out that had this observation been made when I first proposed the use of magic, I would have been spared much hard work and fatigue. You have, for your own purposes, chosen to hold your thoughts on this matter revealing it only after my own considerable expenditure of time and effort.”
Other Nikka papers include five one-page scripts for the test films, including one where Welles shares a toast with a picture of Marlene Dietrich. A letter from Iwaoka dated March 13, 1976 expressed doubts about being able to use the image, but Welles reassured him in a follow-up letter that it is okay to use.
Also in Box 35 were documents pertaining to an ad Welles did for Brazil nuts. A July 14, 1976 letter from Sally Lilienthal of Amnesty International alerted Welles to human rights abuses happening in Brazil, including the murder of journalist Vladimir Herzog. In an undated response draft, Welles stated, “When I agreed to do the ‘Brazil Nut’ ad, I’m afraid that I was thinking only of the happy times I had when filming in Brazil those many years ago, and the great fondness I had developed for the Brazilian people. It can truly be said that as of that time I became a ‘Brazil Nut.’” The letter was set to include a check for the $2,025 that Welles received for making the ad to be donated to Amnesty International.
My next box was 37, which consisted mainly of correspondence. A letter from John Huston asked Welles to play Benjamin Franklin in a short film to celebrate America’s Bicentennial. A highlight was reading a hand-written letter from Martin Scorsese. Dated February 18, 1982, Scorsese expresses his adulation to Welles and gratitude for a lunch they had together. Scorsese admits that his letter seems “fragmented – but I’m afraid that’s the state of affairs these days – my events, that is,” possibly referring to the making of King of Comedy and his trouble trying to produce The Last Temptation of Christ at Paramount.
Mislabeled as a letter from Paul Masson himself, there is a September 24, 1985 letter from Leonard Orkin of Davis & Gilbert, asking Welles if he would be interested in being spokesman for Paul Masson wines for a 1986 campaign. Coming mere weeks before Welles passed away, the letter confirms most of what was in the epilogue of My Lunches with Orson. The work would have entailed twelve days of work over the course of a year to produce commercials for television, radio, and print along with personal appearances. Welles was offered $225,000 for this work, far from the $500,000 plus residuals he originally received as spokesman for Paul Masson wines.
The final box I viewed was 41, which consisted of letters to Oja Kodar along with her own writing. Many of the letters are condolences to Kodar after the passing of Welles. I was most interested in the letters used in a lawsuit for Kodar’s claim to Welles’ pension. Many of the letters for this suit were from people who worked on The Other Side of the Wind. A seven-page letter from Gary Graver in favor of Kodar is especially passionate.
This is only a small portion of what is now available. Overall, these materials offer new insights into both Welles and will provide fresh scholarship for years to come.
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Robert Kroll is an English professor at St. Clair County Community College in Michigan. He is currently working on a book about Orson Welles’ commercials.
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