Mr. Arkadin (1955) by Orson Welles
Sunday, December 22, 1985, 7:30 pm
The Neglected Orson Welles
With the recent death of Orson Welles, the cinema lost one of its most independent and iconoclastic spirits. Though Welles remained controversial and much-written about during his lifetime, many of his less popular films were rarely shown. Tonight’s program presents two of Welles’ most fascinating though little-known films, The Stranger (1946) and Mr. Arkadin (Confidential Report) (1955). Welles stars in both, and each reflects his tenacity in dealing with severely limited budgets and studio interference.
Mr. Arkadin continues and elaborates Welles’ depiction of an evil and disintegrating world begun in The Lady From Shanghai. The Stranger is a paranoid and expressionistic tale of a notorious Nazi living in a small New England town who poses as a school teacher. Also starring Edward G. Robinson.