Orson Welles' Sketch Book
1955 · 1 season · 7 episodes · Ended · BBC One
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TMDB 7.3 · 3 votes
Orson Welles' Sketch Book is a series of six short television commentaries by Orson Welles for the BBC in 1955. Written and directed by Welles, the 15-minute episodes present the filmmaker's commentaries on a range of subjects. Welles frequently draws from his own experiences and often illustrates the episodes with his own sketches.
Episodes
- S01E01The Early Days1955-04-2415m
Welles discusses a timely earthquake, first-night audiences at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, and how he came to be an actor.
- S01E02Critics1955-05-0815m
Welles talks about a Boston performance of Five Kings, the consequences of Percy Hammond's negative review of the Voodoo Macbeth, and a curse placed on the film It's All True.
- S01E03The Police1955-05-2215m
Welles relates the story of Isaac Woodard, a decorated black World War II veteran who was blinded in a brutal 1946 beating by South Carolina police.
- S01E04Houdini/John Barrymore/Voodoo Story/The People I Missed1955-06-0515m
Prompts used by actors and others; remembering Harry Houdini; observations on gender differences in the appreciation of magic tricks; John Barrymore.
- S01E05The War Of The Worlds1955-06-1915m
The famous 1938 Mercury Theatre broadcast mistaken by many listeners for a real Martian invasion, and the consequent skepticism during the presentation of Norman Corwin's Between Americans on December 7, 1941; and the opening night of the Mercury stage flop, Danton's Death.
- S01E06Bullfighting1955-07-0315m
Welles tells the true story of Bonito the bull. Robert Flaherty's story was partially filmed in 1942 for Welles's unfinished film, It's All True.
- S01E07Postscript1955-05-0715m
