Here are six stupendous reasons why I love Datajunkie: "O" is for Orson!, "W" is for Welles!, "C" is for Campbell Playhouse!, "H" is for Harry Lime!, "M" is for Mercury Theater on the Air and "Z" is for Zither!. I love Orson Welles and those vintage radio recordings and songs sounds like music to my ears. He had the perfect voice, he knew how to use it and he was clever enough to choose the right texts for it. It’s a pity that the stupid-bitch-Hearst didn’t like Citizen Kane and helped a lot to destroy Welles’ career. Anyway, he was brilliant at the radio too.
There are more great stuff there: the audio version of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven by the superb Vincent Price I think ( I didn’t listen it yet) and Horror Stars on OTR!: radio lectures of horror and mystery (or suspense) stories read by Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Peter Lorre and Vincent Price.
More Welles: From Zombies to Orson Welles, The Shadow knows, Orson Welles and his early movies, The Mercury Theatre on the Air and Trailers of movies remakes and War of the Worlds.
Update: Datajunkie made a new Orson Welles post "T" is for The Third Man!.
Although no one very much likes William Randolph Hearst, Orson Welles was quite capable of destroying his own career without any help. He had “young genius” syndrome (“I’ll never be able to top this”); he abandoned several projects at crucial stages, leaving others to clean up the mess (perhaps so he could complain about it afterwards); he was a monumental egotist (of course); and then there was the drinking and womanizing. What is amazing is that despite his being his own worst enemy, he left behind so much that is superb (along with much that is shabby and second-rate.) My favorite welles roles are those in “the Third Man” (perhaps my favorite movie ever) and as the sheriff in “Touch of Evil.” Also well worthwhile but much-neglected (because Welles complained so often about the cut the studio made when he flew off to work on another project) “The Magnificent Ambersons.” We can only imagine the movie it might have been if Welles had bothered to supervise the editing, but what there is is fascinating.
“young genius” syndrome, yes, I know, but he is, as my boyfriend says, “meu queridinho”, something like my little dear. Ah, yes, I watched “The Magnificent Ambersons” that was a pity. About “Touch of Evil” that travelling in the beginning is superb!