Orson Welles' Sketch Book

The Early Days

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

Critics

Welles talks about a Boston performance of Five Kings, the consequences of Percy Hammond's negative review of the Voodoo

The Police

Welles relates the story of Isaac Woodard, a decorated black World War II veteran who was blinded in a brutal 1946 beati

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

Prompts used by actors and others; remembering Harry Houdini; observations on gender differences in the appreciation of

The War Of The Worlds

The famous 1938 Mercury Theatre broadcast mistaken by many listeners for a real Martian invasion, and the consequent ske

Bullfighting

Welles tells the true story of Bonito the bull. Robert Flaherty's story was partially filmed in 1942 for Welles's unfini

Postscript