Around the World With Orson Welles

[Glenn Anders]

I happened to be in London with the Army in 1954-1955. [Saw the original complete MR ARKADIN there, and Moby Dick Rehearsed at the Duke of York's Theater.

My English girlfriend, Rosemary Hayward, was a graduate of Teatro Conti, and she was transported by Orson Welles. She told me about this series, and an earlier one, Orson Welles' Sketchbook, it was called called, I believe. She told me that Welles had changed the face of BBC Television, and of course, I suppose, these works were the beginning of his idea creating cinematic essays, which was always there in his radio and much of his film work, but finally resulted in F FOR FAKE and occupied a lot of his productive time for the rest of his life.

Unfortuately, these were the days before video tape, and I never got a pass or leave when any of the Around the World with Orson Welles shows were being shown. Besides, Rosemary was just a spectacular girl!

On VHS, today, the film quality is typical of its time, nicely done but nothing out of the ordinary. It is in certain shots, the editing and Welles' presence and commentary where the episodes shine. Unlike the Sketch Book, this series was originally made for European television, I believe, and that is a factor, too.

Each episode dwells on a kind of philosophical idea about cultures, most often Spanish culture. Welles folds in what he is doing at the moment -- i.e., he is rehearsing Moby Dick Rehearsed at an old warehouse in South London when he interviews the nearby Chelsea Pensioners. And he engages various friends in the shooting, such as Kenneth Tynan and his wife in the piece about Bullfighting.

The price seems high to me, but I imagine that it is rare. You might try renting the VHS tape first from a store or service specializing in International or rare video, to give you an idea if you want to invest in the DVD, which will likely have better sound and visual quality.

Regards.

Glenn

[Lance Morrison]

they do have it at amazon
http://www.amazon.com/exec....4963203

[AndersE]

Well, I went ahead and ordered it. Will report back when I receive it.
The reviews on the Amazon site were interesting as there seems to be yet another episode, viva Itala, not on the DVD. Looks like I have to check with the BBC archives how many episodes where really made.
It turned out that DVDsoon was cheaper than amazon, as they have free shipping, even on international orders.

Anders

[Noel Shane]

I think you're talking about "Portrait of Gina," which was part of a different project unconnected to the BBC. The available episode from Around the World that isn't included in the set is "The Dominici Affair," available separately from Image DVD.

[tony]

Francoise Thomas claimed in the recent conference that:

[Welles] had been largely cut out of the editing process vis-à-vis the “Around the World” shows he’d done for ITV. (The company inserted shots into the shows, seemingly at will, some of which had been “stolen” from unknown sources; e.g., the clips of celebrities in “Paris After Dark,” adding insult to injury.)

Has anybody previously heard this?

[Roger Ryan]

Joe McBride mentions in his new book that the celebrities were added to the "Paris" episode after Welles turned in his cut. In rewatching the episode, I was struck by how unfinished it felt. I'm sure this is partially due to the odd framing device of having Art Buchwald type out his story in silence without any comment. Certainly it would have been Welles' style to introduce Buchwald or comment on his being part of the New York Times Herald's Paris bureau. One also imagines that Welles would have been willing to comment on Jean Cocteau given the mutual respect they had for each other. All of the "Around The World" episodes seem incomplete in a way ("Pays Basque" even exists in two different versions), especially when compared to the tightly edited form of "Portait Of Gina".

[tony]

Yet another example of Welles losing control of his work, even having it yanked away from him?

Still, reading McBride's new book (finally finishing just 3 days ago) I was struck by the unintended comic aspect of Joe doggedly pursuing his thesis of Welles being screwed over while simultaneously adding tale after tale of Welles's woe as he doesn't complete yet another project by deadline, or loses interest in a project, or...etc. etc..

As they used to say about the Mennonnites, Welles was "in the world but not of it". I'm also reminded of Rita's comment that "Orson never knew the value of money", often a characteristic of the rich, or those who have been brought up rich. Of course, in some ways it's an admirable quality, though not one widely respected by film producers. He was certainly removed from the aspect of puritanism which demands that work be finished "on time" and from the aspect of capitalism that "product" be "profitable".

