Orson Welles and Too Much Johnson premiere

[Lokke Heiss]

Not sure where this should be posted, but since it took place in the sound era, and was sort of a lead up to Citizen Kane, I'm putting it here. I just finished an article on Orson Welles and his 'lost film' Too Much Johnson. Saw it in Pordenone last October and talk about connecting it to other things going on with his life in 1938, in particular his radio show.

Here's the link:

http://lokkeheiss.wordpress.com/" target="_blank

[coolcatdaddy]

Nice post - it is amazing to think about all the innovations that Welles was brining into his stage and radio work in that period and in such a short period of time.

As part of my old time radio research, I've looked closely at the Welles radio work. The theme that runs through that and his theater work at this time is breaking the conventions of the medium he was working in and doing a kind of "mix up" of media techniques.

The first show in the Mercury radio series, "Dracula", is a good example. There's an impressive sequence in the piece where there's a kind of lengthy audio montage, a careful mix of Bernard Herrman's music, dialogue scenes, telegraph updates, diary entries, and newspaper clippings to show the chase for Dracula across the continent. It was something completely new and different in radio, but emulates a montage technique common in film at the time. In another sequence, as a man goes mad held captive in Dracula's castle, the actor backs away from the mic and the sound effects team add more echo, giving the audio impressive of a tracking shot backing away from the character in the scene.

One very unusual aspect of the show, not used before or since on radio to my knowledge, was a sound effect used in key scenes where Dracula was putting someone under his influence. The sound effects team put a low 60-cycle hum in the mix, giving the scenes a disturbing, almost subliminal disturbing quality. Welles plays his voice to this tone in these scenes, making his voice go lower and more "gritty", amplifying the effect even more. It's a kind of audio "filter" that's not unlike the visual distorting filters used on characters hypnotizing someone or putting them under a spell in a B-movie.

Some of the Mercury shows use novel narrative and technical techniques that were unusual at the time; others are more straightforward in their approach. All are an interesting listen to see what kind of ideas were swirling around Welles and the Mercury before they went to Hollywood.

It's hard to tell how much of this was Welles and how much input might have come from others working on the show, particularly with the tight schedules they were working on. But, considering Welles's other media "mix ups", like the filmed segments of "Too Much Johnson", it seems plausible these were deliberate effects he was going for.

[Wm. Charles Morrow]

Before saying a word or two about Too Much Johnson, I’d like to advise all interested parties to read the excellent blog post by Lokke Heiss linked above. The article gives a thorough account of the rocky road this project has traveled since 1938, starting with Welles’ original plans and ending with the world premiere of the recently discovered, uncut footage at the Pordenone festival in fall of 2013. (And in addition to that, by the way, there are some keen observations to be found in the post about Welles, his career in various media, and his approach to adapting the works of others.) In the year that has passed since this piece was written, something new has been added to the mix.

What I can now report is that the wish expressed by Lokke Heiss at the end of the piece—that is, a desire to experience a “re-purposing” of Welles’ material for an actual performance of William Gillette’s play—was accomplished last week at NYC’s Film Forum. I was fortunate enough to attend one of two performances of Too Much Johnson, the play, accompanied by the prologues created by Welles and his Mercury Theatre team over seventy-five years ago. The uncut material shown at Pordenone was, under the supervision of Bruce Goldstein, edited by William Hohauser into an approximation of what Welles might have intended. That’s subject to debate, of course, but to my eye it appeared that the takes used were the best available, arranged in a way that made sense. The prologues certainly went over well with the audience, and seemed to be a very close approximation of what was originally planned. The filmed sections were a blast, and while I especially enjoyed seeing Joseph Cotten caper about on rooftops like a silent clown, I’d have to say that Edgar Barrier practically stole the show.

It was a delightful evening. Something like 20% of it was comprised of the Welles film footage, while the other 80% was a semi-staged reading of William Gillette’s play, adapted and directed by Allen Lewis Rickman (perhaps best known for his acting role on Boardwalk Empire), who also appeared in the show. The cast was spirited; they knew how to play farce, and they played it to the hilt. The performance came off smoothly for the most part, but at one point when an actor missed a cue, they turned it into a joke, got a laugh, and rolled on without missing a beat. There was no scenery as such, but everyone was in costume, which helped set the antic mood.

Not much else to say, except that I hope the producers are able to do more with this project, i.e. take it to the next level and get it staged again, on a bigger scale if possible. More people should be able to see this.

[Eric Cohen]

It's available on-line over at http://www.filmpreservation.org" target="_blank in both 66 min work print and 2014 34 min.edited versions, but will be very nice to see this on my big TV screen when TCM shows it late Friday night, May 1st, 2015, as part of their Orson Welles: Star of the Month programming. Which version will they show? Only an hour allotted on the schedule.

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

It's available on-line over at http://www.filmpreservation.org" target="_blank" target="_blank in both 66 min work print and 2014 34 min.edited versions, but will be very nice to see this on my big TV screen when TCM shows it late Friday night, May 1st, 2015, as part of their Orson Welles: Star of the Month programming. Which version will they show? Only an hour allotted on the schedule.

Thanks for this link. I watched the reconstruction of JOHNSON via YT last night and enjoyed it very much. When it finished, I noticed an even longer assemblage which I shall tuck into later. Much as I would like to see the proper shows, it is out of the question at the moment. I did see Mr Cotten in person at London's NFT about twenty-five years ago, and it was very nice to join in the applause for that grand old gentleman.

[azjazzman]

Thanks for this link. I watched the reconstruction of JOHNSON via YT last night and enjoyed it very much. When it finished, I noticed an even longer assemblage which I shall tuck into later. Much as I would like to see the proper shows, it is out of the question at the moment. I did see Mr Cotten in person at London's NFT about twenty-five years ago, and it was very nice to join in the applause for that grand old gentleman.

You probably already know this, but the audio from that NFT appearance by J. Cotten is included as an extra on the Studio Canal Blu Ray release of The Third Man. Also included is an NFT appearance by Graham Greene. Cotten has a bad case of laryngitis, but it is still fun to listen to.

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

Thanks for this link. I watched the reconstruction of JOHNSON via YT last night and enjoyed it very much. When it finished, I noticed an even longer assemblage which I shall tuck into later. Much as I would like to see the proper shows, it is out of the question at the moment. I did see Mr Cotten in person at London's NFT about twenty-five years ago, and it was very nice to join in the applause for that grand old gentleman.

You probably already know this, but the audio from that NFT appearance by J. Cotten is included as an extra on the Studio Canal Blu Ray release of The Third Man. Also included is an NFT appearance by Graham Greene. Cotten has a bad case of laryngitis, but it is still fun to listen to.

No, I didn't. My copy of THE THIRD MAN (which was shown at the same time) is the standard dvd. I recall Cotten being rather indistinct at the time, as his wife Patricia Medina was helping him out. I saw very few lectures during my years of travel to the NFT, which was one of my regrets. In any case one had to act pretty sharpish to get tickets.