In Memoriam links of interest

[Roger Ryan]

Here's what Time Magazine had to say about Wise's passing (notice Schickel's reference to Welles "abandoning" the Wise-edited "Magnificent Ambersons"!):

Posted Sunday, Sep. 18, 2005
The standard critical line on director ROBERT WISE, who died last week in Los Angeles at 91, was that his films lacked personality, those visual signatures and obsessive themes that set true auteurs apart from studio hacks for hire. He also had the critical misfortune to direct the Oscar-winning Sound of Music, that melting pile of Alpine slush that was for a long time the most popular movie ever released. But Wise, who broke in as a film editor--earning praise for Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and unjustified calumny for recutting The Magnificent Ambersons after Welles abandoned it--mastered over the years every imaginable movie genre and made at least half a dozen pictures that are among the best of their breed, including The Set-Up, a tragic boxing tale whose running time matched the time elapsed in the story; a tough-as-nails noir, Born to Kill; and the sublime sci-fi masterpiece The Day the Earth Stood Still. In those films, as in his other Oscar winner, West Side Story, in which his camera was a fully choreographed partner with Jerome Robbins' dancers, his impeccable and unpretentious craftsmanship became the true assertion of a modest, subtle and humane temperament. He became a revered Hollywood elder and president of the Directors Guild and the Motion Picture Academy, which he managed as he did his sets--with a quiet intelligence that in an ego-driven industry was the more welcome for its invisibility. --By Richard Schickel

[Randy Cook]

I've been lurking on this board for several years (since its inception, really) and feel impelled to finally make a post on this, the 20th anniversary of Orson Welles' death.

My name's Randy Cook. I have worked in the film business for some years, most recently as animation director on the LORD OF THE RINGS films and as second unit director on the forthcoming KING KONG. During those years, I have derived great inspiration from the work of Mr. Welles.

I wish to thank each and every member of this board for their contribution in keeping the memory of this great artist alive. Cheers to you all, and my sincerest thanks to a man who has enriched our lives, and the lives of audiences everywhere, so very much.

[Roger Ryan]

Thank you Randy for your thoughtful post. As others note with various milestones in history, I remember the exact moment twenty years ago when I heard of Welles' death. I had kept hoping that one of the many announced projects Welles was working on would actually come to fruition; then suddenly, it was all in the past. It is wonderful, however, that twenty years later the man's work is still appreciated and that there are still new things to discover.

On another note, I'm really looking forward to "King Kong", so thanks ahead of time for your contribution, Randy!

[Terry]

Tell Pete we want the 25-hour cut of LOTR...or George Bush will invade New Zealand.

[Harvey Chartrand]

Actor Anthony Franciosa has died of a stroke at age 78, just days after the death of his ex-wife Shelley Winters. Franciosa, the embodiment of the intense fifties-era Method actor, played Orson Welles' son in THE LONG, HOT SUMMER (1958). Reportedly, the two did not get along. But then Franciosa often butted heads with his colleagues, and this confrontational attitude may have hampered his career.
This is one of the strangest instances of miscasting father and son roles in cinema history: it is impossible to accept the slim, handsome and athletic Italian-American Franciosa as the son of the enormous, slovenly, grotesque and boisterous Welles, then tipping the scales at 375 pounds.
Only the casting of Peter Lorre as Jack Nicholson's father in THE RAVEN (1963) is more preposterous.

[Harvey Chartrand]

In 2003, I interviewed Ted Rusoff, an American expatriate actor based in Rome. Here are Rusoff's observations on working with Anthony Franciosa:

HC: In 1989, you appeared in "Death à la Mode" (aka "Fashion Crimes"), a giallo with Anthony Franciosa. Did Franciosa live up to his reputation of being a volatile Method actor?

