Orson Welles' Sketch Book

7.315m19551 season

Talk

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.

Directed by Orson Welles

Cast

Orson Welles

Himself - Host

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Episodes

Season 1 — 0 / 7 watched

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The Early Days

1955-04-24 · 15m

Welles discusses a timely earthquake, first-night audiences at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, and how he came to be an actor.

Critics

1955-05-08 · 15m

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.

The Police

1955-05-22 · 15m

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.

Houdini/John Barrymore/Voodoo Story/The People I Missed

1955-06-05 · 15m

Prompts used by actors and others; remembering Harry Houdini; observations on gender differences in the appreciation of magic tricks; John Barrymore.

The War Of The Worlds

1955-06-19 · 15m

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.

Bullfighting

1955-07-03 · 15m

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.

Postscript

1955-05-07 · 15m