There is a new book on Orson Welles now available by Bart Whaley.� It looks to be chock full of thrills and interesting information and since it’s an e-book, it can be ordered and read�in the same day.�
I’ve just gotten my copy, and while�I’ve only been able to glance through a few of it’s 663 pages, it looks to be a fascinating piece of work, focusing a great deal on Welles’�work (and works) as a Magician.��
A glance at one of four Appendices, “When the credits roll” seems to be a�piece that throughly demolishes books by�those noted Welles authors, C. Higham, P. Kael and D.�Thomson.�
Here,�for example are Whaley’s comments on� Thomson’s “Rosebud:”
Begun in 1992 by seeking to answer the rude question �Why didn’t this man accomplish more with his life?” Ends with a portrait so grossly inaccurate as to make one suspect the author of perpetrating a hate crime. Thomson, an English immigrant in the USA, is a highly esteemed movie historian and critic. Judging from this effort, I can�t imagine why.�
And Whaley on�Higham’s Welles book:�
Although widely cited as authoritative because it seems the most nearly complete in its description of film content, this book was inadequately researched at many crucial points relating to biographical details. This, after all, is the book that reheated the old Hollywood canard that Welles was too erratic to be trusted to even complete a film much less do so on schedule or within budget. Higham, moreover, is the author of the 1980 biography of Errol Flynn in which he makes him out to be a homosexual (on untrustworthy evidence) and a Nazi secret agent–a flat-out error and at best, given Higham’s selective editing of the relevant documents. Higham further undermined his credentials with his 1989 bio of Cary Grant by promising �facts� about that star�s alleged homosexuality but only rehashed the stale rumors.�
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Here is the link to publisher Chris Wasshuber’s Lybrary.com website�where you can download the book:
www.lybrary.com/orson-welles-magic-p-400.html��
And here is the book’s Table of Contents:
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INTRODUCTION: The �I� of The Beholder
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PART I: THE MAKING OF A MAGUS (1915-1934)
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Sorcerer�s Apprentice
Thurston, Houdini, & Mr. Long
Boy Magician
Young Machiavelli
The Dublin Gate
Atlantic City Swami
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PART II: NEW YORK! NEW YORK! (1934-1939)
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Broadway Unlimited
Harlem Nights And Stage Voodoo
The Magic Of Sound & The Sound Of Music
Playing Faust And Loose
Bull In The Afternoon
Mercurial Moments
The Shadow Knows!
Mind readers Extraordinary
The Vaudevillian And His Unholy Five
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PART III: EARLY HOLLYWOOD (1939-1941)
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Westward Ho! Ho! Hoi
Manky Panky
The Camera As Magic Box
“A Touch Of Rhinestones”
Native Son
The Trade Of The Tricks
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PART IV: HOLLYWOOD AFTER KANE (1941-1947)
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Ambersons And The Magic Of Light
The Mysterious Orange Tree
Journey Into Fear And Loathing
Sessions With Fu-Manchu
Rita Maid: How to Recruit A Magician’s Assistant
Framing The Mercury Wonder Show
The Wonder Show Opens
The Show Must Go On
Follow The Boys
Magical Medley
Mexican Melodrama
Special Services
Film And Life
Jokers Wild
Around The World From Boston To Broadway
Towns Skryer
Lady From Shanghai
Jazzman
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PART V: WORLD VAGABOND (1947-1956)
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Black Magic In Rome
The Moor Of Morocco And Venice
�An Evening With Eartha Kitt�
Harry Lime Meets Winston Churchill
With The Olivier�s At Nutley Abbey�
The Moor Of London And Cannes
Masquerade
Moby Shtick
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PART VI: AMERICAN INTERLUDES (1956-1966)
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Las Vegas Magic – �Horsin With Orson”
I Love Lucy And Desi
TV Magic
How To Predict Presidential Elections
Touch Of Evil
Return Of The Bullfighter
In Kafka land
Flagstaff In Quixote land
Orson Welles Versus James Bond
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PART VII: AULD LANG SANG (1966-1972)
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The Great One And A Mis-Made Lady
Shazzam!�
How To Recruit Orson Welles
Of Rabbits And Men
F For Fake – Deception Pure And Simple
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PART VIII: – THE USA (1972-1985)
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Back To The USA
Carefree In Arizona
An Artists Eye: Set And Costume Design
Directors Cut
How To Con A Con
In A Magic Castle
The Last Magic Show
Business And Pleasure At Ma Maison
On The Magic Set With Orson Welles
More Magical Appearances
Picks & Pans – The Magician As Critic
A Rather Bizarre Magickian
Into The Mind Of A Magician
Mr. Memory
Tricks No Treats
Time & Chance
Final Cut
CONCLUSION: TWO QUESTIONS, TWO ANSWERS��
The Big Brass Ring
An Open Book
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APPENDICES:
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A. Magic Voice, Wonder Words
B. When The Credits Roll
C. Auteur! Auteur!: Welles And Auteur Theory
D. The Great Manipulator
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
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