Our dear Orson was a purist but never a puritan!
:;):

[François Thomas]

To try and cut a long story short :

Welles did not complete any of the Around the World with Orson Welles shows in time for their announced airing dates. He was months behind, inasmuch as he had signed for twenty-six shows to be shown every two weeks, beginning on September 23, 1955. As the series marked the very beginnings of private television in Great Britain, Associated-Rediffusion (the production company) and ITV did not want to postpone it. So the first two shows were aired in a nearly completed form, though lacking some minor elements. I don't know if Welles put the final touches afterwards himself.

When Welles left Europe to go back to the United States in October 1955, the one show (apart from the one on the Dominici case) that was utterly unfinished was the one on Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Welles probably had only shot the interviews with Raymond Duncan and the letterist poets, his farewell from a train (although there is no evidence that it was meant for this particular show), and possibly Art Buchwald (although there is no evidence that he meant it as a framing device). He also had shot his counter-shots for both interviews, but not his appearances as a host.

Welles tried to convince Associated-Rediffusion to let him finish the shows in New York. Associated-Rediffusion and Filmorsa accused Welles of violating his contracts and asked him to come back and finish the shows. (Welles was under an exclusivity contract to Filmorsa, Louis Dolivet's company. Filmorsa was helping Associated-Rediffusion to produce the series though it was not a co-producer in an actual sense ; some shows were edited in London, some in France). Associated-Rediffusion asked Filmorsa to complete the Saint-Germain-des-Prés episode if Welles were not to come back. Among the shots added then :
— a couple of shots with a Welles double (or doubles) ;
— shots taken from a short film directed by Jacques Baratier, Désordre (“Disorder”). They include shots of Cocteau, Juliette Greco, Simone de Beauvoir and other celebrities, as well as numerous nightclub scenes ;
— shots of Eddie Constantine probably coming from one of his feature films (Filmorsa had just signed Constantine) ;
— typewritten introductions to the shots of the celebrities ;
— reaction shots of Welles taken from other shows in the series.

Welles's cut of the Basque episode is the one devoted to the “pelote basque.” The other version (the one in which Welles and writer Lael Wertenbaker compare American and Basque systems) was edited after Welles had left Europe. It was the “pilot” offered to American TV.

There also were two versions of the Madrid episode, although one of them is not available for viewing anymore.

[tony]

François:
thanks so much for your invaluable information on this series!

I hope you don't mind if I ask one further question: do you know for certain if "The Third Man in Vienna" episode actually exists, or existed?

Thanks!
:;):

[François Thomas]

Yes, the Vienna episode existed. It was the first one that Welles shot, although not the first to be telecast. It probably was last shown publicly at Cinémathèque française in 1966. Apparently it was later borrowed from Archives françaises du film (French Film Archives) and never given back. It probably is to be found in some private collection someplace. Let's wait.

[tony]

Thanks again, François.

[tonyw]

Last night I began watching two segments of this fascinating series that Welles directed for the 50s independentt TV company Associated Rediffusion. The first focused on the district of St.Germain in Paris championing creativity and non-conformism as well as the excitement of French cultural life while the second, "Chelsea Pensioners" evoked the missing climax of the original AMBERSONS. interviewing two sets of senior citizens, Orson marveled both at their vitality and a system that allowed them dignity in old age as well as privacy. Those stills of Fanny in the boarding house drained of all individuality and lacking privacy immediately came to mind as well as Arkadin's sardonic response to the elderly Zouk in MR, ARKADIN who he has not seen for many years .. I'm sure US distribution was hindered by suspicious about Orson's "commie sympathies." Though never mentioned, the contrast with American values was very obvious.

[Wellesnet]

Orson Welles is like an eccentric old uncle in "Around the World With Orson Welles":
http://www.popmatters.com/review/196698 ... on-welles/

Let’s be clear from the start, Around the World with Orson Welles is not a good TV series. There’s a complete lack of consistency, forethought, and even technical coherency as Welles rambles across a number of European destinations. Over the course of six aired episodes, he makes little effort to show us around the world, as was perhaps originally envisaged when British commercial television station ITV contracted him to produce a series of travelogues. Instead, he engages in drawn out interviews and incomplete musings on seemingly random aspects of local culture; that is when he does anything at all, with several episodes demonstrably short of material.

