Another Cartrivision title found

[Wellesnet]

A previously lost Orson Welles film, Two Wise Old Men: Socrates and Noah, produced for the fledgling home video market has been uncovered.
Wellesnet was afforded the opportunity to watch a film unseen for the past 50 years.

https://www.wellesnet.com/lost-orson-we ... -socrates/

[Jedediah Leland]

Absolutely terrific news.

It's remarkable that even with many film elements in different formats badly deteriorating over the decades (and Cartrivision tapes are notorious for their poor survival rate), we're still getting once-lost bits of Welles' directorial work turning up. Who'd have thought barely over a decade ago that we'd see 'Too Much Johnson' (1938), or that 'The Merchant of Venice' (1969) would see a restoration with so much lost footage returned?

Kudos to legendary lost-film-hunter Ray Langstone. Ray's the guy who first spotted the tapes on E-Bay, and recognised they were of a lost Welles work, in amongst a whole bunch of lots of other random Cartrivision tapes (of well-known, widely-circulated movies). That set the wheels in motion, and I am so thrilled that the Welles Estate was able to acquire this, and digitise it for posterity. Ray's also the guy who tracked down the previously-missing episode of the TV series 'Around the World with Orson Welles' (1955), 'The Third Man Returns to Vienna', featuring some delightful mugging around the city to the Harry Lime score by Welles - so this is the second time a lost Welles work has been spotted by Ray Langston, and the wheels put in motion for wider circulation. And of course, Wellesnet's Ray Kelly is far too modest, he played a critical go-between role in bringing people together. So we owe a huge debt to the two Rays!

[RayKelly]

Ray Langstone has a keen eye for spotting treasures, no doubt about it. God bless him.
I have been working with Beatrice Welles and her people on two other rare titles, which may be released in the not-too-distant future.
Clearance and licensing issues are always a nightmare.

Absolutely terrific news.
Kudos to legendary lost-film-hunter Ray Langstone. Ray's the guy who first spotted the tapes on E-Bay, and recognised they were of a lost Welles work, in amongst a whole bunch of lots of other random Cartrivision tapes (of well-known, widely-circulated movies). That set the wheels in motion, and I am so thrilled that the Welles Estate was able to acquire this, and digitise it for posterity. Ray's also the guy who tracked down the previously-missing episode of the TV series 'Around the World with Orson Welles' (1955), 'The Third Man Returns to Vienna', featuring some delightful mugging around the city to the Harry Lime score by Welles - so this is the second time a lost Welles work has been spotted by Ray Langston, and the wheels put in motion for wider circulation.

[Spiny Norman]

I notice, by the way, that a third tape is still there on ebay now. Not as nicely sealed as the first two, but still.

[maxrael]

I have been working with Beatrice Welles and her people on two other rare titles, which may be released in the not-too-distant future. Clearance and licensing issues are always a nightmare.

Wishing you the best of luck on working miracles and being able to make somehow make these available to purchase Ray!!
We salute you.

[RayKelly]

There have been a LOT of questions, so here is an update:

Just to confirm, TWO WISE OLD MEN - SOCRATES AND NOAH is complete with excellent sound and decent picture. It has been digitized.

AMERICAN HERITAGE VOL. II: CLARENCE DARROW was bulk erased, but another copy has turned up and the Estate has made inquiries.

The Estate is very much aware of the hand labeled eBay tape seemingly marked AMERICAN HERITAGE VOL. 1.
It has purchased a copy, but it has not been checked out. A fan has also reportedly bought the exact same item and offered to mail it to me.

Yes, it appears there are multiple copies and it is offered on multiple websites, which has led to some confusion.

By means of deductive reasoning, AMERICAN HERITAGE VOL. 1 is suspected to be THE GOLDEN HONEYMOON. No proof of that yet.

And please join me in thanking Ray Langstone, Spiny/Reinier, Paul, Seth, Garrett, Chris, Quinton, David and other folks who have emailed or messaged tips.

[Wellesnet]

Watch Orson Welles ‘Socrates’ video excerpt:
https://www.wellesnet.com/watch-orson-w ... tes-video/

[tonyw]

Thank you, Beatrice. I'll find a place in my Welles class next semester to show students this excellent clip.

[Wellesnet]

William Lonergan, an Orson Welles fan and archivist from Pittsburgh, recently gifted American Heritage Vol. 1 – Selections from George Ade, Thomas Wolfe, Mark Twain –- a once lost 52-year-old Cartrivision videotape -- to the Welles estate in hopes of a commercial re-release. Read more at https://www.wellesnet.com/another-cartrivision-film/

[Le Chiffre]

Another great find; three down, three to go. These six little films form a set that should be considered part of Welles' directorial oeuvre, even though they seem essentially educational in spirit, from what I've seen so far. Welles was a natural teacher (he almost became one at the Todd School), and was also very good at blurring the lines between education, art, and entertainment.

[JMcBride]

I especially hope they find the Cartrivision tape of Welles reading THE HAPPY PRINCE.
Partly because Gary Graver at Welles's memorial service so movingly cited the record of Welles
reading that Oscar Wilde story and quoted from the story to convey his feelings about Orson and his career.
For me Gary's speech was the highlight of that event, which Dick Wilson and I staged
at the DGA theater in Hollywood.

[Wellesnet]

Two-minute excerpt from Welles reading Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn has been posted on Youtube.
Watch ‘lost’ Orson Welles ‘Mark Twain’ video:
https://www.wellesnet.com/lost-orson-welles-mark-twain/

[Le Chiffre]

"...mountains of technological garbage, memorials to what we like to think of as "progress."
"...when we were still on speaking terms with Mother Earth."

What a marvelous way with words that guy had.

I especially hope they find the Cartrivision tape of Welles reading THE HAPPY PRINCE.

I would love to see THE HAPPY PRINCE too. Welles did it at least four or five other times, and it was obviously one of his favorite stories, but those others were all audio only. It would be interesting to see him read it as well. But I would also love to see the others too, especially the Clarence Darrow one, since Welles played a Darrow-like figure in COMPULSION.

[Wellesnet]

Someone appears to have purchased, along with several other Cartrivision tapes, "American Heritage II", the program featuring readings of Clarence Darrow. This is one of the three programs still missing from Welles' Cartrivision series. The buyer bought them all for $5 each:

[JMcBride]

The most moving part of the Welles memorial tribute
Dick Wilson and I put on at the Directors Guild in 1985
was Gary Graver's reminiscence of hearing Orson's
recording of THE HAPPY PRINCE in kindergarten and
then comparing Orson to the title character.