Welles and Roger Corman

[Glenn Anders]

I'm surprised nobody has noted that Roger Corman, identified in a news release as "The Orson Welles of the Z-Movie," is to receive an honorary Oscar:

http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/news/to ... p?id=12812

Of course, Corman helped start the careers of a dozen or more important actors and directors, including Jack Nicholson, Robert DeNiro, Francis Ford Coppola, Peter Bogdanovich, James Cameron, etc, etc.

Now 83 years-old, he is still active, producing SPLATTER, a web-movie series, for another director he has supported over the years, Joe Dante.

Dante spoke fondly of Corman in a personal interview (and at generous dinner afterward) I once attended with Mr. French at the Sausalito Film Festival. Mr. French has always had a soft spot for Corman because of his interest in the man's Poe Horror Films, and his employment of legendary gothic actors, Vincent Price and Boris Karloff.

A well-deserved Oscar for a change.

Glenn

[Harvey Chartrand]

According to the Internet Movie Database: Orson Welles was originally picked by director Roger Corman to play Al Capone, while Jason Robards was to play George ("Bugs") Moran. Welles was willing, but Fox vetoed the deal, feeling Welles was "undirectable". Robards took over the role of Capone and Ralph Meeker was brought in to play Moran.
__________________________

I can't see Welles as Al Capone just as I can't see him as the Godfather for the simple reason that he was... gulp... too fat. The story goes that Paramount Pictures considered Welles for the role of Don Vito Corleone, and that Welles coveted the part and practically begged for it, but director Francis Coppola only had eyes for Marlon Brando. Welles seemed to be going through a "gangster phase" during this period (1968-1972). Unfortunately, he never did get to play a mobster.

No one can top Rod Steiger as Al Capone in the 1959 biopic directed by Welles' old associate Richard Wilson. Jason Robards was a great actor but miscast as Capone.

To those who admire Roger Corman as a director (as I do), he made a baffling career choice. Unlike Welles, who would have given anything for a shot at directing (unless it was a film about Popeye), Corman – after Von Richthofen and Brown in 1971 – chose to abandon the director's chair so he could focus on production and distribution... Corman only helmed one other film: his 1990 masterpiece Frankenstein Unbound.

And yes, it's about time the super-prolific Roger Corman was honoured by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

[Harvey Chartrand]

I neglected to mention that the Roger Corman film in which Welles was to have played Al Capone was The St. Valentine's Day Massacre (1967).

[Magentarose67]

It is very intriguing to imagine Orson playing a mobster or gangster - the closest he ever came to one was in Casino Royale...I'm sure he could have pulled it off, as long as the script worked. But yes, I couldn't see him as Capone or Don Vito, but I think he could have played some kind of mobster.

[ToddBaesen]

On the main page you can read Roger Corman's thoughts about wanting to cast Orson Welles in THE ST. VALENTINE'S DAY MASSACRE and his meeting with Welles one time for dinner.

http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=51

[Harvey Chartrand]

Orson Welles could have been part of the Poe cycle as well, if his infernal bad luck hadn't tripped him up. He was set to direct an episode of AIP's Spirits of the Dead, but then he was out, replaced by Roger Vadim. There's a write-up on this at http://www.horror-wood.com/histories_ex ... naires.htm. By 1968, the Poe/Vincent Price films were still being made in England, but were no longer directed by Roger Corman. New directors were helming these AIP Poe projects, notably the doomed Michael Reeves, who directed Price in The Conqueror Worm (aka Witchfinder General).

[mido505]

Excellent article, as usual, Harvey; I would merely like to add that Fellini lifted the malevolent little girl, harbinger of death, from Mario Bava's flamboyant, delirious, and mesmerizing OPERAZIONE PAURA (a.k.a. KILL BABY, KILL) which, after years of false starts and false promises, is out in a beautifully restored DVD as part of Anchor Bay's essential Mario Bava Collection. Bava and Fellini fan Martin Scorsese picked up the, ah, ball and ran with it, presenting Satan as a little girl in his LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST. Did that little girl grow up to be Rosalinda Celentano in Mel Gibson's homage to Italian splatter, THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST?

The character of Toby Dammit was based in large part on Broderick Crawford, of all people, who had starred, in an alcoholic haze, in Fellini's IL BIDONE in 1955.

I also understand that Oja Kodar had a significant hand in the script for Welles's proposed episode of SPIRITS OF THE DEAD, although I cannot remember where I picked that up.

[mido505]

Now I remember!

An excellent Lawrence French article on the Welles/Kodar script for MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH may be found posted at Wellesnet here: http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=486