TR: Yes. I had two scenes with him. Tony was very impatient with me. He said, “Come on, give me something!” I had to take it because he was the star. I said, “Tony, my character is described in the script as laid back and unemotional. What do you want me to give you that I’m not giving you?” He admitted I had a point. But I respected Tony, because he was involved. His best didn’t happen to coincide with what I was trying to do, but Tony was in there fighting. He was doing what he thought was best for the film.
___

Franciosa may have been a hardhead, but he gave a damn.

[Roger Ryan]

According to AP, Dennis Weaver passed away from cancer this past Friday at age 81. He will be remembered around here for his eccentric performance as "The Night Man" in Welles' "Touch Of Evil". Other performances include the character of Chester in "Gunsmoke", the titular detective in "McCloud" and the harassed motorist in Spielberg's "Duel". I also fondly remember him in the "Shadow Play" episode of "The Twilight Zone" which remains my personal favorite.

[Terry]

[Glenn Anders]

Welles told Peter Bogdanovich that he thought that Tim Holt could have been an important artist in Motion Pictures, but because he had a family to rear, preferred to be simply a working actor, often in the Top Box Office Ten, starring in B-Movies. [Yet he managed to make his mark memorably in three significant films: THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942), HITLER'S CHILDREN (1943), and THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948).] Dennis Weaver was such an actor.

Highly talented, but with an established family, he seemed to be willing to take whatever the next job was, the one that payed the most.

Welles noticed Weaver when he played Chester in "Gunsmoke," and admired his talent. Both of them had wonderful accounts of how, on the set of TOUCH OF EVIL, they went to lunch together, re-wrote the Mirador Motel Night Manager's dialogue, and worked out new business. As has often been pointed out, he was probably an influence on the creation of Norman Bates in PSYCHO (again with Janet Leigh), several years later. Weaver's acting in TOUCH OF EVIL suggests all the things he might have done.

Still, he had a good life, was married for 63 years, and left us several unique performances.

Indeed, R.I.P., Night Man.

Glenn

[Harvey Chartrand]

From Entertainment Insiders:

RICHARD FLEISCHER Died Mar. 24, 2006

Oscar-winning producer/director Richard Fleischer died in his sleep at age 89. Mr. Fleischer was best known for directing an impressive list of hit feature films. If you ask me, Richard Fleischer deserved an Oscar as Best Director for a number of his great films.

Dick Fleischer directed the first film I ever saw in a theater: Disney’s 1955 classic "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." The classic still enthralls audiences.

Dick Fleischer was, in many ways, like the workhorse director Robert Aldrich. Both men turned out consistently entertaining, profitable and critically acclaimed films. However, their names are not the first to pop into your mind when you think of great directors. Of course, their output does testify to the fact of their greatness.

Mr. Fleischer’s film output from the 1950s includes the forgotten classic crime drama "Violent Saturday." The movie dealt with the effects of a bank robbery on a small town. It is a precursor of the tough cop movies of Don Siegel and others during the 60s and 70s. A transitional film from Film Noir to the urban realism of the 70s. Lee Marvin, Victor Mature and Earnest Borgnine are just a few of the many great actors who make this film worth seeing. Mr. Fleischer ended the 1950s with the psychological crime drama "Compulsion." The movie was based on the Leopold-Loeb thrill killing of the 1920s. Orson Welles starred as the attorney based on Clarence Darrow who pleads for the young killer’s lives. This is one of Mr. Fleischer’s most respected works. He was nominated for a BAFTA and DGA Award for his direction. This was Mr. Fleischer’s second DGA nomination. The year before, his work on the Kirk Douglas action/adventure film "The Vikings" was also recognized by his peers with a DGA nod.

In 1971, Mr. Fleischer returned to the true-crime genre. "10 Rillington Place" starred Richard Attenborough as British killer John Reginald Christie. This is an excellent and very true to the facts film. The Christie/Evans killings lead to the abolishment of the death penalty in England. John Hurt starred as the mentally retarded Timothy Evans. Mr. Evans was executed for murdering his wife. When it was discovered several years later, that Evans’ landlord, serial killer John Christie was in fact the real killer the public backlash put an end to the death penalty. Mr. Fleischer’s direction is taut. This was no surprise as Mr. Fleischer was an old hand at directing crime films. What was surprising was the British feel the film had. This considering Mr. Fleischer was a Yank.