And yet it remains an incredibly addictive proposition, partly because the sight of Welles cadging cherries off children or responding to hecklers is so bizarre, and partly because he proves, like an eccentric uncle, remarkably entertaining company.

Wellesnet review:
http://www.wellesnet.com/review-around- ... on-welles/

[AngeloColombus]

Just received the BFI Blu-ray and I did a a/b comparison with my old Image dvd. The Blu-ray has a cleaner,sharper picture BUT the image is too dark in many scenes where there is little light where the dvd you can see more information. I first thought maybe the settings on my tv and all region Sony player were off but they were ok so to me the Blu-ray was darker then it should be so I am a little disappointed. It does come with a nice booklet and when it was shipped I only paid $24 total since it was on sale at the time. I hope to see more reviews on this and if others think the image is too dark at times.

[Wellesnet]

Film news review:
http://www.film-news.co.uk/show-review. ... temID=1423

Around The World… is a series of six short travelogues that Welles made back in 1955 for TV. Yes, Orson Welles – the consummate showman! You name it, he most likely did it and here he delights us with tales from London, Vienna, Spain, and Paris.

Around The World… is invariably interesting to look at, as is much of this documentary type from the past. With Welles at the helm it is going to be even more so! The first programme – Pays Basque 1 – takes us to the Basque Countries in Spain. After interviewing a few local inhabitants, Wells talks at length to Charles Wertenbaker’s widow Lael (Wertenbaker, a well-known writer/journo had only died that year). Lael, in the company of her young son Christian, reveals interesting facets of life in the Basque country and why she has decided to make it her home. At one time during the conversation, Welles comments that he doesn’t think that progress and civilisation go together. Welles was so taken with young Christian that he made Pays Basque 2 with the same beginning and end, but the middle section is with himself in conversation with the boy. Much of it is taken up with the Basques favourite ball game.

Then it’s gluttony galore as we Revisit Vienna – not only the backdrop for The Third Man but home to the world-famous Apfelstrudel, Bienenstich, Sacher Torte and many other gastronomic delights. My mouth is watering as I write this (as was Welles’, at the time…). As Welles visits the famed Viennese coffee houses, he enjoys conversations with staff and visitors alike and is even allowed a peep into the kitchen and bakery room.
Next up is Saint-Germain-des-Prés, one of the oldest sections of Paris where much of Welles’s time is spent in conversation with the highly eccentric Raymond Duncan – brother of none other than famed dancer Isadora Duncan. The encounter takes place in the Toga-clad Raymond’s cluttered studio.

From ‘frogs legs’ we hop across the channel to the land of the ‘roast beefs’ – London to be precise, where we find Welles in conversation with a bevy of old working class Conservative women round the back of the old Hackney Empire (where Welles happened to be while attempting to film part of his opus ‘Moby Dick’). Unfortunately, this section was rather poorly recorded as the laydees were not properly mic’d up.
From the East End we’re off to the West End where we see Welles sharing a pint with that institution known as the Queens Pensioners (perhaps better known as the Chelsea Pensioners).

And now on to the last segment, titled Spain – The Bullfight, the first half of which is presented by the Tynans (a well-known and controversial husband-and-wife team of critics at the time). In fact, Kenneth Tynan went on to achieve notoriety as the creator of the scandalous revue Oh! Calcutta! Welles, as a very young man, had worked as a Torero and like the Tynans seems to have shared an enthusiasm for this cruel and barbaric sport. So then, this segment may not be for those of you for whom Spain’s ‘noblest’ sport appeals so much. The good news, however, is that the Matador gets gored going in for the kill. Yes, yours truly disapproves of blood sports!

Regarding bonus material, we are presented with the first showing of Welles’ attempt on cracking the Dominici Affair (the 1952 unsolved murder case about Sir Jack Drummond and his family), and an interview with the caustic TV-journalist Bernard Levin.