With the United States gripped in a heated political debate about Muslim refugees and illegal immigration from Mexico, a 46-year old animated short narrated by Orson Welles is currently making the rounds on social media.
Directed by Sam Weiss for Bosustow Productions, Freedom River is a six-minute parable about the decline of a once great nation whose citizens have allowed themselves to wallow in prejudice and greed. It is being cited by those opposed to an executive order signed by President Donald Trump.
Welles, a lifelong liberal, narrated the animated tale of xenophobia, greed and dishonest political leaders, which pollute the water. He closed the short with the warning that the river of freedom can only be kept fresh through vigilance.
“And so it happened that because they so coveted the river, they barred from it people who looked unfamiliar or talked differently in the false belief that strangers were not deserving – little remembering that not long ago they too were strangers,” Welles intoned. “And when some among them arose and selfishly took more than their share, the people did not stop them, but instead resolved to do the same. Instead of helping those that were ill and weak. They despised them and chastised them for their idleness. And even as the river grew weak and muddy, glib leaders said it was strong and clear. The people became confused. They did not know what to do.”
The Vietnam War era animated short has been embraced as “prescient and so timely” by those who share its viewpoint.
Bosustow Productions was headed by Oscar winner Stephen Bosustow, a Canadian writer-producer best known for Gerald McBoing-Boing (1950), The Tell-Tale Heart (1953) and Mister Magoo (1960). Released in 1971, Freedom River came a year after Welles worked with Bosustow on the Academy Award winning short Is It Always Right to Be Right?
The late Joseph C. Cavella, who co-wrote Freedom River, recounted Welles’ involvement in an interview more than a decade ago.
The script for Freedom River, a portable reel to reel tape recorder and a “sizable check” were sent to Welles in Paris, he recalled.
“He was either desperate for money or – I would rather believe – something in it touched him because two weeks later we got the reel back with the narration word for word and we were on our way,” Cavella said.
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