Mr. Fleischer directed three very different films in 1971. His follow-up to "10 Rillington Place" was the "The Last Run." This is a difficult movie to find. It is however, well worth the effort to track down. The movie starred George C. Scott and his then wife Colleen Dewhurst, future wife Trish Van Devere along with Tony Musante. "The Last Run" is a crime film with a much deeper edge than one might expect. I’ve always thought it would make a great double feature with Walter Hill’s Zen crime film "The Driver." Dick Fleischer’s third film from 1971 was the hit psycho horror film "See No Evil." Mia Farrow starred as a blind woman stalked by a cowboy-boot wearing psycho killer. Fleischer chose not to show the killer, other than his boots. The choice enhanced the suspense level of the film.

Charlton Heston and Edward G. Robinson starred in the futuristic mystery "Soylent Green". And remember… Soylent Green is…! Sorry, no spoilers, even in the obits. Mr. Fleischer finished out the 70s with several notable and notorious films. "Mr. Majestyk" was a Charles Bronson thriller with an evil Al Lettieri in support.

Mr. Fleischer’s other film credits include the Neil Diamond version of "The Jazz Singer," "Conan the Destroyer," "The Spikes Gang," "The Don is Dead," "Red Sonja" and "Amityville 3-D." Mr. Fleischer was the son of pioneering animator Max Fleischer.

__

No mention of CRACK IN THE MIRROR (1960) in this obit. I love this movie, but many seem to feel that it's a bomb. Welles gave two of his best acting performances as a slobby construction worker and a sleek attorney.
Welles also narrated Fleischer's THE VIKINGS.

[Harvey Chartrand]

Tim Lucas has done it again! I urge you to read his excellent article on Richard Fleischer posted today (entitled FLEISCHER'S LAST INTERVIEW). It's at http://www.videowatchdog.blogspot.com/
Lucas points out that Paul Talbot's AMITYVILLE 3-D think piece in the current issue of VIDEO WATCHDOG features the last interview given by Fleischer (who directed Welles in COMPULSION and CRACK IN THE MIRROR).

[Clive Dale]

Here's an Interview with Gary Graver

[Le Chiffre]

Orson was always doing four or five things at the same time. And during the shooting of F For Fake, I came to the studio and Orson had a whole bunch of pots and pans and food out and I said, "What's that?" And he says, "The food show! The cooking show!" Like I was supposed to know I'm doing a cooking show. He never mentioned it before. He wanted to host a cooking show.

That's funny. Graver and others could probably write a whole book's worth of good anecdotes about Orson.

[Harvey Chartrand]

Entertainment Insiders reports that Raymond Pellegrin, star of Sacha Guitry's 1955 epic NAPOLEON, has died. Orson Welles appears briefly near the end of this 190-minute snoozefest as British General Hudson Lowe, Napoléon's jailer on the remote island of St. Helena. The cameos by Welles and Erich von Stroheim [as Ludwig van Beethoven] are the only reasons to watch this turgid mess.

Pellegrin's obituary from EI follows.

http://www.einsiders.com/features/colum ... uaries.php

RAYMOND PELLEGRIN Died Oct. 14, 2007

French actor Raymond Pellegrin died at age 82. Mr. Pellegrin appeared in nearly 150 films and TV shows during his lengthy career. He played the title role in the 1955 version of "Napoleon." He lent his vocal talents to the three "Fantomas" films made in the 1960s. Other credits include "Three Women," the original version of "Manon of the Spring" and Lucio Fulci's "Conspiracy of Torture."

[Harvey Chartrand]

I feel like a real fooleon having typed Napooleon instead of Napoleon in the thread head.