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NYT on OW's upcoming Salome film (1946)

Posted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 6:13 pm
by Wellesnet
PDF: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesm ... =true&ip=0

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Sept. 27, 1946 — Orson Welles disclosed today that his first production for Alexander Korda in England will be a screen version of Oscar Wilde's play, "Salome," filmed previously as a silent picture by First National in 1923, with Alla Nazimova.

Welles will appear in the photoplay as Herod Antipas, and Eileen Herlie, a British stage star who has signed a term contract with Korda, will play the title role. Miss Herlie is currently appearing on the London stage in Jean Cocteau's "The Eagle Has Two Heads."

The "Salome" project, which is scheduled for Technicolor cameras early next year, will postpone the production of "Around the World in 80 Days", which Korda had announced as Welles's first effort for the British cinema.

Oscar Wilde wrote "Salome" in 1893, and the piece was translated into English in 1894 by Lord Alfred Douglas. It created a furor in Great Britain and was banned from the London stage, the ban remaining in force until 1931, when "Salome" was first staged in England.

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NOTE: Welles's screenplay for this never-made project is at the Lilly Library.